CRUISING for INSPIRATION
Travelers experience the Yangtze River's vast cross-provincial landscapes by sailing on tourist vessels, Xu Lin and Liu Kun report in Yichang, Hubei.
Linking cultural attractions
With increasing popularity among tourists from both home and abroad, the Three Gorges area has witnessed improvement in tourism infrastructure.
"The Three Gorges Dam has improved the navigation conditions between Yichang and Chongqing," says Wang Zan, captain of the Yangtze 3 cruise ship, a luxury vessel that travels between the two cities.
"Under China's strict environmental protection regulations, the river's water quality is good and the public's awareness of environmental protection has grown markedly," he says.
According to him, advanced navigation systems, such as radars, ensure cruise safety via real-time monitoring. In the past, piloting relied heavily on manual skills due to the lack of such technical assistance.
Ships were once vital for mass, low-cost transport across the Yangtze River region. However, high-speed rail, highways and aviation have gradually rendered passenger ships obsolete as people prioritize speed and convenience.
"Interprovincial passenger ships on the Yangtze River largely ceased operations around 2000. After that, companies began renovating passenger vessels into tourist cruises and building new cruise ships," says Chen Xilong, deputy general manager of Chongqing Changjiang Shipping Co Ltd, which operates the Yangtze 3.
