Viking China

[caribill]

Question about the Great Wall -- Stairs up are okay, but stairs down are hard on the knees. Then I read about the toboggan down. Does our bus stop near the section that includes that ride, and did anybody try it to get down from the top of the Wall?

 

If you walk up, you will be walking down.

 

No ride.

[no fuss travel]

Go to the right on the Great Wall, the steps are not as bad as the steps to the left. Some people were taking them very slowly.

[Turtles06]

Question about the Great Wall -- Stairs up are okay, but stairs down are hard on the knees. Then I read about the toboggan down. Does our bus stop near the section that includes that ride, and did anybody try it to get down from the top of the Wall?

 

As I understand it (and those who have already gone, pls confirm), Viking takes us to the Badaling section of the Great Wall, which is not the section with the toboggan down. That section is Mutianyu. (We'll be arriving in Beijing a couple of days early, and one thing we hope to do is go to Mutianyu.)

 

http://www.tour-beijing.com/great_wall/mutianyu.php

[gooch47]

Pretty sure it would be Badaling for both trips. (We took the Cultural Delights one.)

[SFSusan]

Is there a river guide book included in the documents from Viking, or available on board the boat? I'm looking for something that shows each city or attraction so you can follow it as you cruise, as well as something that might show cutaways for certain points so you can see what's below the water -- immersed villages, temples, etc.

[no fuss travel]

Viking gives you a couple of books that describe in detail what you are seeing. There is one that does it on a day to day basis and another one full of facts.

[Peregrina651]

Is there a river guide book included in the documents from Viking, or available on board the boat? I'm looking for something that shows each city or attraction so you can follow it as you cruise, as well as something that might show cutaways for certain points so you can see what's below the water -- immersed villages, temples, etc.

 

We get a book that describes the various sights we will be seeing but not a mile by mile map that tells us the various cities and towns that we passed by. The only thing that comes close is a map fan-folded picture book of the river that features an aerial view of the Three Gorges. You can't buy it on the ship but only from the vendors when you visit the dam. The cost is 200y (if you negotiate well) but 100 if you shop the vendors mall opposite the dock.

[PSL Ag]

Just returned from the Sept. 13-24th Imperial Jewels trip. A few comments/impressions:

 

I have travelled in many parts of the world via work and vacation, and I've never been anyplace where the people of that country are so nice, friendly, and seemed truly glad to have you visit! Everywhere you went, the smiles were the highlight of the trip! I guess I probably had the image of communist china from the 70's, and that is far from the case. Things are changing dramatically in China, as we all know, and it is most visible in the people.

 

The trip was a true experience in all manners. The wall is more impressive than pictures lead you to believe, the terra cotta warriors is as impressive as egyptian relics, etc.

 

 

The biggest negative was the overwhelming air pollution in Beijing, Xian, along the Yangtze, etc, until the cool front hit as we got to Wuhan and then in Shanghai. I was familiar with China's huge dependence on Coal for electrical generation, but the pollution was far greater than any of us could imagine. With the hot weather (unusual for September, in the 90's to near 100, you could barely see the far end of the great wall, the city of Beijing was worse than anything we saw in L.A. in the 70's. None of the vista's that we saw during the Olympics (when they shut down nearby coal generation to keep pollution down), and in Xian, you could not see more than a couple miles through the thick smog. On the river, in the gorges, it was just as bad in many parts, particularly near the dam (could not see more than 1/3 of the way across the dam). Worst aspect was how bad the air smelled--like burnt wood on much of the trip. So, word to the wise, if you have breathing difficulties, you might bring a mask.

 

I believe that when the weather cooled, this was not a problem, per comments from a fellow passenger on the flight back who was in Beijing after the front dropped the temps into the 70's. But in hot weather, it is a mess. China is booming, but they need to do something about the incredible coal pollution that really blankets the country!

 

The Viking Century Sun was "ok", but showing some age. Doors are often open at the ports, etc, and the coal burning smell often infiltrated the ship, rather smelly at times. Also, the A/C struggled with the high temps, and humidity was pretty high. Some complained of wet sheets, and got dehumidifiers brought to their rooms. Hopefully, the new ship has better A/C system for the warm weather.

 

Climbing the Pagoda at Shibaozhai, in 100 degree heat and humidity, was a killer for a lot of people. Very sweaty! some skipped it because it was so hot. Don't see how people handle this trip in the summer months--as this was like summer weather.

 

Fortunately, the sights, scenery, and "people" offset the heat and smog aspects and made this a memorable trip--wish we'd had clear skies for the pictures, but that is the nature of China's evolution.

 

Dan Z.

[Turtles06]

PSL Ag: thanks for taking the time to post your comments. We are really looking forward to this trip!

[luvinretirement]

Is there a river guide book included in the documents from Viking, or available on board the boat? I'm looking for something that shows each city or attraction so you can follow it as you cruise, as well as something that might show cutaways for certain points so you can see what's below the water -- immersed villages, temples, etc.

 

We got our package from Viking and there is a detailed itinerary included but not much more information than there was online. Maybe there is something on the ship with more details.

[JackieSue66]

Flight Leaves tomorrow to Shanghai, for Imperial Jewels...can't wait.....details when I get back !!!!!:cool:

[gooch47]

Interesting post, PSL Ag. We didn't notice the smog anywhere, but it was probably because it was so cloudy. Could the cloudiness have really been smog? That is frightening! We did have very high heat and humidity and suffered from the wet bedding and damp clothes that never dried. We didn't notice any coal smell, either. I would have recognized that for sure growing up in a house with a coal furnace.

 

I agree totally about the people of China. Friendly, cheerful and just generally pleasant to be around.

[PSL Ag]

we only had clouds one day, the rest was air pollution/smog. The smell was extremely bad at times, and your eyes were watering/hurting after a while. I've attached a picture to show an example--a picture of all the construction in Xian, which you could hardly see because of the smog. it was a clear day

 

the day we climbed the pagoda, as I said, was 100. we were drenched by the time we got through. The golf shirt was still soaked in the room after two days, and I finally dried it out on the balcony!

 

It was good to see clean air in Shanghai, although rainy weather made the pics at the bund not to good. But as I said, it was overall a great trip.....just know what to expect going in.

[gooch47]

I have plenty of photos like that, only I blamed fog/clouds. Maybe it was smog.

[Dale]

I have plenty of photos like that, only I blamed fog/clouds. Maybe it was smog.

They like to call it “fog”, but actually it’s smog. The air was the same when we made the trip in June 2008. I reported then that the conditions, in my opinion, were not suited for people that had respiratory problems.

[H2Otstr]

Flight Leaves tomorrow to Shanghai, for Imperial Jewels...can't wait.....details when I get back !!!!!:cool:

 

Have fun.......looking forward to your comments when you return.

[luvinretirement]

Flight Leaves tomorrow to Shanghai, for Imperial Jewels...can't wait.....details when I get back !!!!!:cool:

 

Have a great time - will be very interested in your comments when you get back - we fly out on October 19th to begin the Imperial Jewels from Shanghai on October 20th.

[caribill]

Skies when we were on the Imperial Jewels tour in August. Click on a thumbnail for a larger picture.

 

1st picture Shanghai

2nd picture Pagoda at Shibaozhai

3rd picture Xi'an

4th picture Great Wall

5th picture Beijing

[PSL Ag]

Glad you had clear skies, Caribill. I'm sure it comes and goes. it was just a very bad environmental situation when we were there. here is the great wall picture when we were there, which compared to yours, is quite different. that's not fog, that's air pollution, and smelled badly! They burn so much coal for electrical power, and need to put scrubbers on the exhaust to stop the pollution.

[Turtles06]

Glad you had clear skies, Caribill. I'm sure it comes and goes. it was just a very bad environmental situation when we were there. here is the great wall picture when we were there, which compared to yours, is quite different. that's not fog, that's air pollution, and smelled badly! They burn so much coal for electrical power, and need to put scrubbers on the exhaust to stop the pollution.

 

Thanks for the pic. Looks like wall to wall people!

[castledavies]

I recommend two books for those of you who have time to read before the cruise. One has previously been recommended: River Town Two Years on the Yangtze by Peter Hessler. It is a nonfiction book written in 2001 by an American teaching school in China and gives a good account of life in China. The other is a fictional story about a young Englishman who travels the Three Gorges with dreams of daming the river: A Single Pebble. It was written by John Hersey in 1956. Hersey was a Pulitzer Prize winning writer and journalist. The story describes the gorges in great detail before the dam was built. It describes details that we will see like the Meng Liang Staircase and tells the story of the trackers who hauled the barges against the current.

[Turtles06]

I recommend two books for those of you who have time to read before the cruise. One has previously been recommended: River Town Two Years on the Yangtze by Peter Hessler. It is a nonfiction book written in 2001 by an American teaching school in China and gives a good account of life in China. The other is a fictional story about a young Englishman who travels the Three Gorges with dreams of daming the river: A Single Pebble. It was written by John Hersey in 1956. Hersey was a Pulitzer Prize winning writer and journalist. The story describes the gorges in great detail before the dam was built. It describes details that we will see like the Meng Liang Staircase and tells the story of the trackers who hauled the barges against the current.

 

Thanks for posting this. Based on the earlier recommendations on here, I recently read River Town and second (I guess by now quintuple or more) the recommendation. I think I would have found it an excellent book even if I hadn't been planning this trip. (For some reason, I haven't been able to get into Hessler's Oracle Bones as much, but maybe I just need to put that aside for now.) I will put Hersey's book on my list...

[Luv2SailAway]

I'm also going on this cruise/tour on the October 30th cruise. Not sure how to pack for it. This is my first river cruise/tour. Any suggestions for a guy would be helpful. Thanks.

[caribill]

I'm also going on this cruise/tour on the October 30th cruise. Not sure how to pack for it. This is my first river cruise/tour. Any suggestions for a guy would be helpful. Thanks.

 

No tie or jacket or formal shoes required.

[PSL Ag]

Don't overpack! easy to bring too much. And they have one day service on the ship for laundry.