Joseph's Feedback on 20-Day China Tour

The top guides from a professional viewpoint of attention to detail and schedule and suggesting additional activities of interest to us were Ellen and Tony. They were both very precise and took great pains to manage the schedule and adapt to our needs.

Michael,

We had a great time and I would be happy to vouch for you with customers anytime.   You really get out of it what you put in - limits the sleep you get unfortunately.  I will go through items of interest embedded in your questions below.  But first about the guides.  All our tour guides gave us a framework to add activities on to.  Of course some were better than others and I can give you a ranking of the 5 guides we had. 

In the order we met them
Haji from Kashgar to Turpan
Ellen from Dunhuang to Jiayunguan
Tony in Zhangjiajie
Jeff in Beijing

All the guides were familiar with the sights and history more that we could absorb.

The top guides from a professional viewpoint of attention to detail and schedule and suggesting additional activities of interest to us were Ellen and Tony.  They were both very precise and took great pains to manage the schedule and adapt to our needs.  Ellen to the point of continuing to hike up mountains with a bad cold in cold rainy windy weather (we had colds too).  I have the mystery shopper form on Tony.  What should I do with it?  We gave him very high marks.  Without any comment from us, he went through your checklist items like a pilot doing an aircraft pre-flight.

Haji was the most fun and we were really glad we had him for the longest part of the tour.  With the SMALL car provided for LONG drives we sometimes all got edgy but lived through it.  It was all a very real living experience (like a family trip) and his good humor was frequently needed.  He kept us very well fed with delicious local food.  He was also very accomodating and spent considerable off-hours time with us. 
Jeff was a typical guide who was very knowledgable and took us to what we wanted and skipped what we did not want.

That's about it on the guides.  The drivers were OK with a special thanks to Mr. Ma with Haji for all the long hours driving.

As for the most memorable attraction, Was it partying after Ramadan outside the mosque in Kashgar, the Korakam Highway, Lake Karakuli, dancing with a waiter at the Ungher disco in Turpan, Zhangjiajie mountains, young people disco in Jaungjuan, market in Kuche, the valley of the cave of 1000 Buddhas, Karez wells, the street food everywhere, DJ-ing at the bar in Hou Hoi, 'negotiating' it out at the Silk market etc etc.  If pressed I would have to say the wonderful local people we met everywhere.  The culture of living people is a hell of a lot more fun than the culture of dead people.

We enjoy deluxe hotels but can sleep on the ground.  Best hotel surprises were the Tu Ha Petroleum Hotel in Turpan ( a real surprise of a city too) and the Zhuanjiacun Hotel in Zhuangjiajie (hotel and staff were a pleasure).  We did skip most of the breakfasts as we were usually up  late.  So cannot report reliably on them.  I do remember in one hotel (I can't remember which one) that the waitress proudly gave me a fried egg.  It was a nice gesture.

As for shopping, First don't buy knives in China.  They are paranoid about knives.  Like rifle parts in Korea (bought a rifle scope in China that the bomb squad was all over in Seoul).  Go figure.  Suggest getting some camel meat - a real hit here in the states.  Handmade Ungher hats are cool.  ObaMoa T-shirts are good.  Jade is best purchased at the Jade River in Hotal from the locals - but you need to do your homework.  Fakes everywhere.  Jade was way overpriced in the Chinese shops - better in Vietnam.  'Designer' handbags are still good at the Silk market, but getting really expensive.  Honestly, most stuff is best purchaded over the internet.  If visitors must shop I suggest giving them a 10 minute negotiating course (like Jeff gave my son at the Great Wall) and setting them loose in the Silk market in Beijing.  Silk market tip:  to keep the wolves at bay get a wallet like we did at the Summer Palace that says in English and Chinese 'All Money Gone' and hold it up like a cross for vampires.

To go WOW, you got to go out late at night.  Hit the discos shows and bars, eat the street food and pick up the energy.  We even liked the local comedy club as most of the humor was pretty graphic and needed no translation.  Getting no sleep and drinking a lot helps.  Although I have to say something about the beer - it sucks.  The Tsing Tao in the states is pretty good but in China it is terrible.  We found no local beer in China that was any good.  China needs to do something about this.  

Again, concentrate on the culture of the  living vice the dead.  Yes ruins are cool and impressive, but still dead.  I thought the teracotta warriors were less interesting than the Wall Museum in Xian.  Not to be missed is the late night entertainment.  Tony added a late night show in Zhangjiajie that rivaled some Cirque de Soleil shows I have seen in Vegas (like Ka).  Good pick.  Ellen switched a 'carpet factory' tour for a winery tour that was cool.  The Unghar disco in Turpan was filled with young and old dancing with real energy.  The Hou Hoi area in Beijing was better than the Forbidden city or the wall.  Countries are either rising or falling and the energy follows.  I have seen this in many countries.  Where you have a rising energy level, follow it. 

Michael did a superb job setting up the trip.  I have used other services before but I doubt they could have done as detailed and selective a job.  I hope that he is typical of your company.  If not, expect him to start his own company and I will go with him.

Joe and Joseph