Our group of 7 (family and friends) started the Imperial Jewels of China trip in Beijing at the Kerry Hotel. The next twelve days were a whirlwind of activity as we went on great excursions to the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square, The Forbidden City, The Summer Palace and the Hudongs and that was just the first 3 days. It only got better as we traveled by air to Xian and then to Chongquing to board the Viking Emerald and sail down the Yangtze through the Gorges with multiple stops at cities along the way and past the dam to Wuhan. After a tour of the city we flew to Shanghai for the final days of our trip. We had so much fun exploring each of the cities that we stayed in. This was one of the best and most enjoyable cruise/tours that we have been on, I cannot truly express the joy we had and the education we received along the way. Our "Chinese" guide James was with us the whole way and he became like one of our group, he was so full of information and tidbits about every location we visited. I highly recommend this trip to everyone I talk to. I particularly liked starting in Beijing rather than Shanghai, because we had more time to explore the city and especially the extra time in Shanghai which is a fabulous city. River cruising is very relaxing and Viking does and excellent job in removing all the stresses of traveling.