China is one of the world’s largest countries, and with more than 1.3 billion people it is the most populous. The most commonly spoken language in the world, Chinese has over 100 dialects grouped in seven families, including Mandarin and Cantonese. China’s presence and prominence as an international power has developed rapidly in the decades since Richard Nixon’s historic visit in 1972, seeming to culminate in its hosting of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.
But China and its people are perhaps the most misunderstood, because the country has traditionally been inaccessible to foreign visitors. Symbolic of this isolation is the Great Wall, whose construction was begun more than 2,000 years ago to keep out foreign invaders. China’s traditional name is Zhongguo, or Middle Kingdom; even the name of the imperial center of the Middle Kingdom, the Forbidden City, embodies China’s historic determination to keep itself free from outside influence. When Communism emerged as the ruling force in China, the isolation of the country did not lessen—if anything, it increased, and China became even more impenetrable. It is only in the past three decades that the country has welcomed Western tourism. Fortunately, China’s historic isolation and its reverence for its past mean that its ancient treasures and extraordinary landscapes are remarkably well preserved for us to admire and enjoy.
Viking River Cruises offers several exciting cruisetours in China, all of which take guests to the highlights of Beijing, Shanghai and Xian (including the Terra Cotta Warriors) and include a Yangtze River Cruise through the spectacular Three Gorges region on a sumptuous cruise ship with all balcony staterooms. Choose the journey that most interests you: see China’s cultural delights on a longer Yangtze cruise, visit Silk Road outposts like Urumqi, Turpan and Kashgar, or take three days at the “roof of the world,” Lhasa, Tibet.