Chongqing is built on mountains - monorails through buildings, a river cable car and the Hongya Cave nightscape make it the "most futuristic" Chinese city to many visitors. From here, a cruise downriver is the Three Gorges of Li Bai's poetry.
Days 1-2, Chongqing: photograph the monorail passing through Liziba building, see the Jiefangbei and Hongya Cave lights, eat a nine-grid hotpot, and cross the river by cable car.
Day 3, boarding: in the evening board a Three Gorges cruise ship at Chaotianmen Dock - meals and deck viewing included, wonderfully relaxing.
Days 4-5, the Gorges: Baidicheng ("at dawn I leave the white-clouded Baidi city"), Qutang Gorge, Wu Gorge and the Goddess Peak; the ship locks through the Three Gorges Dam's five stages - "a flat lake where gorges rose".
The cruise ends at Yichang; take high-speed rail back to Chongqing or on to Wuhan and Zhangjiajie. Autumn and winter bring high water and clear river - the best cruising seasons.
