The trip of a life time, for someone with a background in water resources
410adrian

410adrian

UK

Reviewed on November 21, 2023

My daughter arranged an extremely varied 8 day tour for me through Tracy Tan of China Discovery. The first three days were spent around Chengdu, including the panda breeding, Dujiangyan irrigation scheme, Qingcheng Taoist mountain, Leshan giant Buddha, and local markets and parks in Chengdu. This was followed by the highlight of the trip, a one day tour of the Jiuzaigou National Park, which, as a hydrologist, I thought was the most wonderful water feature that I had ever seen around the world ! After a quick introduction to Chongqing we boarded the Victoria Anna ship, for a memorable cruise through the Yangtze River gorges, culminating in a private tour of the Three Gorges Hydroelectric Dam site on the last day.

The whole tour was excellently managed by Tracy; I particularly liked the company’s flexibility, allowing an interchange of day’s itineraries at short notice when I felt unwell, and then replacing a late cancellation of an internal flight with a suitable car and train alternative to ensure that I did not miss the departure of the cruise ship. All the guides, Sarah, Peter, Ken and Jacky were excellent and very knowledgeable, and their respective drivers very safe and professional.

I was a bit disappointed by the side trips offered during the cruise, but this might just have been the dull overcast weather experienced on those days. Other highlights were the evening shows on the cruise with an excellent compère, eating green tea ice cream on the road to Leshan, viewing the red pandas closeup, and watching the illuminated skyscrapers from the ship departing Chongqing in the evening.

Remember to take some very warm clothing to view the Jiuzhaigou National Park during the best season of the year (late Oct-early Nov), when the foliage colours are best, as the previous week they had experienced snowfall there, and the hotels are unheated !!

Also suggest another attraction which has just opened in Chengdu, and might be worth adding to the tour itinerary - the Chengdu Science Fiction Museum located in Pidu District - housed in a wonderful modern out-of- this-world building, which would be a good contrast to the notable historical sites that were already included in the tour.

Destination(s): Chengdu, Leshan, Dujiangyan, Jiuzhaigou, Aba, Sichuan, Chongqing, Yichang, Yangtze River
Date of Experience: October 20, 2023
Trip Type: Traveled as Solo
Tour Customized by: Tracy

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