Foreign tourists set sail on China Discovery Voyage with CNS treat

The first coastal cruise route for inbound travelers in China – China Discovery Voyage – operated by Viking Cruises, officially set sail from Shanghai North Bund International Passenger Center Cruise Terminal in Hongkou District on Tuesday.

City News Service (CNS), Shanghai's one-stop information service platform, will provide everything foreign tourists need to help them travel like a pro while visiting China.

The luxury cruise liner Viking Yidun will take inbound travelers to destinations such as Zhoushan, Wenzhou, Fuzhou and Xiamen. Shanghai and Shenzhen in Guangdong Province will be the ship's home ports.

From September to November 2024, Viking Cruises will operate eight China Discovery voyages.

During the inaugural ceremony, Viking Cruises partnered with CNS to provide practical travel information for foreign guests on the cruise ship.

Guests will find service guide videos from CNS on the homepage of their cabin TVs. The videos cover common questions confronting inbound travelers like how to make payments, take public transportation, buy tickets and take trains, as well as use shared bicycles and shared power banks to enhance their travel experience in China.

They will also access Chinese news and guide services provided by CNS from brochures at the cabin service desk, cabin posters, and Yidun newspapers, from the CNS website, WeChat, and overseas social platforms. Additionally, CNS has prepared a Chinese gift for tourists, hoping it serves as a beautiful memory of their trip to China.

Launched in 2022 by the Shanghai Information Office and partnered with Shanghai Daily, the platform is loaded with insider guides that cover everything from restaurants to navigating the metro and making payments like a pro.

To meet the basic needs of foreigners traveling, living, working, and entertaining in China, CNS has launched a series of how-to lifestyle service guide videos from the perspective of foreigners. There are now more than 20 episodes. The video content covers practical information such as teaching foreigners how to use shared bicycles, Alipay, and purchase train tickets, helping them integrate into Chinese life more quickly.

Viking Yidun, which was delivered in 2017, has 465 cabins with capacity for 930 passengers.

As the first ocean liner registered in China, it features an elegant and modern Nordic design style. It is equipped with seven restaurants and bars offering a variety of international cuisines, four specialty bars, and a wealth of leisure and entertainment facilities. These include a well-equipped fitness center, an open sports deck, a Nordic spa, a hair and nail salon, two swimming pools, a theater, and two cinemas.

As an ancient Chinese saying goes, "It is always a pleasure to have a friend from afar." The cruise liner on Tuesday welcomed new friends from afar with boisterous dragon and lion dances, fun intangible cultural heritage experiences, and local gifts.

At the port, booths featuring Chinese paper-cutting art, wood carving, batik, and other intangible cultural heritage items were set up, vividly displaying the charm of ancient Chinese craftsmanship.

Maureen Krumm and Marry Dement from the United States were among the first passengers on the tour. They visited Beijing and Xi'an prior to Shanghai.

"It's very interesting, and the culture here is very different from our own cultures," said Krumm. "The interaction with people is very fun."

It was Dement's first trip to China.

"I like Shanghai a lot more than other cities in China," she said.

"I think this is a pretty city and you know a lot of things to do. The city is clean. There are beautiful building, the beautiful garden, not so much the concrete for us."

The duo visited Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street last night, but missed out on having xiaolongbao (small-steamed buns with soup) due to long queues.

"I will be interested to be back to Shanghai with my children," said Dement.

American Steve Young said he loves cruise trips and is traveling with his wife.

"I have a great impression of China, and it's clean, very modern and has nice infrastructure," he said. "It seems very efficient, and I was very impressed. That's different from I anticipated."

"The welcoming ceremony was fabulous and it's very nice trip," Young added.

The "China Discovery Journey" route has included a wealth of tour programs for guests. In Shanghai, they will visit city landmarks like the Bund and Yuyuan Garden, while climbing the 1,500-year-old Wanghai Tower to overlook the beauty of the Chinese coast in Dongtou.

In Xiamen, they are able to explore the intangible cultural heritage of Chinese stone carving and shadow carving.

At the same time, guests also have many paid upgrade experience program options, such as taking a cruise in Zhujiajiao Water Town in Shanghai to savor the history of the ancient town, and trying the traditional Chinese exercise Baduanjin. In Zhoushan, they will have the opportunity visit local seafood markets, beaches, and fishing villages to discover the coastal city's charm, or visit Dongsha Ancient Town to understand China's maritime culture.

In Xiamen, they will take a leisure stroll on the island of Gulangyu, or visit the Nanjing Tulou (earthen houses) to explore China's unique architectural art and cultural heritage.

Relying on the onshore experience of the route and the shipboard dining, entertainment, and leisure experience that reflects Chinese culture, Viking Cruises will showcase to international tourists the enchanting Chinese scenery and appealing cultural charm and promote cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries.

The official launch of the project not only injects new development opportunities into China's cruise tourism industry but also, together with the continuous relaxation and optimization of China's visa-free policy and the gradual improvement of supporting policies for convenient entry, promotes "China Tourism" as one of the international travel trends.

In 2025, Viking Cruises plans to further enrich the China coastal routes serving inbound tourists, covering more destinations and developing more onshore cultural tourism experience projects.