8-Day of Essence of China Tour

Leonard,

Karen,

We were very satisfied with the trip and the accomodations and definately learned more about China by having a guide rather that trying to tour on our own.

And I think this was the best itinerary for us, we really appreciated the opportunity to break up the tour by going to Hefei and spending a couple of days at Tom's apartment. and it exceeded our expectations.

We are happy with all of three guides, and the one in Beijing was the best, as she just seemed to be more personable and enthusiastic. Also the drivers were great and vns were comfortable. They also provided bottled water which i did appreciate. The one suggestion might be to get one of the portable coolers that plug into the cigarette lighter of the car so that you can cool the water in summer.

Great Wall is always the dream for all visitors, so it comes to be the most memorable attraction, and Terra Cotta Warriors came to a close second. We enjoyed the fishing village outside of Shanghai because it was somewhere we never would have gone on our own. We were sorry to miss the opportunity to see the village where I.M. Pei, the famous archeitect is from. Had we know that the Opera is only in Beijing, we would have skipped the acrobats to see the opera there and then seen acrobats in Shanghai.

And we really like the courtyard hotel in Beijing, beacuse it had more atmosphere and made you feel like you were in China. The more modern hotels were excellent, but you can stay in hotels like that anywehere in the world, The meals were find and we appreciate the guides ordering food that gave a sampling of the local cuisine, however we felt tere was always way too much at every meal, nobody in my family are really breakfast eaters, we didn't know if we were paying for meals we didn't use. For us, one lunch meal a day would have been perfect.

The only bad experience we had with the whole trip was the arrangement of our luggage when we went to Hefei. Our Xian guide arranged a seperated luggage deliver service (not in our compartment) when we are leaving Xian railway station. When we got off the train, we searched everywhere and could not find our luggage. We asked several people at the train station and we finally told that we had to go outside the station and walk a few blocks to the shipping company, but when being there, we were told that we needed to go the company company warehouse to collect luggage, finally we hired a man and his van to show the way. You can image how much time we had spent on this in rainny, and if Tom could not Chinese at all, we really did not know what to do then. I realize that Hefei is not a place where most people want to go, but Xian guide needs to check out the arrival arrangements for your clients.

Once again, we were very happy with China Highlights and tour guides provided. China was everything we hoped it would be. My son Tom said he never would have had the knowledge to tell us about the attractions, not to mentioned the hassle of arranging transportation and accomodations that your company provided. I was especially impressed with your responsiveness and willingness to make itinerary changes around our wish to visit our son in Hefei. We would not hesitate to use China Highlights again.

Len

July 10, 2011 from United States

Bethany,

Hi Simon,

Our trip to China was amazing. Bethany and I had a great time. There's so much to see in Beijing and it was all wonderful. We especially enjoyed the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall. We walked around the wall and also enjoyed the toboggan ride back down.

The Terracotta warriors in Xian were very impressive. It's one thing to hear and read about them and another to see them all assembled in the pits. We also really enjoyed biking along the city wall. That was our first time on a tandem bike and it was a lot of fun. As for food, the dumpling dinner that I had there was the food highlight of the tour for me.

Shanghai is a gorgeous city. Bethany and I really enjoyed the various architecture and how modern it is. We walked along the Bund at night and it was scenic.

All of our tour guides were great. They gave us great recommendations on things to do during the night.

Thanks!

Richard

August 4, 2011 from United States

Russell,

Hello Nancy,

Our trip to Xian was wonderful. Of course, the Terracotta Warriors and Museum is the experience of a lifetime, but all the other Xian attractions are beautiful and inspiring as well. As a student of Chinese literature and history, I was particularly thrilled by the Forrest of Steele, by the Muslim section, and by the Wild Goose Pagoda. I strongly recommend the China Highlights tours, wherever you go in China.

Best wishes,

Russ

January 12, 2011 from United States

Janelle,

Hello Lee,

The tour you arranged for us was exceeded expectation, the most essence attractions are definetely the Mutianyu Great Wall and the Terracotta Warriors,our guide,Henry from Beijing, he spoke English fluently and had absolutely the best pieces of information to equip us in our tour in China.

The Peking Duck Restaurant was one of the best places to eat in Beijing and the Tang Dynasty Show is a must go to in Xian. Try to go on the lucky days to the Xian City Wall to get an experience with the Jade Culture. DO NOT GO TO CHINA IF YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO WALK! Travelling in small groups is better in experiencing China because of all the crowds.

Thanks again for the wonderful experience.

Regards

Janelle

April 20, 2011 from Philippines

Meghna,

Hi Simon

Our Xian/Beijing trip was excellent! We were very satisfied and I wanted to make special mention to you to thank you for the breakfast you organised for us in the wonderful hotel in Xi'an - it was great getting off the train and being able to refresh there.

Kind regards,

Simon

April 25, 2011 from Australia