Chongqing Three Gorges Dam, Chongqing Region, China

5Pat Ives 5:00 PM Sep 21, 2013

Stupendous Viking Emerald
Just returned from a 13 day Viking Emerald cruise on the Yangste and stay in Shanghai, Xian and Beijing. We had a wonderful time. The ship was really nice and the food was great with unlimited wine, beer and soft drinks at meal times which was a bonus. The staff could not do enough for you and our tour guide was knowledgeable, amusing and very conscientious. I thought I would add some of my observations which may help fellow travellers. China This is an amazing country. Much more modern and cleaner than I had expected. The shops near the Ritz Carlton are all designer shops - Tiffany, Chanel, Gucci etc but you can also find a MacDonalds and a Starbucks. There is also a supermarket down the escalator outside of the hotel front entrance. The main tourist attractions such as the Terracotta Army and the Great Wall are absolutely awesome but there is quite a lot of walking and climbing of stairs and steep slopes involved with some of the visits so you should not book this trip if you have difficulty walking. Tipping The suggested tips are quite high but they were well deserved. However, we met at least one couple who never tip and another who said they did not intend to tip the full amount suggested. Two envelopes are left in your room on the day before you disembark and there is a box in reception in which to place your envelope so they are anonymous. Tips are supposed to be divided equally amongst all the staff. As I suspected that the division may not be entirely equal, I did hold back some money to tip our waitresses and room steward separately. Tips for the river cruise are meant to be calculated on a 5 day basis. Your tour guide however, is with you for 10 days. Having read previous reviews I took Chinese Yuan and US$. I also made sure I took 50 x 1 dollar bills for tipping drivers and local tour guides. Packed Lunches We were supplied with packed lunches on at least 2 occasions. These were very good and contained a device to keep the food cool. Internal flights We found we were also served a meal/snack on all three internal flights regardless of whether we had already eaten. Luggage was taken off the carousel for us and taken separately to our hotel which was good but sometimes meant we went out for meals in the evening before our luggage turned up so it Hotels The hotels used are of very high standard and they tend to be skyscrapers. I hate lifts and we were allocated rooms on the 45th floor of one hotel and the 28th of another. With hindsight I should have emailed the hotels in advance of our arrival and requested a low floor. The toiletries available came in very useful when our luggage failed to arrive before we went out for dinner, but you might want to pack a change of clothes in your carry on luggage when going on the internal flights Evening excursions The acrobatic show at the Ritz Carlton in Shanghai is absolutely amazing. The optional dinner show at the Tang Dynasty, Xian was very good but we did not go the Peking Duck dinner as we could not see the point of paying for a meal when one was supplied free of charge anyway. We chose not to go to the Opera either and as this was the last night, I felt we had made the right choice as we got to enjoy a really nice leisurely dinner in our excellent Westin Hotel whereas those who did go had to have an early and somewhat rushed dinner in order to arrive at the Opera on time. River Cruise The Yangste is very dirty, lots of flotsam and jetsam. It is generally foggy and the scenery during the first couple of days was uninteresting. However, once we passed through the locks at the Three Gorges Dam the scenery became much more picturesque. Tea, coffee, biscuits and cake are always available. There is a sundeck but no swimming pool. There is always something to do, the resident singers are very good and our tour guide showed us how to play Mahjong which is something I have always wanted to learn. Shopping The places you are taken to by the tour guides tend to be overpriced, partly because they are often government owned but also to factor in their commission. I personally avoid buying anything at all in these establishments, but having said that, there is little opportunity to go shopping independently although we did find some cheaper shops near the Great Wall where we had great fun bargaining. We certainly had a wonderful time and can thoroughly recommend this trip

4Mikeview 5:00 PM May 2, 2013

Dam Big Dam
Size alone makes this a most impressive site and the Chinese have turned this into a major tourist attraction. The assent to the dam overlook area is facilitated with escalators that carry tourists to the top. Here, in addition to a limited view of the dam, are offered a number of other picturesque views and objects of interest. As the largest hydroelectric dam in the world, it has raised the water level in the Yangtze over 100 meters and provides as much as 10% of China's hydroelectric power.