By CHRISTINE HAMILTON

Going east: This was Christine and Neil's first visit to China


Watching my husband Neil construct a dry-stone wall around our vegetable garden reminded me I had never set foot on the Great Wall Of China. Action was needed. And so we arrived in Shanghai for two nights, before flying to Wuhan to join Viking Century Sun on a cruise up the mighty Yangtze river.

Dishevelled after a 13-hour flight, we arrived at our hotel to find the entrance locked. Some mistake, surely? We were a group of ten, plus escort, and this was a five-star hotel. It transpired that Hillary Clinton was about to leave, so all entrances bar one were locked.

There are 4,000 skyscrapers in Shanghai, and World Expo was in full swing. The city was fizzing and the night skyline breathtaking. Our room overlooked the Bund, the elegant walk along the HuangPu river, whence we scampered for an early-evening stroll. I was amused to see a sign: 'Toilets: Walk backwards and then advance straight.' So that was simple. Later in the trip I spotted another: 'Grass smiling, please let it alone.'

We battled jet-lag to dine on fried frog in hot chilli oil, followed by braised live abalone with oyster sauce and duck tongue with stuffed lotus root, washed down with osmanthus tea, and finished off (well, I was) with wuliangye, a fearsome liquor.

We were in the care of Jessie, our guide for the whole trip. She spoke impeccable English and always had a twinkle in her eye. The Duke of Edinburgh may have opined on the ocular features of the chinese but, she told us, they retaliate in kind by calling us 'Big Nose'.

We explored the narrow lanes of Old Shanghai, the five-acre Yuyan gardens, where Ming emperors had dallied with their concubines, and the Shanghai Museum's treasure trove of ancient Chinese art and culture. Heads spinning with dynastic information about the Shang, the Zhou, the Xin and the tang, not to mention the Ming and the Qing, that evening we were dazzled by a gravity-defying acrobatic display. Tired, but with the charms of Shanghai far from exhausted, we welcomed the prospect of five days aboard ship to recuperate and enjoy the towering scenery.


Lost in translation: Christine spotted a sign in Shanghai whose advice was just a little jumbled


Flowing from the Tibetan Plateau to the East China Sea, the Yangtze is a natural division between north and south. Life on board is relaxed with plenty to occupy the time and mind. Lessons in Chinese enabled us, at least, to greet our hosts with 'hello' and 'thank you', but a language where the same word pronounced almost imperceptibly differently means either 'motherin-law' or 'pig' is fraught with danger for the unwary.

The prices of the resident Chinese tailor were irresistible and, with admirable restraint, i opted for just two glorious silk jackets and one for neil, run up in hours for less than the cost of one back home

Chinese history is totally absorbing and daily talks enlightened us. We passed under the Wuhan Bridge where in 1966 chairman Mao, then in his 70s, famously swam across the Yangtze. China was then in the throes of economic catastrophe and widespread famine when Mao theatrically signalled that he was in robust health and well able to withstand his critics.

The river bustles and ancient meets modern as tiny sampans bob in the muddy brown wake of enormous coal barges and freighters. Gilded temples and pagodas rise majestically over industrial wharfs while, high above in the sheer rock face of the gorge, ancient coffins are suspended in caves, their residents undisturbed for centuries.

Rural china is very poor, and Viking River Cruises sponsors a school at Yueyang where the enthusiasm of the children was infectious. Their song-and-dance show brought tears to the eyes and their appetite for learning might ensure they have a better life than their parents. It takes a day to pass through the gorges, at times only about 165ft wide, while wooded buttresses of granite tower above, waterfalls cascade down and wild monkeys scamper among the trees.

The controversial Three Gorges Dam (the world's largest) is a symbol of Chinese pride and power. As well as enormous hydro-electric output, it increases shipping capacity and protects villages downstream from the flooding that has claimed millions of lives since time immemorial.


Stunning: A cruise down the Yangtze will bring you into contact with incredibly dramatic scenery


But more than a million people were compulsorily moved from their homes, hundreds of towns, villages and historic sites flooded and communities destroyed for its construction. Still, we were tourists, there not to judge but to marvel at an amazing feat of engineering in an area of awe-inspiring natural beauty.

We had settled into life on board, enjoying the tranquillity and excellent cuisine. The Crew Cabaret on our last evening was unexpectedly enchanting, with mechanics and stewards displaying dazzling skills as dancers, singers and acrobats. Somewhat reluctantly, we left at Chonqing, picking our way along the jetty past another world where people were ekeing a living selling a few vegetables, postcards or souvenirs.

We flew to Xi'an, home of the Terracotta Warriors and giant pandas. The latter would melt the hardest heart and I defy anyone not to experience a childlike delight at their munching on bamboo. In stark contrast, the warriors and horsemen, a mere fraction of whom have been uncovered to date, genuinely inspire awe. Despite having seen 120 on display at the British Museum years ago, I was unprepared for the sheer majesty and scale of the ancient burial site where, in 210 BC, the first Emperor Quin Shi Huang had 8,000 clay soldiers, larger than life-size, buried with him to protect him in the afterlife. One can only hope, after all that effort, it worked.

Last stop the capital Beijing. The Great Wall is a well trodden tourist path but a short stride along leaves 90 per cent of visitors behind and the views are breathtaking.

The infamous Tiananmen Square, which can hold up to 600,000 people, is home to Mao's Mausoleum. The terrible events of 1989, when possibly 3,000 protesters were killed, seemed a distant memory as we wended our way across to the Forbidden City.

The world's largest surviving palace, for almost 500 years the home of emperors, is now the Palace Museum where you could lose yourself for hours. As you wander among the courtyards, the roofs entrance the eye with their green and yellow glazed tiles and statuettes of dragons.

After an ample lunch (handling chopsticks like natives), we took a short ferry trip across the lake at the Summer Palace, a masterpiece of Chinese landscape design where the pavilions, halls, palaces and temples blend harmoniously with the natural hills and open water in an enchanting aesthetic experience.


Green shoots: No visit to China is complete without an encounter with a Giant Panda


Rarely, if ever, have I enjoyed such a culturally rich and historically interesting trip. We were absorbed and charmed by the genuine warmth of welcome and the eagerness of our hosts to share their history and hopes for an even greater future.

China is rapidly changing and my regret is that this was only my first visit and not a return to compare with 20 years ago. I'll be back.

Travel Facts
Viking River Cruises (020 8780 7900, www.vikingrivercruises.co.uk) offers a 13-day Jewels Of China cruise from £2,495. This includes flights to Shanghai and back from Beijing, five nights' full-board on the cruise ship, two nights in Shanghai, one in Xi'an and three in Beijing, guided tours, internal flights and a cultural highlights programme.


source: dailymail