2012 Cruise Companion and Shore Excursions - Uniworld River ...

Grand China & the Yangtze
Day 8 | Suzhou, Shanghai BB, L, D
Featured Excursions: Humble Administrator’s Garden tour
and Embroidery Institute visit 8 2 b
The beautiful waterside city of Suzhou is a cultural mecca
known for its magnificent gardens, silk, and embroidery.
You’ll begin your day here with a visit to the famous Humble
Administrator’s Garden, which covers over 12 acres (5 hectares)
and is the city’s largest and most famous garden. Listed as
a UNESCO World Heritage Site and originally built in 1509
during the Ming Dynasty, the Humble Administrator’s Garden
is the perfect place for you to explore the elegance of China’s
carefully designed classical gardens.
Afterward, enjoy a visit to the Embroidery Institute, where you
will have the chance to learn more about this intricate art form
and the opportunity to buy handmade pieces to take home with
you. In the late afternoon, you’ll travel to Shanghai and transfer
to your hotel, where you’ll enjoy a delicious buffet dinner.
Day 9 | Shanghai BB, L, D
Featured Excursions: Shanghai city tour and Acrobats
performance 8 1 b f p
Bustling Shanghai is the commercial capital of China, and
today’s tour will take you to some of this sprawling city’s
most impressive sights. Begin with a stroll through Old
Town—with its teahouses, temples, narrow alleyways, and
markets—for a taste of historic Shanghai. You will have the
traditional local food, dim sum, for lunch. Then, it’s on to the
Bund, Shanghai’s famed waterfront promenade. Built along
the Huangpu River, the Bund features exhilarating street life
and beautiful architecture; it’s also an ideal spot for taking
pictures of Pudong’s famous skyline.
In the evening, be dazzled by the amazing, gravity-defying
stunts of the Shanghai Acrobats.
Day 10 | Shanghai, fly to Yichang b d e BB, L, D
Featured Excursions: Oriental Pearl TV Tower and Shanghai
Municipal History Museum 8 1 b m
Today, you will visit the iconic Oriental Pearl TV Tower. One of
the tallest towers in Asia at 1,535 feet (468 m), the Oriental
Pearl TV Tower provides a bird’s-eye view of Shanghai, the
“Pearl of the Orient.” After your elevator ride to the sky-high
observation decks, you’ll have a chance to explore the Shanghai
Municipal History Museum on the ground floor of the tower.
Yangtze River. The Yangtze River is the third-longest river in
the world and your cruise will show you some of its most
beautiful sights.
Day 11 | Cruising the Yangtze River, Three Gorges Dam
BB, L, D
Featured Excursion: Three Gorges Dam 6 2 b p
You’ll begin your day with a visit to the site of the Three
Gorges Dam. After more than a decade of construction, the
dam body was finished in 2006 (though the final components
of the dam’s underground power plant are not expected to
become fully operational until 2012). The Three Gorges
Dam harnesses the power of the mighty Yangtze in order
to provide electricity to ever-growing China. In addition, the
dam is designed to provide relief from the loss of life and
property previously caused by frequent flooding in many
riverside cities.
This evening, enjoy a delightful Captain’s Welcome Reception
onboard your ship, followed by a fashion show presenting
beautiful clothes and traditional costumes from China’s
history, culminating in the modern styles of China today.
Day 12 | Cruising the Yangtze River, Lesser Gorges BB, L, D
Featured Excursion: Lesser Gorges 7 1 S p
This morning, you’ll sail through the dramatic shoals and
verdant cliffs of Xiling Gorge, the longest and deepest of the
famed Three Gorges, with cliffs that rise around you to heights
of up to 4,000 feet (1,219 m). Then sail through the Wu Gorge.
In the afternoon, you’re in for a real treat. You’ll board a
riverboat and embark on a voyage through the enchanting
Lesser Gorges of the Daning River. This intimate encounter
with the area’s striking scenery is truly a once-in-a-lifetime
experience.
Then, return to your cruise ship and continue down the
Yangtze. Today’s journey will take you through Quatang
Gorge, whose stunning scenery is justly celebrated as some
of the most beautiful in all of China. Your luxury ship provides
the perfect setting for soaking up the breathtaking views of
mist-shrouded mountains and jagged limestone cliffs that
surround you on either side as you make your way down the
river. In the evening, sit back and enjoy or jump in to show
off your own talents as the crew performs a cabaret.
Grand China & the Yangtze
Then you’ll fly to Yichang, where you’ll board your luxurious
Victoria Cruises ship to begin your journey down the mighty
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