The Yangtze is China's longest river and the third longest in the world at 6300km, emanating from the snow covered Tanggulashan mountains in south-west Qinghai and cutting its way through Tibet and seven Chinese provinces before emptying into the East China Sea just north of Shanghai.
A ferry ride from Chongqing to Shanghai, a 2400km journey, takes a week. The gorges themselves are stretched along a 200km route, and vary from 300m at their widest to less than 100m at their narrowest. The seasonal difference in water level can be as much as 50m.
Qutang is the smallest of the gorges (only 8km long), although the water flows most rapidly here. Wu gorge is about 40km in length and the cliffs on either side rise to just over 900m. Xiling gorge is the longest of the three gorges at 80km.