Some twelve hundred years ago, Tang Dynasty poet Li Po described the challenge of navigating China’s mighty Yangtze River as “difficult, even harder than climbing to the blue sky.”

The journey just got a whole lot easier.

Viking River Cruises’ Viking Century Sky is a 306-passenger vessel targeted to the American market. For the design, Viking River Cruises called on Oslo-based architects Yran & Storbraaten of Seabourn and Silversea fame. To build the vessel, the company turned again to its Chongqing-based partner, New Century Cruise Company, which built last year’s Viking Century Star.

Twice as big as the Viking Century Star, the contemporary Scandinavian and Asian-inspired Viking Century Sky offers the intimacy of a river boat with amenities of a cruise ship (including western galley, elevators, spa, and fitness room).

Also key to the trip’s success is Viking River Cruises’ staff of English-speaking escorts who educate, troubleshoot and generally keep things running smoothly. Nothing fazes this cordial group — not a hail storm at The Great Wall or a couple who disappears without a word (they stopped at a Starbucks near the Forbidden City). All itineraries include shore excursions and tours, meals, hotels, and intra-Asia flights; hotel transfers, airport transfers and embarkation are handled with aplomb.