A newly built luxury cruise ship touted as the country's largest on inland rivers set sail on its maiden voyage on Friday from Chongqing port on the Yangtze River.

The cruise ship, named Presidential Flagship, will head downstream for Yichang, the location of the Three Gorges Dam, China's largest water project.

The 135.2-meter vessel has six stories and 187 rooms that can accommodate a total of 374 tourists.

It has a tonnage of 1.2 tonnes that is close to the maximum restrictions on the Three Gorges Waterway, a scenic point that draws millions of tourists each year to behold the natural riverside beauty.

Building of the ship cost its operator, Wuhan Yangtze River Cruise Company, 180 million yuan (about 27 million U.S. dollars), said Qin Cao, assistant to the general manager of the company.

Qin said the ship is highly environmentally friendly as it is equipped with advanced facilities to deal with daily waste as well as power pollutants.