On the night of 1 June 2015, the ship was traveling on the Yangtze River when it capsized during a thunderstorm in Jianli, Hubei Province with 454 people on board.

The final investigation concluded the ship navigated into a squall line (the biggest scale of thunderstorm) from 21:19 onwards, blasted by a downburst (a form of windshear) from 21:26 to 21:32, capsized at 21:31, and sank at 21:32.

[9][10] It was once widely believed that the tornado struck the river near the ship's location,[11] but later investigation suggested that the tornado struck a location 8 km away and did not affect the ship;[12] instead, based on Doppler radar data and other evidence, the official report found that a massive downburst in the thunderstorm, with gusts over 118 km/h (73 mph) (12–13 on the Beaufort scale), was the likely cause of the capsizing.

One rescued passenger stated that the ship had become flooded with water, and with the turbulent river conditions, capsized after experiencing a list greater than 45 degrees.

There is no confirmation that Dongfang zhi Xing had been properly notified,[11] though at least one other vessel travelling nearby was shown to have taken precautions due to the weather warning.

The Politburo Standing Committee attempted to control public opinion about the disaster response, by issuing an order to both "understand the sorrow of the families" and "concretely preserve social stability".

The report said that heavy storms caused Dongfang zhi Xing to capsize; it also found that the shipping company and local authorities had flaws in their daily management and suggested that 43 people be punished accordingly.

[31] Dongfang zhi Xing, as well as other Yangtze River cruise ships, had come under increasing government scrutiny in recent years due to the growing tourist industry in China.

[34] The Three Gorges Dam upriver was instructed to cut water flow rates by half in order to lower the river levels for the rescue effort.

[38] On 7 June, more than 500 rescue workers and government officials at the site mourned during a three-minute silence, after an announcement from Minister of Transport Yang Chuantang.