The Picture of Yangtze River Cruiser Passing Three Gorges

The Three Gorges section is considered as the Golden Route and highlight designed by all the Yangtze River Cruisers. Numerous references to the Yangtze are found in Chinese mythology and literature. Many sites on the Yangtze are locations of incidents described in the well-known 14th-century novel Sanguozhi yanyi (The Romance of the Three Kingdoms). Chinese poets have written extensively about the beauty of the middle and lower Yangtze and the hazards of the gorges. During the 1860's and 1870's American merchant ships were prominent on the lower Yangtze, operating up to the deep water port of Hankou 300 miles inland. In 1901 American-flag merchant vessels returned to the Yangtze when Standard Oil Company placed a steam tanker in service on the lower river. Economic development of the Yangtze Basin received a major boost from northern extensions of the Grand Canal between the 7th and 14th centuries. The canal provided an efficient means of transporting the agricultural products of the Yangtze Basin to northern China and, especially, the national capital, Beijing. In the 19th century, Shanghai and inland settlements developed as ports of trade with some connections to Western markets…