On September 26, 2004, after our overnight stay at a farmer’s home in the community of Hu Xi’an, we motored to the Xi’an airport and caught a noon flight to Wuhan. The flight was only a little over an hour. Wuhan is composed of three towns- Wuchang, Hankou, and Handyang- that grew up on both sides of the Yangtze. Recent archaeological discoveries indicate that the settlement here began about three thousand years ago. The Wuhan Bridge across the Yangtze, completed in 1957, was a landmark project that united north and south China by rail for the first time. Unfortunately, our schedule did not allow us to explore the city because we had to transfer by coach from Wuhan to Yichang (a journey of 5 ½ hours) where we would board our ship for the start of our river journey. We boarded at 7 P.M.

Be sure to click on the link below because it will bring you to the site of Victoria Cruises, which describes our ship, the Victoria Prince, our accommodations, our itinerary from Yichang to Chongqing (a distance of approximately 120 miles), and many other details of the voyage. Click on the link at the top of the site that says “Three Gorges” for some great images!