March 18, 2016

Viking River cruise/tour Imperial Jewels of China    

There are less than 6 days before we go to China.

To travel to China, a visa is required.  We applied for the Chinese tourist visa December 14^th and received it on January 7^th.  The flights were changed twice from the original itinerary given to us in December, when applying for the Chinese visa. 

We ordered Chinese yuan currency for the trip in early March.  It was ready to pick up in less than 4 business days.

On March 15^th, we received our trip package of information including the flights, hotels, river cruise reservations and some notes on itinerary destinations.

I have also made a list of our hotels and included the names in Mandarin in case we need directions back to one of our hotels.

The 13 day itinerary starts in Shanghai, after a flight of about  12 hours, the return flight to Vancouver is 80 minutes shorter.  There is a 13 hour time difference.

We stay for two nights in Shanghai near the waterfront Bund District of 19^th century European style buildings. Tours will include Old Shang hai and Yu Garden plus an evening performance of a Chinese Acrobatic Troupe.

 We will be cruising for five days on part of the Yangtze River, China’s longest river, between Wuhan and Chongqing.  We will float along the misty Three Gorges limestone canyon, including locks near the dam. There will be a tour of the Three Gorges Hydroelectric Dam and a sampan boat voyage into a narrower canyon.  There will be a stop to see a 17^th century temple on the last full day.  We hope to see the Giant Pandas at the Chongqing Zoo, before catching the flight to Xi’an.  Around the area near Xi’an, there have been several Chinese Dynasty capitals dating from 221 BC to the late 900s AD.  During the time of the Silk Road trading route, Xi’an was then called Chang’an (Perpetual Peace). The world famous life-size Terra Cotta Warriors statues, from the tomb of Emperor Qin Shihuang constructed 246–206 BC., are nearby . We will spend several hours at that location.

The journey ends with a few days in Beijing, exploring Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Sacred Way and the Great Wall.

The Internet connections will be sporatic in China and not available at all on the Yangze River cruise.

We will post entires when we can get a good connection.