ROUTE 413

Yangtze River Cities — 9 Days / 8 Nights

长江名城

🗓️ 9 Days / 8 Nights

Journey through the heart of China from Shanghai to Wuhan, traversing 3 cities across 9 days. Each stop reveals another facet of a civilization five millennia deep — ancient walls, sacred temples, misty mountains, and bustling markets where tradition and modernity flow together like the rivers that shaped this land.

Shanghai (2) → Nanjing (3) → Wuhan (3)
413
Route 413
Scroll for details
↓

📅 Day-by-Day Itinerary

Day 1
Arrival in Shanghai
Shanghai · 上海 · Paris of the East
The Bund 外滩
This 1.5-km waterfront esplanade is Asia's most iconic architectural ensemble. Built 1868–1937, its 52 buildings form a catalogue of Western styles: neoclassical HSBC (1923), Art Deco Sassoon House (now Fairmont Peace Hotel, 1929), Gothic Holy Trinity Cathedral, and the Beaux-Arts Customs House with its Big Ben clock tower.
Yu Garden 豫园
Constructed 1559–1577 by Ming official Pan Yunduan as a gift to his father ('Yu' means 'to please'). A masterwork of Jiangnan scholarly garden tradition: craggy Taihu rockeries, murmuring water, ancient ginkgos, and latticed windows framing composed 'living paintings.' The 3.3-metre Exquisite Jade Rock was originally destined for Song Emperor Huizong.
Shanghai Tower 上海中心大厦
At 632 metres, China's tallest building. Its spiraling form — inspired by a dragon's twist — reduces wind load by 24%. The 118th-floor observation deck at 561 metres offers views across the Yangtze Delta to the East China Sea on clear days.

Cultural Highlights

🍜 Signature Dish: Xiaolongbao (小笼包) — Soup dumplings: wheat wrapper pleated into 18 folds, encasing pork and collagen broth that liquefies during steaming. Lift with chopsticks, place on spoon, pierce, sip broth, dip in black vinegar and ginger. Invented 1875 at Nanxiang.
🎨 Artifact: Shanghai Art Deco (上海装饰艺术) — Between 1920 and 1940, Shanghai built more Art Deco structures than any city except New York and Miami. The Paramount, Park Hotel, and Broadway Mansions blended Streamline Moderne with cloud scrolls and dragon panels — a hybrid style found nowhere else.
🎵 Music: Shanghai Jazz (上海爵士乐) — 1930s cabarets nurtured a unique fusion of American jazz with Chinese instruments and vocals, popularized by Zhou Xuan. The Peace Hotel Jazz Bar, operating since 1929, is the world's longest-running jazz venue.
Day 2
From Shanghai to Nanjing
Shanghai · 上海 · Paris of the East
French Concession 法租界
Established 1849, this 10-km² district retains its canopy of London plane trees (planted 1902), Art Deco apartments, and cafe culture. The lane houses (lilong) — blending Western structure with Chinese courtyards — represent one of the most successful architectural hybrids ever created.
Jade Buddha Temple 玉佛禅寺
Founded in 1882 to house two jade Buddha statues brought from Burma. The Sitting Buddha, carved from a single piece of white Burmese jade adorned with agate and emerald, weighs nearly a tonne. An active Chan (Zen) monastery with 70 resident monks.
Shanghai Museum 上海博物馆
Shaped like a ding (ancient ritual vessel), housing 120,000 objects across eleven galleries. Its ancient bronze collection — 400 pieces spanning Shang through Han — is the world's finest. Ceramics gallery traces 8,000 years from Neolithic Yangshao through Tang sancai to Qing famille rose.

Cultural Highlights

🍜 Signature Dish: Shengjianbao (生煎包) — Pan-fried pork buns: bottom crisped golden in cast iron, top scattered with sesame and chives, interior bursting with soup. Invented in 1920s Shanghai teahouses as breakfast for dockworkers.
🎨 Artifact: Suzhou Embroidery (苏绣) — One of China's Four Great Embroideries, using split silk threads finer than a human hair to create works resembling oil paintings. A masterpiece may require 100 million stitches and two years. 2,000 years old, UNESCO recognized.
🎵 Music: Pingtan (评弹) — A 400-year-old storytelling art combining narrative recitation with pipa and sanxian accompaniment. Performers retell episodes from classical novels in Suzhou-accented Shanghainese. Best experienced in a dim teahouse.

🚄 Transport Options

Rail (Number) Flight (Number) Depart from Hotel Arrival
G7001 InUse — 12:30 lunch, then Train G7001 at 14:00 15:10 Nanjing
Day 3
Discovering Nanjing
Nanjing · 南京 · Southern Capital of Six Dynasties
Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum 明孝陵
The tomb of Zhu Yuanzhang, the peasant rebel who overthrew the Mongol Yuan dynasty and founded the Ming — one of Chinese history's most consequential figures. The Sacred Way — flanked by 12 pairs of stone animals and 4 pairs of officials — leads through ancient cypress forest to the burial mound. UNESCO World Heritage.
Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum 中山陵
A monumental staircase of 392 steps ascending Purple Mountain to the tomb of the father of modern China. The blue-tiled roof symbolizes the sky, the white marble walls the sun — together representing the Republic's flag. The 80,000-tree forest surrounding it was planted by citizens in the 1920s, now a UNESCO-listed ecosystem.
City Wall & Zhonghua Gate 明城墙·中华门
At 35.3 km, Nanjing's city wall is the longest ancient city wall in the world. Built 1366–1393 using 350 million individually stamped bricks, each traceable to its kiln and the official who supervised its firing. The Zhonghua Gate — the largest surviving castle-gate in the world — has four concentric enclosures that could trap and annihilate an invading army.

Cultural Highlights

🍜 Signature Dish: Nanjing Salted Duck (南京盐水鸭) — Nanjing's most iconic dish: whole duck brined for days in a spiced salt cure, then gently poached until the skin turns pale gold and the meat is tender, juicy, and subtly perfumed with star anise and Sichuan pepper. Served cold in slices — the definitive picnic food for outings to Purple Mountain.
🎨 Artifact: Ming Dynasty City Bricks (明代城砖) — Each of the 350 million bricks in Nanjing's city wall is stamped with the names of the kiln, the supervisor, the brickmaker, and the date — the most extensive quality-control documentation system in premodern history. If a brick was substandard, the entire chain of production could be held accountable.
🎵 Music: Kunqu Opera (Nanjing Tradition) (昆曲（南京派）) — Nanjing was the Ming dynasty capital where Kunqu opera reached its artistic zenith. The city's Kunqu troupes preserve a distinct performance style — more restrained and literary than the Suzhou tradition — that reflects Nanjing's identity as a capital of scholars and officials.
Day 4
Exploring Nanjing
Nanjing · 南京 · Southern Capital of Six Dynasties
Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum 明孝陵
The tomb of Zhu Yuanzhang, the peasant rebel who overthrew the Mongol Yuan dynasty and founded the Ming — one of Chinese history's most consequential figures. The Sacred Way — flanked by 12 pairs of stone animals and 4 pairs of officials — leads through ancient cypress forest to the burial mound. UNESCO World Heritage.
Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum 中山陵
A monumental staircase of 392 steps ascending Purple Mountain to the tomb of the father of modern China. The blue-tiled roof symbolizes the sky, the white marble walls the sun — together representing the Republic's flag. The 80,000-tree forest surrounding it was planted by citizens in the 1920s, now a UNESCO-listed ecosystem.
City Wall & Zhonghua Gate 明城墙·中华门
At 35.3 km, Nanjing's city wall is the longest ancient city wall in the world. Built 1366–1393 using 350 million individually stamped bricks, each traceable to its kiln and the official who supervised its firing. The Zhonghua Gate — the largest surviving castle-gate in the world — has four concentric enclosures that could trap and annihilate an invading army.

Cultural Highlights

🍜 Signature Dish: Duck Blood Soup with Tofu (鸭血粉丝汤) — Silky vermicelli noodles in a clear duck broth with cubes of duck blood pudding, fried tofu puffs, and duck gizzard slices. A Nanjing morning ritual — queues form at dawn outside the most celebrated shops.
🎨 Artifact: Nanjing Brocade (Yunjin) (南京云锦) — Cloud brocade — named for its patterns resembling clouds — has been woven in Nanjing for 1,600 years. The most complex patterns require two weavers operating a loom with 14,000 threads, producing only 5 cm of fabric per day. The imperial dragon robes were woven exclusively in Nanjing. UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.
🎵 Music: Jinling Qin Music (金陵琴派) — The Jinling (Nanjing) school of guqin playing emphasizes bold, resonant tones and dramatic pauses — reflecting the city's history of political upheaval and philosophical depth. The tradition dates to the Six Dynasties period (220–589 CE).
Day 5
From Nanjing to Wuhan
Nanjing · 南京 · Southern Capital of Six Dynasties
Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum 明孝陵
The tomb of Zhu Yuanzhang, the peasant rebel who overthrew the Mongol Yuan dynasty and founded the Ming — one of Chinese history's most consequential figures. The Sacred Way — flanked by 12 pairs of stone animals and 4 pairs of officials — leads through ancient cypress forest to the burial mound. UNESCO World Heritage.
Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum 中山陵
A monumental staircase of 392 steps ascending Purple Mountain to the tomb of the father of modern China. The blue-tiled roof symbolizes the sky, the white marble walls the sun — together representing the Republic's flag. The 80,000-tree forest surrounding it was planted by citizens in the 1920s, now a UNESCO-listed ecosystem.
City Wall & Zhonghua Gate 明城墙·中华门
At 35.3 km, Nanjing's city wall is the longest ancient city wall in the world. Built 1366–1393 using 350 million individually stamped bricks, each traceable to its kiln and the official who supervised its firing. The Zhonghua Gate — the largest surviving castle-gate in the world — has four concentric enclosures that could trap and annihilate an invading army.

Cultural Highlights

🍜 Signature Dish: Tangbao (Giant Soup Dumplings) (汤包) — Nanjing's version of soup dumplings are colossal — a single dumpling can contain a full cup of broth. Served in bamboo steamers with a straw inserted to sip the scalding soup before eating the wrapper and pork filling. The technique requires extreme precision in pleating to prevent leaks.
🎨 Artifact: Nanjing Massacre Memorial (侵华日军南京大屠杀遇难同胞纪念馆) — A solemn memorial and museum documenting the December 1937 atrocity. The architectural design — a fractured, angular concrete structure — conveys the enormity of the tragedy. The memorial is both a place of mourning and a statement that the lessons of history must never be forgotten.
🎵 Music: Nanjing Baiju Storytelling (南京白局) — A 700-year-old narrative performance art unique to Nanjing, combining singing, speaking, and percussion in the Nanjing dialect. The stories draw from local history, legends, and daily life — a grassroots tradition that survived despite never gaining the elite patronage enjoyed by Kunqu.

🚄 Transport Options

Rail (Number) Flight (Number) Depart from Hotel Arrival
D6103 InUse CZ7177 12:30 lunch, then Train D6103 at 14:00 16:30 Wuhan
Day 6
Discovering Wuhan
Wuhan · 武汉 · River City at the Heart of China
Yellow Crane Tower 黄鹤楼
One of the Four Great Towers of China, first built in 223 CE on Snake Hill overlooking the Yangtze. Destroyed and rebuilt 13 times, the current 51-metre, five-storey tower dates to 1985 but follows Tang dynasty blueprints. Li Bai, the greatest Tang poet, wrote his farewell poem here: 'I watch the lonely sail disappear into the blue sky, only the Yangtze flowing toward the horizon.'
Hubei Provincial Museum 湖北省博物馆
Home to the Marquis Yi of Zeng's Bronze Chime Bells — a set of 65 bells weighing 4.5 tonnes, buried in 433 BCE and still playable today with perfect pitch across five octaves. The bells are the most significant musical instrument ever discovered and prove that 2,400 years ago, Chinese metallurgists had mastered acoustic engineering.
East Lake Cherry Blossom Park 东湖樱花园
The largest lake within any Chinese city (33 km²), East Lake transforms in March when 10,000 cherry trees bloom simultaneously. The cherry blossom tradition — gifted by Japan in the 1970s as a gesture of reconciliation — now draws millions of visitors for hanami-style picnics along the lakeside cycling paths.

Cultural Highlights

🍜 Signature Dish: Hot Dry Noodles (热干面) — Wuhan's essential breakfast: alkaline noodles tossed with toasted sesame paste, soy sauce, pickled radish, and chili oil — served without broth, sticky and intensely nutty. Five million bowls are consumed daily. The dish is so central to Wuhan identity that during the 2020 lockdown, hot dry noodle emojis became symbols of citywide solidarity.
🎨 Artifact: Marquis Yi Bronze Bells (曾侯乙编钟) — 65 bronze bells weighing 4.5 tonnes, tuned to play in twelve chromatic tones across five octaves — 2,400 years old and still pitch-perfect. The largest bell weighs 203 kg. The set proves that ancient Chinese metallurgists had achieved acoustic precision not matched in Europe until the 18th century.
🎵 Music: Chime Bell Concerts (编钟音乐会) — The Hubei Provincial Museum performs daily concerts on replica bronze bells — the same tones that filled Chu kingdom banquet halls 2,400 years ago. The deep, resonant, precisely tuned notes demonstrate that Chinese musical theory had achieved extraordinary sophistication centuries before Pythagoras.
Day 7
Exploring Wuhan
Wuhan · 武汉 · River City at the Heart of China
Yellow Crane Tower 黄鹤楼
One of the Four Great Towers of China, first built in 223 CE on Snake Hill overlooking the Yangtze. Destroyed and rebuilt 13 times, the current 51-metre, five-storey tower dates to 1985 but follows Tang dynasty blueprints. Li Bai, the greatest Tang poet, wrote his farewell poem here: 'I watch the lonely sail disappear into the blue sky, only the Yangtze flowing toward the horizon.'
Hubei Provincial Museum 湖北省博物馆
Home to the Marquis Yi of Zeng's Bronze Chime Bells — a set of 65 bells weighing 4.5 tonnes, buried in 433 BCE and still playable today with perfect pitch across five octaves. The bells are the most significant musical instrument ever discovered and prove that 2,400 years ago, Chinese metallurgists had mastered acoustic engineering.
East Lake Cherry Blossom Park 东湖樱花园
The largest lake within any Chinese city (33 km²), East Lake transforms in March when 10,000 cherry trees bloom simultaneously. The cherry blossom tradition — gifted by Japan in the 1970s as a gesture of reconciliation — now draws millions of visitors for hanami-style picnics along the lakeside cycling paths.

Cultural Highlights

🍜 Signature Dish: Doupi (豆皮) — A Wuhan street-food masterpiece: a thin crepe of mung bean and rice batter pan-fried crisp, then folded over a filling of glutinous rice, diced pork, dried shrimp, and mushrooms. Sliced into golden rectangles — crispy outside, chewy within — it is eaten standing at dawn at Lao Tongcheng, Wuhan's 94-year-old doupi institution.
🎨 Artifact: Chu Kingdom Silk (楚国丝绸) — The Chu kingdom (c. 1030–223 BCE) centered on Wuhan produced the world's earliest known silk embroidery — the Mawangdui silk from nearby Changsha. Wuhan's museums display Chu-era silk painted with dragons, phoenixes, and shamanic figures that reveal a culture of extraordinary artistic sophistication.
🎵 Music: Chu Opera (Chuqu) (楚剧) — Hubei's regional opera, descended from the songs and dances of the ancient Chu kingdom. Performed in Wuhan dialect with a distinctive five-note vocal scale, it is among the most melodically beautiful of China's 300+ opera forms.
Day 8
Exploring Wuhan
Wuhan · 武汉 · River City at the Heart of China
Yellow Crane Tower 黄鹤楼
One of the Four Great Towers of China, first built in 223 CE on Snake Hill overlooking the Yangtze. Destroyed and rebuilt 13 times, the current 51-metre, five-storey tower dates to 1985 but follows Tang dynasty blueprints. Li Bai, the greatest Tang poet, wrote his farewell poem here: 'I watch the lonely sail disappear into the blue sky, only the Yangtze flowing toward the horizon.'
Hubei Provincial Museum 湖北省博物馆
Home to the Marquis Yi of Zeng's Bronze Chime Bells — a set of 65 bells weighing 4.5 tonnes, buried in 433 BCE and still playable today with perfect pitch across five octaves. The bells are the most significant musical instrument ever discovered and prove that 2,400 years ago, Chinese metallurgists had mastered acoustic engineering.
East Lake Cherry Blossom Park 东湖樱花园
The largest lake within any Chinese city (33 km²), East Lake transforms in March when 10,000 cherry trees bloom simultaneously. The cherry blossom tradition — gifted by Japan in the 1970s as a gesture of reconciliation — now draws millions of visitors for hanami-style picnics along the lakeside cycling paths.

Cultural Highlights

🍜 Signature Dish: Wuchang Fish (武昌鱼) — Bream from the Yangtze, steamed whole with ginger, scallion, and Shaoxing wine. Chairman Mao famously swam the Yangtze at Wuhan in 1966 and ate Wuchang fish afterward. The dish is inseparable from both the city's river identity and its revolutionary mythology.
🎨 Artifact: Wuhan Revolutionary Sites (武汉革命遗址) — The Wuchang Uprising of October 10, 1911 — launched from a Wuhan barracks — ended 2,000 years of imperial rule and established the Republic of China. The Military Government building, Sun Yat-sen's Wuhan headquarters, and the 1927 Peasant Movement Institute (where Mao taught) form a circuit of revolutionary history.
🎵 Music: Yangtze River Work Songs (长江号子) — For millennia, boatmen on the Yangtze's dangerous gorge sections coordinated their oars with powerful, rhythmic chanting — the han zi. These work songs — now UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage — are the sonic embodiment of humanity's struggle with China's mightiest river.
Day 9
Departure — Farewell to Wuhan
Wuhan · 武汉 · River City at the Heart of China
Yellow Crane Tower 黄鹤楼
One of the Four Great Towers of China, first built in 223 CE on Snake Hill overlooking the Yangtze. Destroyed and rebuilt 13 times, the current 51-metre, five-storey tower dates to 1985 but follows Tang dynasty blueprints. Li Bai, the greatest Tang poet, wrote his farewell poem here: 'I watch the lonely sail disappear into the blue sky, only the Yangtze flowing toward the horizon.'
Hubei Provincial Museum 湖北省博物馆
Home to the Marquis Yi of Zeng's Bronze Chime Bells — a set of 65 bells weighing 4.5 tonnes, buried in 433 BCE and still playable today with perfect pitch across five octaves. The bells are the most significant musical instrument ever discovered and prove that 2,400 years ago, Chinese metallurgists had mastered acoustic engineering.
East Lake Cherry Blossom Park 东湖樱花园
The largest lake within any Chinese city (33 km²), East Lake transforms in March when 10,000 cherry trees bloom simultaneously. The cherry blossom tradition — gifted by Japan in the 1970s as a gesture of reconciliation — now draws millions of visitors for hanami-style picnics along the lakeside cycling paths.

Cultural Highlights

🍜 Signature Dish: Hot Dry Noodles (热干面) — Wuhan's essential breakfast: alkaline noodles tossed with toasted sesame paste, soy sauce, pickled radish, and chili oil — served without broth, sticky and intensely nutty. Five million bowls are consumed daily. The dish is so central to Wuhan identity that during the 2020 lockdown, hot dry noodle emojis became symbols of citywide solidarity.
🎨 Artifact: Marquis Yi Bronze Bells (曾侯乙编钟) — 65 bronze bells weighing 4.5 tonnes, tuned to play in twelve chromatic tones across five octaves — 2,400 years old and still pitch-perfect. The largest bell weighs 203 kg. The set proves that ancient Chinese metallurgists had achieved acoustic precision not matched in Europe until the 18th century.
🎵 Music: Chime Bell Concerts (编钟音乐会) — The Hubei Provincial Museum performs daily concerts on replica bronze bells — the same tones that filled Chu kingdom banquet halls 2,400 years ago. The deep, resonant, precisely tuned notes demonstrate that Chinese musical theory had achieved extraordinary sophistication centuries before Pythagoras.

📸 Journey Reflections — Photographs You'll Treasure Forever

As you depart, carry with you not just photographs but the weight of lived experience across 3 cities and 8 nights.

📷 Shanghai: The unforgettable sight of The Bund — a moment etched in memory.
📷 Nanjing: The unforgettable sight of Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum — a moment etched in memory.
📷 Wuhan: The unforgettable sight of Yellow Crane Tower — a moment etched in memory.

再见中国 — Zàijiàn Zhōngguó. Until we meet again.

Ready to begin your Yangtze River Cities journey?

📞 Enquire Now 💬 WhatsApp