China's Yangtze River

We are looking at trips to China for the first time. One trip goes on the Yangtze River and one does not. Is the Yangtze River a must do or is it ok to skip it? I would not be walking up the steps from the river to the road and would need to use the chair carrying men, which wouldn't really be fun for me.

We have done the Yangtze River three times. You may want to check my blog here on our last trip there. You'll have to decide if it is right for you. It may be a little difficult for people with mobility issues. We loved the Yangtze and will go back in a heartbeat.

We did a 15 day tour that included the Yangtze river for 4 days and we loved every minute ...we are going back again and plan to include the river cruise again...the steps at the end are quite steep and we had a few on our trip use the guys to carry you up and they enjoyed it !!

Sorry, but I am taking the opposite view. To us, the Yangtze River was somewhat disappointing. The locks were fun, and the side trip up one of the tributaries in a small boat was great, but the rest of the time it was just a wide river. If you are going to Guilin, the river there is much more interesting and you will see beautiful scenery as well as people doing their laundry, water buffalo, and fishermen using cormorants to catch fish.

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The Li River near Guilin is unique, but it is so shallow that only day boats can travel on it. The Yangtze is a totally different experience because you will stay on the river for ~ 3 days. Not all stops will have lots of steps.

Li River in Guilin (Guangxi Province). Great scenery and the area is famous for it's rice noodle soups.

Book the all-day river tour (should include lunch), it'll go by fascinating hill formations like: Chicken Hill, Woman with Baby, Fish Jumping Out of Water.

You can get to Guilin by high speed rail and most hotels will pickup from the train station.

The Li River is most amazing, but bring your own lunch. The ships' lunches are disgusting even by the standards of really poor Chinese. Our guide warned us. No comparison to the excellent dinner we had in the city of Guilin.

The Li River is most amazing, but bring your own lunch. The ships' lunches are disgusting even by the standards of really poor Chinese. Our guide warned us. No comparison to the excellent dinner we had in the city of Guilin.

Wouldn't it depend on the ship you are on? We are considering a Tauck tour.

Debbie in FL

According to our guide, the city of Guilin owns the boats and refuses to change the menu/quality of preparation even though his company and others have offered a higher price. That was in 2014. Ask your guide if that has changed. A company like Tauck might even use a hotel that provides a box lunch with non-perishable food, you'll find out. There is nothing as amazing and as easily accessible as the Li River except Ha Long Bay in Vietnam.

Our trip in China was 4 weeks and one of the best we have ever taken. It was with ChinaFocusTravel, a smaller company than Tauck and one that specializes in China. I can recommend them, but I bet a Tauck tour doesn't let you ride trains! Do they take you out to the Silk Road? Conditions area bit rougher in the outlying regions. Our group had just 8 people.

I would choose a tour that includes both rivers. With so many huge and traffic choked cities, we were happy to see the countryside. Our guides also took us to places with barely any other visitors. My few encounters with locals were hilarious.

According to our guide, the city of Guilin owns the boats and refuses to change the menu/quality of preparation even though his company and others have offered a higher price. That was in 2014. Ask your guide if that has changed. A company like Tauck might even use a hotel that provides a box lunch with non-perishable food, you'll find out. There is nothing as amazing and as easily accessible as the Li River except Ha Long Bay in Vietnam.

 

Our trip in China was 4 weeks and one of the best we have ever taken. It was with ChinaFocusTravel, a smaller company than Tauck and one that specializes in China. I can recommend them, but I bet a Tauck tour doesn't let you ride trains! Do they take you out to the Silk Road? Conditions area bit rougher in the outlying regions. Our group had just 8 people.

 

I would choose a tour that includes both rivers. With so many huge and traffic choked cities, we were happy to see the countryside. Our guides also took us to places with barely any other visitors. My few encounters with locals were hilarious.

Yes, Tauck takes people on the train.

Thanks for all the info everyone! I appreciate it.