Viking China (Part 2)

This is great Mark. We shall look forward to it. You will be beginning your tour and we will be ending. We will have lots to talk about.

Coco has confirmed she has us seated together, so that is all set.

Perhaps of interest to some of readers with extra time in Shanghai"

http://forward.com/articles/205055/shanghai-unveils-memorial-to--jewish-refugees/

New roll call for October 13, 2014.

New roll call for October 13, 2014.

Just returned yesterday. Had a great trip. We stayed at the Ritz, Hilton and Shangri-La starting in Beijing. Hotels #1 and #3 were magnificent. Hilton was very nice as well.

We are not into eating Asian food but breakfasts were very good at all hotels. Some of the "Lazy Susans" left something to be desired. Food on the ship was very good. Complimentary beer and wine with lunch and dinner was a nice touch. There was only one Chineese meal but western food was available.

A few men wore a tie one night but 95% did not. Attire was very casual--especially if you compare it to ocean cruises.

Rooms were comfortable but very humid. We had a dehumidifier for the entire cruise. We dumped the water 3 times a day in order to keep it running.

We found out that this sheep is leased. It was launched August 2010 and scheduled for refurbishment next winter. The lessor, has built new ships since 2010. I understand that when the lease is up on this one, Viking will lease one of the newer ships where the air conditioning problem has been repaired.

The visit to the school was a highlight for many. The children were enthralled by blonds.

We went to a museum in Wuhan and then again the next day in Shanghai. That was a bit tedious.

My wife and I always had seats together on each flight. The tickets were not given out randomly as I had heard.

The size of the cities just blew us away--Beijing-22Million, Xian-9M, Chungking-33M,Wuhan-9M and Shanghai-23M. Airports always seemed to be 1 hour to 2 hours from the hotels.

I took masks with us but never used them once. All in all, it was a great trip.

Bill

 

Rooms were comfortable but very humid. We had a dehumidifier for the entire cruise. We dumped the water 3 times a day in order to keep it running.

We found out that this sheep is leased. It was launched August 2010 and scheduled for refurbishment next winter. The lessor, has built new ships since 2010. I understand that when the lease is up on this one, Viking will lease one of the newer ships where the air conditioning problem has been repaired.

Thanks for the report, Bill. We are scheduled for April 17 Jewels. My question is of course, will the ship be replaced starting the spring of 2015, or 2016??

Mike

We were told that cruising is halted for 3 months in the winter. This is supposed to go into dry dock to be REFURBISHED. I got the impression that the lease was for quite a while. I am thinking until 2020 before they get a new ship.

Bill

We found out that this ship is leased. It was launched August 2010 and scheduled for refurbishment next winter. The lessor, has built new ships since 2010.

 

China law does not allow foreign companies to own ships that sail exclusively within China. Thus Viking (and all other foreign companies) must lease ships for China river cruises.

 

The size of the cities just blew us away--Beijing-22Million, Xian-9M, Chungking-33M,Wuhan-9M and Shanghai-23M. Airports always seemed to be 1 hour to 2 hours from the hotels. That seems high for Chunking, bigger than Beijing, bigger than Shanghai?

 

Thanks for your report.

Viking has been leasing the Emerald since the 2011 season. Prior to that it was the Century Sun. At one point, when Viking first started the Yangtze cruises, they were leasing two ships from Century. If you go back to the first Viking China thread (now closed) and read posts from the first few years, you will see mention of both ships. Viking used to start the sailing season in April and end in October; now they start in early March and end just before Thanksgiving. Between sailing seasons, the ship is docked in Chongqing and used as a restaurant.

It's been so quiet here. We need something to help pick up the pace!

All packed and ready for the airport, leaving today and arriving in Beijing 4 days early to see some sights we will not see with Viking and to help get accustomed to the time change. Airfare was arranged on our own using frequent flyer miles. The first 4 nights will be spent at Beijing Double Happiness Courtyard Hotel which was highly rated on Trip Advisor. We have reservations for both Black Sesame Kitchen and Made in China restaurants. This sight has been wonderful in helping to plan this trip. Thanks to all of you for your postings. I hope to keep you informed as to trip progresses depending on Wi Fi connection and having spare time.

All packed and ready for the airport, leaving today and arriving in Beijing 4 days early to see some sights we will not see with Viking and to help get accustomed to the time change. Airfare was arranged on our own using frequent flyer miles. The first 4 nights will be spent at Beijing Double Happiness Courtyard Hotel which was highly rated on Trip Advisor. We have reservations for both Black Sesame Kitchen and Made in China restaurants. This sight has been wonderful in helping to plan this trip. Thanks to all of you for your postings. I hope to keep you informed as to trip progresses depending on Wi Fi connection and having spare time.

Enjoy

When you return, please let us know which sites you visited in Beijing pre Viking.

Cruising couple's statement is correct. Chongking is the largest Chinese city.

After a long flight, arrived last night at Beijing airport. Went first to airports ATM machine but was unable to get money out. When I put in my card it wanted to know some sort of phone number. I put in my home phone number but that was not what it wanted. The taxi driver drove me to another banks ATM which took my card with just a pin number. The Double Happiness hotel is lovely and I see why it is ranked so well on trip advisor. The people at the desk are very helpful and breakfast is wonderful. This morning we took the subway (very easy to use) to Forbidden City where we enjoyed walking around for 5 1/2 hours. Tonight we had a marvelous dinner at Black Sesame Kitchen.

irocks,

Forbidden City is on the Roof of the World tour. Do you know something I don't...why have you done it just yourselves? We are doing reverse itinerary starting October 3rd in Shanghai.

 

The size of the cities just blew us away--Beijing-22Million, Xian-9M, Chungking-33M,Wuhan-9M and Shanghai-23M.

 

Bill

I would like to clarify some definitions concerning city(urban areas), province(states), and municipality(region under the control of the central government) so that everyone has the same reference point.

In 1997, China created four municipalities; Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, and Chongqing. These are under the direct control of the central government of China and independent of any control of the province they are located in. These are what your guide is referring to when he speaks of population. In the US, it would be similar to LA, NYC, Chicago, and Houston being governed directly from Washington, DC.

ChongQing is located in Sichuan Province whose capital is Chengdu, but Sichuan Province has no authority over the Municipality of ChongQing. The ChongQing Municipality has a population of around 30 million, but the urban area of ChongQing is well under 10 million. The city of ChongQing encompasses an area of around 230 sq miles, but the municipality of ChongQing is almost 32,000 sq. miles...the size of South Carolina. And larger than 10 states in the US. I would not classify that as a city.

In comparison, the Municipality of Shanghai has a population of 23 million and the city of Shanghai has a population of 22 million. The Municipality encompasses an area of about 2,000 sq miles...Rhode Island or Delaware and the city area is almost identical to ChongQing. So when it feels like the city of Shanghai has a larger population than the city of ChongQing, you aren't wrong...Shanghai is about 3 times the size of ChongQing population wise.

Beijing...city and municipality populations are within 1 million of each other at around 20 million. Urban area is twice the size of Shanghai and ChongQing and the municipal area is about the size of Connecticut.

So when you refer to either the city or the municipality with Shanghai or Beijing there is not much distinction with respect to population, but with ChongQing it is a totally different story.

Always take into account that even though the guides are totally proficient in English, their point of reference and ours may differ in the use of certain words.

I was in Japan asking directions for either the bus station or the train depot in English to determine which was easier for me to walk to, but I used the words station and depot interchangeably without realizing the confusion I created with the Japanese lady helping me. To her I would never find a "bus depot" or a "train station" in the entire country of Japan.

You are correct, we will be seeing Forbidden City with Viking but we wanted to spend more time than we will probably have with Viking. There is so much to see that going there twice will not be too much for us. Today we went to the Mutianyu Section of the Great Wall. It was was not crowded. There was a haze over the area but it did not hamper our enjoyment. Our hotel arranged a driver for 8 hours for 850 Yuan. This seemed like a bargain.

The one thing I forgot to pack was a hat. I was able to pick one up at the Wall for 30 Yuan. Their starting price was 85 Yuan but with a little haggling they came down in price.

I would appreciate opinions on the best way to spend the one free afternoon we have in Beijing. We are traveling with Viking Jewels in late October. Also any other resturants recommendations close to the hotel???

I would appreciate opinions on the best way to spend the one free afternoon we have in Beijing. We are traveling with Viking Jewels in late October. Also any other resturants recommendations close to the hotel???

Viking uses various hotels. Which one will you be staying at? It will make it easier to make suggestions.

My original paperwork says Westin Chaoyang is our hotel in Beijing. Thank you!

Very interesting Kohola. Thanks.

Today is the last day of exploring Beijing on our own. Tomorrow we begin our tour with Viking. We spent yesterday at Temple of Heaven and supper at Made in China for some wonderful duck. Today we went to Lama Temple and the Silk Market. The Silk Market is not what I expected. It is a mall that sells clothing, jewelry and a few other items. Lots of negotiation is needed. We offered 10% of asking price and was usually able to make our purchases for 10-20% of asking price. Many knock off items.

Helpful Hints: Back of China did not take my ATM card but ICBC Bank did. Subway is very easy to use and the ticket machines only take 5 and 10 Yuan bills. We are glad we came in a few days early and felt safe traveling about on our own. Others have told us that Google does not work here in China nor does GMail.

Others have told us that Google does not work here in China nor does GMail.

irocks thanks for the heads up. That's an important bit of information to follow up on since so many people use GMail as their main source of e-mail. I hope more people chime in on this topic with their experiences and with ideas of how they handled it.

...

When we were there in May I was able to use gmail. In fact I clearly remember sitting on a bench in the shadow of the Great Wall emailing from and receiving emails to my gmail address.

When we were there in May I was able to use gmail. In fact I clearly remember sitting on a bench in the shadow of the Great Wall emailing from and receiving emails to my gmail address.

When we were there in late May/early June, we couldn't access google or gmail. In fact, my husband's (non gmail) work email only started filtering in about 5 days after we arrived. We joked that it probably took that long for the Chinese to realize that there wasn't anything of interest to them in the communications. We could access Facebook in Hong Kong but not in mainland China. Our attempts to connect with many links (wiki, Facebook, trip advisor, etc.) resulted in non-connection (just that spinning icon), which I deduced was China's way of saying 'access denied' without actually saying it. Now, we were there around the time of the anniversary of the Tianamen Square massacre, and we were told that there was tighter control of the internet by the government at that time. But I know that Facebook is blocked but many Chinese have an alternative way to participate on it. For instance, our private guide in Beijing, Sunflower Li, has a facebook page.

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We were there in April on Imperial Jewels. I used Securitales to access Facebook since that was the best way to get information to my MIL via a friend of hers. According to their site they also work for GMail. You connect to the blocked sites thru their link. I don't remember how much it cost but it wasn't much and they also had a free trial to start with. It was very easy to cancel the service when I got home.