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Viking River Sponsors Terracotta Warriors Exhibit in Atlanta |
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Viking River Cruises is supporting the
efforts of Atlanta’s High Museum of Art to bring a display
of Chinese terracotta warriors and related artifacts to
Atlanta. The exhibit -- which recently ended a seven-month
run at the British Museum followed by a record-breaking
five-month run at the Bowers Museum in California -- opened
to the public in November. It will remain at the High for
more than five months before moving on to Houston’s Museum
of Natural Science, then continuing to the National
Geographic Museum at Explorers Hall in Washington, D.C. “The
First Emperor” was inspired by one of the greatest
archaeological discoveries of the 20th century. Featuring
more than 100 works, including 15 terracotta figures, the
exhibition is one of the largest groups of works relating to
the First Emperor ever loaned to the U.S. by the Museum of
the Terracotta Army and the Cultural Relics Bureau of
Shaanxi Province in Xian, China. The exhibition will provide
insight into the legacy of China’s first emperor, Qin Shi
Huang, who reigned over a united China from 221 to 210 B.C. “We have been taking travelers to see the terracotta army in Xian, as well as other key attractions in China, for the past five years,” said Torstein Hagen, founding chairman of Viking. “Our guests always tell us that seeing the terracotta warriors is one of the highlights of their China experience. We are thrilled to be helping Americans see some of China’s treasures that they may not otherwise have had the opportunity to see.” Viking River Cruises offers three China itineraries for 2009; each includes visits to Beijing and Shanghai and a Yangtze river cruise through the Three Gorges Area in addition to a stay in Xian to visit the terracotta army. The 12-day “Imperial Jewels of China” covers the highlights mentioned; the 16-day “China’s Cultural Delights” includes extra destinations on the Yangtze River; and the 16-day “Roof of the World” includes three days in Lhasa, Tibet. |
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Crystal Cruises has launched vehicles for charitable
giving, and the line is inviting its employees, guests, travel
agents and the general public to help save the lives of children
under age 5 around the world. A link at
www.crystalcruises.com
enables people to make a tax deductible monetary contribution to
Five & Alive. Additionally, Crystal Cruises’ onboard guests can make
cash or check donations via an in-stateroom envelope, charge a
donation to their shipboard folios, or donate their shipboard
credits.
For as little as $5, guests can provide an
insecticide-treated malaria net to an African child and his or her
mother for three years. For $25, pneumonia antibiotics treatment
will save the lives of more than 100 children. Fifty dollars can
distribute enough oral rehydration salts to save 500 children’s
lives in India. And $100 can provide more than 35 families in Malawi
with safe drinking water for a year. Also, beginning in January,
Crystal is introducing a selection of retail merchandise in which
100 percent of net proceeds will benefit the charity. Gift shop
products include high-end bracelets designed by Hubert Gems,
specially designed polo and t-shirts, and Webkinz stuffed toys, all
of which will be available in Crystal’s onboard shopping boutiques. Nearly 10 million children in impoverished countries die every year of preventable illnesses before they reach the age of 5 because they lack clean drinking water, basic medicines, mosquito netting and nutrition. In September 2008, Crystal became a founding partner of the Condé Nast Traveler Five & Alive Fund, a program supporting children 5 and under in more than 30 countries around the world by preventing and treating malaria, water-borne illness, pneumonia and malnutrition. For Five & Alive information and to make a donation, visit www.crystalcruises.com/partnerhome.aspx. |
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18th Century Spanish Galleon found beneath Apartments Foundations. |
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Workers digging the foundations for a riverside
apartment complex in Buenos Aires stumbled across the buried wreck
of an 18th-century Spanish galleon. Experts believe the ship is at
least 300 years old and was likely driven ashore by a storm and then
buried in mud. Archaeologists are combing the area for remnants of
the galleon's cargo. "I don't think there's any treasure, but what there will be is a nice collection of artifacts," said one archeologist. So far several cannons have been discovered, along with several jugs probably used to hold olive oil. Construction of the building is to continue but the city's mayor promised that the unprecedented find would be preserved. The galleon was discovered as workers dug the foundations of a block of flats in the old port area of Buenos Aires. Experts believe the as-yet unidentified vessel was an 18th Century warship driven ashore by a storm. It was subsequently buried under 7m (21ft) of mud. Archaeologist Gonzalo Valenzuela said the vessel was probably from the 1700s. "So far, it has yielded several cannons, a pair of jugs we think were used to carry olive oil, and timber from the ship," Mr Valenzuela told reporters at the digs in Puerto Madero. While precious, the ship's contents are not thought to include gold as locals would have probably plundered the vessel after it ran aground near the shoreline. Mayor Mauricio Macri of Buenos Aires said the only reason the ship had been found was through the cooperation of the construction workers with archaeologists, whose wishes to explore a building site might have been ignored in the past. "What's important is that this wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for this new historic conscience, in this case the collaboration of the building company," said Mr Macri. "In other construction sites in the past the archaeologists wouldn't even be allowed anywhere near the place. This company worked together with the archaeologists and we won this unexpected treasure." He said the galleon and everything it contains belonged to the citizens of the Argentine capital. |