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These Photo Galleries chronicle our fantastic journey on our August, 2017 Viking River Cruise trip to China. In addition to our six day river cruise aboard the VIKING EMERALD, we spent seven days touring several cities and many land-based historical and tourist sites. While aboard ship, we sailed down the most scenic stretch of the Yangtze River, passing through the Three Gorges including stops at Xiling, Wu, and Qutang. We also passed through the locks of the Three Gorges Dam, which has a 300 foot drop!
We could not have asked for better traveling companions than the two couples who were with us: Carl, Lynn, Pete, and Sue. We also met another couple onboard ship who were from Pensacola. What a small world! And too, I would be remiss if I did not send out a special thanks to Pam Spillar of AAA Travel who often went above and beyond to ensure our plane flights, visas, and a thousand other things were in order so we would have a stress-free trip.
I could write a book on my thoughts about China after our two weeks there. Short version: China is a country of contradictions. It was nothing like I expected. It was everything I expected. In so many ways, it was much better and sometimes much worse than I thought it would be. China literally overflows with ancient history, traditions, and time-honored skills; something we learned their younger people are often not inclined to adopt. But China also has modern problems, such as air pollution and building sufficient housing for their increasing population. The frequent smog was a big problem for taking photos as you will see when you view these.
And to everyone who has asked: YES, there are Wal-Marts in China, and NO, we did not see anything "Made in America" there. We did see a lot of American-made cars on the city streets; mostly Fords, Buicks, and Chevys. It appears that everyone in China has at least one smartphone and they loved to have their photo taken with us. For example, at the Great Wall of China while Norma and Sue hiked all the way to the highest point along our section of the wall, Lynn, Carl and I repeatedly had our photo taken with local folks, all at their request (now we know what it's like to be famous, if just for a short while).
Please note that I "borrowed freely" from our Viking Cruise Documents when describing all these places. I trust they will not be offended. And, I hope you enjoy viewing these photos as much as Sue, Norma, and I did taking them.
We could not have asked for better traveling companions than the two couples who were with us: Carl, Lynn, Pete, and Sue. We also met another couple onboard ship who were from Pensacola. What a small world! And too, I would be remiss if I did not send out a special thanks to Pam Spillar of AAA Travel who often went above and beyond to ensure our plane flights, visas, and a thousand other things were in order so we would have a stress-free trip.
I could write a book on my thoughts about China after our two weeks there. Short version: China is a country of contradictions. It was nothing like I expected. It was everything I expected. In so many ways, it was much better and sometimes much worse than I thought it would be. China literally overflows with ancient history, traditions, and time-honored skills; something we learned their younger people are often not inclined to adopt. But China also has modern problems, such as air pollution and building sufficient housing for their increasing population. The frequent smog was a big problem for taking photos as you will see when you view these.
And to everyone who has asked: YES, there are Wal-Marts in China, and NO, we did not see anything "Made in America" there. We did see a lot of American-made cars on the city streets; mostly Fords, Buicks, and Chevys. It appears that everyone in China has at least one smartphone and they loved to have their photo taken with us. For example, at the Great Wall of China while Norma and Sue hiked all the way to the highest point along our section of the wall, Lynn, Carl and I repeatedly had our photo taken with local folks, all at their request (now we know what it's like to be famous, if just for a short while).
Please note that I "borrowed freely" from our Viking Cruise Documents when describing all these places. I trust they will not be offended. And, I hope you enjoy viewing these photos as much as Sue, Norma, and I did taking them.
© a Deano production