"The Shanghai Acrobats"-2005

In 2005, Nancy and I decided to try a Viking River cruise up the Yangtze River in China from Shanghai to Beijing. It would be my third trip to China, the first being in 1975 with my late wife, Lenore, when we stayed in Beijing in a Russian built hotel with a 40 watt bulb in the room. The second was on a trip with Nancy from Hong Kong to Singapore with a cruise on the great Yellow River in China, and our first look at one of the new super roadways The trip would take us through the largest dam in the world, the Three Gorges Dam, which was still incomplete, and the water of the Yangtze was rising, but had not yet risen above the level of the older homes and farms at the lower level, with new cities rising above the future water line, and new communities opening almost every day. The cruise included shows in every place we stopped, including the shows on the brand spanking new cruise ship, which bosted incredible Chinese cuisine. Although there were many highlights, one of the grreat highlights was the dinner in Shanghai, our stay in a magnificent five star hotel, and the great and inimitable Shanghai Acrobats. So here they are for your enjoyment. It will take a few minutes before you get there as we see a bit of Shanghai, an unbelievable modern city, and the average people of a Chinese city at work and at play. Incidentally, the clock in my camera in those days was always running and on screen, so the time is about 12 hours different than our time in North Carolina. Enjoy the great Shanghai Acrobats!
Judge Stuart Namm (Ret)