Dear Rita,
My husband and I were on the 13-Day Beijing/Xian/Guilin/Zhangjiajie/Shanghai Tour with China Discovery from 15-27 May 2024.
Overall, we had a wonderful time on our trip.
Organisation
Everything went very smoothly, just like clockwork.
Guides
In each city, on our arrival we were met by our guide who took very good care of us.
Our guides were: Beijing- Andy; Xian - Grace; Guilin - Peter; Zhangjiajie - Nina; Shanghai - Jeff.
All the guides we had were knowledgeable about their city, its history, and culture. They were also friendly, and flexible in accommodating our requests and also showed their professionalism by always being on time in the morning and during our time with them, they were always helpful, patient and understanding.
I would like to mention that 2 of our guides (Andy in Beijing and Peter in Guilin) were excellent. Their English was fluent. It was also obvious that both took great pride in their work.
Peter was very earnest, and very clear and systematic in his explanation of what we would see and do in the places we visited and he was also extremely helpful.
Andy was the best guide we have ever had. In addition to the qualities mentioned above, we found him very energetic, enthusiastic, lively and with an amazing sense of humour. He was very flexible and really went out of his way to accommodate our requests, for example, to visit a place which was not on our itinerary, but which both of us wanted to see - a Catholic Church associated with Matteo Ricci. He knew interesting little areas and eating places to which he took us for local food and snacks. He even got us some snacks when he thought we might need some sustenance. We had interesting conversations with him and it seemed more like we were spending time with a friend rather than with a guide we had just met.
Nina, our guide in Zhangjiajie, was very sweet. Her English was not as fluent, but she was very caring, helpful, very patient and kind especially when we had to negotiate all the steps up and downhill in the mountains. She was always very concerned about how we were faring, even in the type of food we enjoyed when we told her we just wanted to try the local food.
Transportation
The cars we travelled in were very nice, clean and comfortable. All the drivers, besides being very helpful, especially with our luggage, were also skilful drivers who conveyed us safely through, often, very heavy traffic.
The express speed train from Beijing to Xian was an enjoyable experience. The train was very comfortable, and the toilets were very clean.
But the 7-hour journey on the high speed train which stopped at all the stations between Guilin and Zhnagjiajie was less comfortable.
The train itself was fine although the journey was long.
For one thing, there was a man just behind me who talked very loudly for hours on his mobile phone. I could not change seats because the train was quite full.
Then, there were 2 people quarrelling at the entrance of our compartment when we were trying to board the train. They blocked the entrance and refused to move until someone in charge of the compartment screamed (right next to my ear) for the security guard. We had to literally bulldoze our way into the train which was about to leave.
Hotels
The hotels, besides being grand, were clean, comfortable and had all the amenities we needed. The one in Guilin had a fantastic view.
In general the breakfasts provided by the hotels were also excellent.
Sights
We think China is a very beautiful country with so much history, culture and nature to enjoy. Being on a guided tour, we had less contact with the ordinary people than we would normally have when we do a free-and-easy trip. But, all in all, we had a great trip and we would like to visit China again.
So we are thinking of going to the following places sometime in October 2024, after the Chinese National Holiday in early October.
Thank you.
Loh
