Just in case someone is looking for a more recent review, I travelled upstream(4 nights) on Yangtze Gold 1 in June and I loved it. The food was fine and, on the last night, there is a Chinese Banquet which came out course by course. The excursion to the Three Gorges Dam project was interesting but the best side-trip was the Lesser Three Gorges. Make sure you pay the extra to go right to the end. I was able to get a room by myself(solo traveller) without paying a supplement by "sharing" and when taken to my room, I was asked if I would like to pay to have the room for myself. I said no and then waited for my "room mate" to show up. Of course, no one did as, I suppose, they hadn't fully booked the cruise and they were just trying to get more money out of me. Most of the passengers were Chinese, in fact, I only saw one other person, who was from Germany. But a few of the staff spoke passable English so I found myself talking mostly to them. Also on the excursions, they made sure we had an English speaking guide too. All in all, it was a great way to relax and enjoy the sights on the way.