The Yangze River is known in Chinese as chang jiang or "long river". The river is so long, in fact, that a popular Chinese saying dictates that if you haven't been down the Yangtze, you haven't been anywhere, for the river covers all of China from west to east. Among all of the China cruises available, boat trips down the Yangtze have become increasingly popular over the past few years. Luxury cruises, in particular, are some of the most comfortable and beautiful ways to experience a large swath of China's interior without much hassle. These are some of the incredible sights you're likely to encounter along the way.

Three Gorges. The three gorges, Qutang, Wu and Xiling, are a series of deep ravines along a 120 km-long section of the Yangtze in Hubei Province. Boasting some of the most spectacular scenery in China, the gorges are deep canyons with rising rock walls where greenery spills over the edges and unique cultures have developed inside the canyons.

Three Gorges Dam. China's biggest and most controversial on going project is the building of this massive hydroelectric power station that will dam the area and back water up into the plain, flooding the Three Gorges. The dam itself is a true feat of human engineering, cruises down the Yangtze allow visitors a chance to go aground and marvel at this, the world's largest dam in the making.

Whitewashed Wall. A marvellous sight when floating down the river through the Qutang Gorge is this massive tableau of ancient Chinese characters that have been inscribed on the face of the cliff wall. Several calligraphers were responsible for the carvings, which were completed during the Song and Qing Dynasties, between 500 and 1000 years ago. The wall is so-named for its bleached appearance because of the rock's composition.