Most Useful Reviews and Feedbacks from China Discovery's Real Customers

Dear Wonder,

After returning from our magnificent and wonderful China tour I would like to share our impressions with you. If you want you can use our comments as testimonial for you as well.

My wife and me took on March/April (at this time the different sites are not overcrowded and the climate is comfortable too) a 21-day private tour through China (mainly in the South) organised by Wonder, China Discovery. Wonder is an ideal travel consultant. He is highly competent, absolutely professional and flexible. Exept one also the local tour guides and drivers were very engaged and trusty. For travelling within China we used mainly the very efficient, very fast, comfortable and very punctual high speed trains. The selection of hotels (location and comfort) was also good. So, we were able to carry out our tour, which was quite ambitious and strict for our age (71 years), well. Only under these conditions you can have a pleasant tour through China. We can highly recommend China Discovery and personally Wonder. - Antal from Hungary, April 2024

Information just for you. The best English skills among the local tour guides had Derek (Hangzhou), Vicky (Dali), Bruce (Xian), Lobsang (Shangri-La) and Lisa (Luoyang). Jenny (Kunming area) was not really good. For example on the first day we could reach and see the sunset at the rice fields only because of our initiative and pressure. Otherwise we would have missed it. Attached I send you a few photos, which you can use if you want.

Finally I have a request to you. Would you please send me a China map with our travel route marked? (Beijing - Shanghai - Huangshan - Guilin/Yangshuo - Kunming - Stone Forest - Yuanyang/Hani rice terraces - Jianshui - Dali - Lijiang - Leaping Tiger Gorge - Lhasa - Luoyang - Beijing). I hope it is possible and I thank you very much in advance.

Antal

Hello Rita,

I appreciate the services provided by China Discovery and would like to share my feedback on the tour.

I will comment on each city;

Beijing - We really liked James, the tour guide. He was very attentive, quick, and efficient in helping us avoid the huge lines at the Forbidden City and the Great Wall of China. The driver was also very attentive and friendly. The only inconvenience was that we had lunch in the area near the entrance of the Great Wall of China, and the restaurant was located in the passage through those tourist shops where we are "encouraged" to buy expensive items like stones, jewelry, etc. We ended up buying items somewhat forcefully. The food at lunch was good; luckily, we arrived early and the restaurant was empty and quiet. The hotel could have been better; compared to the others, this was the worst. The restaurant had a strong smell of food and frying. Great location though. At the train station boarding for Xi'an, James was very kind and waited with us until he made sure we safely boarded the bullet train.

Xian- The city is nice, but the stay was short, so everything felt very rushed. The tour guide, Bruce, was very polite, helpful, and had great knowledge of local history. I think he went into too much detail in his historical accounts. I value the guides' knowledge and the way they convey historical facts to us, but I believe that in this case, during the visit to the Terracotta Warriors, it was a bit tiring, with too many details. The Muslim Quarter was interesting; we should have had more free time for souvenir shopping. Lunch was reasonable. The hotel was very good, with good accommodations and location.

Guilin - We loved Guilin; the city is beautiful, peaceful, and surrounded by stunning nature. I believe it should be part of any travel itinerary in China. The guide, Helen, was by far the best of the tour. She was very nice, polite, helpful, always concerned about our comfort and needs. The other guides were also good, but Helen was special. She had a great sense of humor, we felt very comfortable with her, and we had a lot of laughs. The hotel was excellent, with an amazing location for a leisurely walk around the lake. The boat tour at night on this lake is a must-see. I also highlight the incredible cruise to Yangshuo Town, equally unmissable. Helen insisted on the Impression Liu Sanjie show, and it was truly a fabulous spectacle. Back in Guilin, she accompanied us until we boarded the bullet train.

Zhanggjiajie - A city of lush natural beauty, with stunning landscapes. An exhilarating experience! The guide, Lee, was very sweet, polite, and helpful. She was very quick, attentive, and smart about the visiting times to the parks to avoid long lines. She took so many great picturs of us, so nice of her. The only downside was on the last day; we had a long free time until we caught the flight to Shanghai, and we couldn't make the most of that time. We had a coffee and waited to go to the airport. The hotel was very good and in a great location!

Shanghai - What a pleasant surprise Shanghai was! We didn't imagine so much modernity and beauty, especially at night. We were enchanted! A city not to be missed. Laurie, the guide, was great, polite, and helpful. It's a pity our stay was also very brief. I think it was a mistake of the agency or the guide not to suggest the night boat tour along the river. Excellent hotel, the best of all.

Back in Beijing, our guide Mary seemed to not have much knowledge of the English language, but since we had only a few hours before our departure back to Brazil, it wasn't a big problem. I would like to emphasize that she was very polite and attentive. We almost had a problem during boarding because the driver dropped us off at the wrong terminal, and when she checked on her phone about our flight to Paris with Air France, she said it had been canceled. We were concerned because a cancellation would have been notified to us by the airline well in advance. She saw that we didn't agree with the information, so we asked her to check somewhere else and also insisted that we were at the wrong terminal. She quickly went to gather more information, and we took the airport bus to terminal 2. Everything was fine, and we boarded without any problems. This incident did not change our perception of China Discovery's service. Unexpected events and small mistakes happen, and we understand perfectly.

One observation would be regarding the lunches. It would be advisable, at least on some days within a long 10-day tour, to offer some options of Western food. After long days of walking at the visited sites, we appreciate a calm lunch or dinner with good drinks and different food options. We enjoy Chinese food, but after several days, we miss Western food.

Sorry for the long text, and I hope these comments help. Likewise, I will definitely recommend China Discovery. We appreciated the exclusive and high-quality service offered.

Lenise

Dear Wonder

Thank you for your email. We are now back in UK after our amazing trip and we’re very happy to give you some feedback.

1. Is your travel consultant of our company fast enough to answer your E-mail and patient enough to answer your questions?
You have always been very fast in replying to us…….usually within 24hours. When you were going to be unable to do so because of personal commitments or the Spring Festival, you let us know and replied as soon as possible after that. We have been impressed with your efficiency and thorough answers to our questions. When we had difficulty in finding a suitable way to pay because of very different systems in China and UK, you gave us different options and provided all the information we needed. It has been easy to communicate with you and we have been very happy with your service.

2. How is tour arrangement, including the drivers,tour guides,hotels,etc?
Tour Arrangement: The itinerary was so interesting, varied and well planned. We were able to visit the famous places in your country such as Tian’anmen Square, The Great Wall, Terracotta Warriors etc but also places that are less well known to people in the West. All the journeys between cities were carefully arranged and the timing was good. The train journeys were excellent but we found the stations a little confusing, particularly Wuhan. It would have been really helpful if the Guides could have come into the stations with us as we speak no Chinese. Sally in Yichang helped us enormously by writing out in Chinese all the information we needed in Wuhan. We were able to show this to a member of station staff who helped us find the train. It was a very busy 10 days and it might have been good to have a little more ‘free time’ but then we would not have seen as much!
Tour Guides and Drivers: The drivers were all good and helpful. We found the Buick cars quite difficult to get in and out of, particularly from the back seats. The Guides were all great and their English was extremely good. Jack (Beijing), Johanna (Pingyao) and Timo (Xi’an) were fantastic. Their knowledge about all the places was incredible and they were able to explain it all well. They were helpful in explaining and ordering lunch and in understanding our needs eg finding an ATM. They were also flexible in helping with problems eg when our friend needed to see a Chinese Herbalist. We enjoyed talking with the Guides very much.
Hotels: The hotels in Beijing and Xi’an were very good. David and I liked the hotel in Pingyao because it was different and less Western. However, we’re sure that some Westerners would not have liked it and it might be good if you told guests in the itinerary that this was a more typical Chinese hotel. There was no Western-style coffee at breakfast there. The Yangtze Gold cruise ship was ok but we saw much smarter ships on the river. The cabin and facilities were acceptable. We can see that the ship mainly caters for Eastern guests and their cultural expectations which we were happy to accept for a few days but it would be worth noting that Western guests like more flexible dining times, better entertainment and a greater sense of luxury. As all the ports where the ship stopped (except the final port) were deep in the gorge and there were many steps up from the river, this should be noted in the itinerary as some people would not be able to climb up.

3. Would you like to recommend our company?
We would be very happy to recommend China Discovery.

4. Points that your company might find helpful for Western guests.
• It is VERY expensive for Westerners to use their mobile phones abroad so most travellers prefer not to make or receive calls. They do not have wifi unless they are in a hotel etc so communication with Guides is difficult when travelling etc. Western guests might be advised to have a VPN or buy a Chinese SIM card. They might also be advised to download WeChat for easy communication.
• We do not use Alipay or WeChat in the West so this is an unfamiliar way of paying/transferring money. However this is essential in China as most places do not accept western credit cards.
Thank you.

With very best wishes

Sue and David

Dear Wonder

Thank you for arranging our holiday in China which was both educational and extremely enjoyable. I address the questions you ask on behalf of Jean and myself; I expect David and Sue will respond separately. I am not the photographer in the family. Jean will select some photographs to send you.

1. Is your travel consultant of our company fast enough to answer your E-mail and patient enough to answer your questions?
You always fully answered our questions overnight UK time so we had the answer the following morning. You were equally prompt when we were in China.

2. How is tour arrangement, including the drivers, tour guides, hotels, etc?
The tour arrangements were excellent, as were all the guides. Jack in particular was outstanding. The one criticism we would make was I your guide in Wuhan, with whom we had no contact, should have given you better advice to pass on about our the layout of the station at Wuhan. We didn’t realise on arrival for some ten minutes that arrivals and departures were on different floors in the manner of an airport. We ended up cutting it extremely fine to catch the train. We could well have lost it if you had not had the foresight to ask Sally to give us questions in Chinese which we took to the service desk.
The accommodation was excellent., although it might be advantageous to advise clients that the hotel in Pingyao is a historic building ,which is full of character but lacks the amenities of a modern hotel which they may prefer. The one disappointment was the boat, which was in need of refurbishment. While the quality of the food in the buffets was good, it was seldom other than lukewarm. There was a very limited range of equipment in the gym. It was difficult not to feel envious of passengers on Victoria Sabrina which we accompanied downstream.

3. Would you like to recommend our company?
100% - without hesitation. I am sure you personally will be approached by our friends for assistance when they visit China, which we will encourage them to do.

Thank you again for your arranging a memorable holiday.

Best wishes

Barrie

Dear Wing Zeng,

My family and I have now arrived safely back at home in Bangkok. We had a wonderful time on the cruise, and we would like to thank you very much for assisting us on the whole process, from booking the cabins to arranging transportation from Jingzhou to Maoping port. We are very impressed with your service.

As for your questions, here is my response:

1A: Wing Zeng always responds to our emails very promptly. At the beginning when I planned to book the cruise, Wing Zeng has been very patient to respond to all my questions about the cruise itinerary and the cabin types. I am very happy with her service.

2A: With Wing Zeng's help, our tour arrangements were very smooth. Our family travel with one senior and one small child, so we were very careful about transportation to and from the port. On the day of embarkation, Wing Zeng helped us book a van transfer directly from our hotel in Jingzhou to the port, which made the embarkation process very smooth and enjoyable.

3A: Definitely. I highly recommend your service to anyone who wants to take the Yangtze cruises.

4A: I'm very satisfied with your service. Our travel consultant is very helpful and professional.

5A: It would be nice if you could give a little warning that the water level in Chongqing might be too low around this time of year. Originally, our cruise was scheduled to end at Chongqing Chaotianmen port. But because of the low water level, we had to disembark somewhere else and took a 2-hour drive to Chaotianmen. The cruise arranges the transfer smoothly and it worked out fine in the end. But if this is something that happens usually around this time of year, it would be nice to be given a little warning beforehand.

Sira

Evening Samantha,

All good thanks. Travel went well and Steven gave a good overview of the area as we drove. Then we did dragon hill and in the hotel now.

We had a good time in Guilin and Steven was very good and helpful.

Caroline

Hi Samantha,

Thank you again for arranging such a seamless and enjoyable time for our family. Kids refer to this holiday as a pampered treat (we usually make them backpack). It is not an easy feat accommodating needs of an elderly 82 year old, and kids ranging from 11 to 16 years, but all requests were seen to promptly.

Answers to your questions:

1. Yes, Samantha was very prompt responding to my numerous queries, regardless of how late they were sent. She even replied on weekends!

2. Excellent advice by Samantha.

3. Definitely willing to recomend.

4. Reliable, prompt, service-oriented, friendly, trustworthy service.

Ching

Hi Vivien,

The experienced was great , the iteneray are all amazing , we love the snow town village very much , the ice festival , the ice sculpture , Volga Manor , Sophia cathedral etc. Our driver and guide are all friedly and accommodating, I will recommend discovery china definitely with my ftiends. Sharing you some of our photos.

Mercado

Hi Mr Wang,

Thanks! I had a weekend away to Xi’an, China to celebrate my birthday. It was an exciting weekend and it was certainly something off the beaten trail for most of my friends. The itinerary you have suggested provided good coverage of the city’s rich history. From the fascinating Terracotta Army to the City Walls to the sacred Mount Hua, to the Muslim Quarter to the Drum & Bell Towers, there’s an interesting story from every historical era in Xi’an. I managed to hike up Mount Hua from North Peak to West Peak, but I didn’t get to do the dangerous plank walk as it was closed.

The hotel Eastern House was very accessible too with food places within steps and its proximity to the Drum Tower is a plus. The room was very clean and comfortable.

At this point, I have to quickly mention our amazing tour guide Betty Jiao Yan who was assigned to us as part of our private tour package. She made our time feel so very special and I wonder if Xi'an would have been as awesome without her. She had such a positive and caring nature and when we had to say goodbye, we felt very sad. It was strange to miss a guide after only knowing her for 5 days! Luckily we still keep in touch on WeChat. Our driver Mr Ma was very polite, punctual and accommodating, making our travel a pleasant experience

Anne

Hi Zeva,

All four days of attraction were fantastic and offered much variety.

The hotels were comfort to our accommodation, the beds and amenities were efficiency and very comfort to us. breakfast at hotel was satisfying and fruity.

The range of food was plentiful and we both very full after each meal. we enjoyed a range of the location and have food on time.

Thank you so much to David, amazing tour guide for taking us around Zhangjiajie for the last 5 days. He was an amazing, knowledgeful our guide, we are going home with so much more memory and experience. Zhangjiajie has been an unforgettable trip!!!

Transportation was efficient, reliable & punctual, the driver was safe and the wan we were taken around in was very comfortable + clean.

Everything was excellent!

Eve

Hi Wonder,

Sorry for just replied your email. We just reached home safely.

Our trips were awesome! We really enjoyed our trips from Yangtze River Cruise to our private tours. Not only we had much fun, but also gained much knowledges.

First of all, I’d like to say thank you so much to Wonder for helping us to arrange our trips. The way he followed up his first email that went to my email spam was awesome. That’s the reason I chose him as my travel consultant. He showed me from beginning that he’s a responsible person.

During our trips, we were accompanied by Nancy, David, and Jack. All of them were very on-time and very knowledgeable; they speak English fluently. That helped us to understand the long history of the places where we visited. The restaurants that they recommended were also nice.

As my thankful to China Discovery, I’ve recommended this company to my relatives and friends who asked me about my trips. Again, thank you so much!

Sany

Hi Leo,

We were very satisfied with all your arrangements & your drivers & guides. You have shown that you are totally reliable & responsive to all our requests, & a real asset to your company !

We are tempted to explore further into China & we will definitely be using your services again in the future.

Catherine

Thank you for the Christmas greetings, Wonder!

our bullet train back to Hong Kong which was comfortable and fast. Our tour guide Matt waited until we boarded, to be sure we were on the right train. Nice service!

Since this was my first trip to Hong Kong, I really appreciated the service of this tour company (Dec. 4-7, 2023) and you are wonderful! Mr. Wang answered questions in a timely manner and was always courteous and patient! I would definitely work with him again!

As well as Hong Kong, I really wanted to visit the new modern city of Shenzhen, and China Discovery provided the visitor passport needed to cross the border. I found this very helpful and convenient.

Our flight into Hong Kong had been delayed by about 2 hours, but our driver waited for us at the airport. Such a relief having an airport pick-up!

The Hong Kong hotel was in a convenient walkable area with shops, restaurants, taxis and metro a block away. The hotel in Shenzhen was modern and clean, with nearby Starbucks and food shops.

We had great tour guides, very interesting, knowledgeable, and patient- Eddie (HK) & Matt (Shenzhen). The drivers and cars were excellent and they always provided bottled water for us. We always felt well-cared for, safe and comfortable. Pick up times were perfect.

I loved our tour around Hong Kong Island, from Victoria Peak in the north to to Stanley Market in the south. Did not have time for lunch, which would have concluded the day nicely, but we did have a fun short water-taxi ride in Aberdeen.

In Shenzhen, we enjoyed going up the highest building in China, and visiting the factory-turned-Art Gallery mall. We had a lovely lunch there in the garden, then on to the cultural village with mini famous buildings, ethnic group dances and music, and the spectacular Horse Show! So entertaining and exciting! I think we could have fit one more visit to another site, before heading to a shopping mall

You arranged our bullet train back to Hong Kong which was comfortable and fast. Our tour guide Matt waited until we boarded, to be sure we were on the right train. Nice service!

It was a pleasure working with this tour company, with you, and each tour guide and driver! I highly recommend this tour, and tour company.

Fabulous tour and service, and excellent people!

Michelle

Dear Leo,

Thank you for your postcard, elegant gifts (chopsticks) and setting up a hassle free travel for the group.

Attaching a couple of photos as promised from the previous email feedback request. Let me know if you need any specific pictures (there are too many to choose) :)

Everything was well arranged, orderly and relaxing. We specifically love the lunch at Wenshufang and Qiang village, relaxing hot spring at Le Meridien, the breathtaking scenery at Bipenggou, and the spectacular culture opera show!

The sky view from Hilton Canopy over Tianfu Square was also magnificent.

The website on China Discoveries is so informative together with Ellen's tips and suggestions, we can venture to some places outside of our itinerary during free time, covering some of the interesting uniqueness at the locality.

The driver, Da ge and Ellen our group only had praises. There were no negative comments from me and the group.

We hope to work with you on our next year end ski trip, to Zhangjiakou.

Meanwhile, we wish you and your family a HAppy Festive Holiday! Take Care! Thank YOU!

Edward

Hi Evelyn,

The weather of Jiuzhaigou was great. Not sunny, but slight sun, experience a little light snow on Long Lake, and beautiful masterpiece of creation in JZG. Huanglong was wonderful too. Nice weather. Even with the cable car, we walked a total of 16000 steps. Unforgettable 2 days

Century Oasis - it's new and we were given 3rd Level, but only dine in one restaurant. Still it's good. Allan, the Cruise manager took good care of us as we were the only few that requires English guides.

The Fengyansanguo show is super n spectacular. Very glad to have seen it. Thanks.

5* - Feng Yan San Guo

4.5* - Shengnui Stream

4* - White Emperor City

3* - Fengdu Ghost City

Time flies, but the memories remain. It's been a really great trip for my wife and i over the past 14 days. Thank you for your wonderful service. Really appreciate that. Only regret is don't have time to meet up with you.

Melvyn

Hi Leo,

Thank you again for helping us plan a wonderful and stress free vacation. I was grateful for how patient you are when answering our questions and especially when we try to make our payment through a local bank. On the tour itself, the hotel we stayed at in Xiamen was the Jingmin Hotel. It was a lovely hotel with courteous and efficient staff. Rooms are clean, breakfast is delicious with a lot of food options and different cuisines. We were glad we opted to try their dinner buffet. It was both delicious and value for money with abundant shrimps, oysters, scallops and crabs. We are particularly happy with our Xiamen tour guide Cathy who has been a fountain of information and pointed out interesting people, places and events. She also made sure my parents have priority queues (where possible) and provided alternative sites when the tour would take us to places my parents cannot walk/climb. Of course, she still leaves the final decision to us. We really appreciate how Cathy and our driver Mr. Wong assisted my aging parents and made the trip very comfortable for them. Mr. Wong even provided water for us, which is very thoughtful of him. Cathy's service is really above and beyond when she helped us book bullet train tickets (this was after their tour and not inclusive) which was way out of our league since we didn't speak nor write Mandarin. Next time we're going to China, I'm just going to book a tour all the way! The second part of the tour was in Wuyishan, where we stayed at Honglin Hotel. It was also a lovely hotel with courteous and efficient staff except they don't serve dinner and breakfast wasn't that nice. This is the main reason why we truly appreciated our guide Cherry. Upon learning that our hotel doesn't have a restaurant that serves dinner, Cherry immediately called a nearby local restaurant and managed to get them to serve us dinner. The food was delicious! Actually, all her recommendations for places to eat were heavenly. So much so that we didn't go for our free hotel breakfast on the 2nd day, and just asked Cherry to introduce us to a local breakfast joint. All in all, the entire experience was fun, educational, comfortable and worry-free. I'll definitely come to you and your company again when I come back to China.

Jamie

Dear Wonder,

We had a great trip and enjoy the different places we went to. In Beijing we liked the hotel Double happiness hotel and it’s location, great access to local restaurants, coffee and craft beer bar. Andy the guide was very good and he took us to another neighbourhood after the Forbidden city. The great wall was also a hit. We also went to a show in the evening.

Xian was very interesting , a bit crowded around the terracotta museum , interesting history around of the city wall Ivan was a good guide too, we liked the spicy food and we also visited a show.

Zhangjiajie was the most beautiful place, Linda the guide took good care of us, we walked a lot and the place is very beautiful with the mountains and valleys.

Guilin was also nice the river tour was great, also beautiful ,you should always recommend people to do the first class booking. We also took the bamboo raft , nice.

The same goes for the train travel 2:nd class is really crowded and not comfortable, always recommend 1:st class. The difference in money is not much.

Shanghai was as expected, we went to an underground market area and the French concession which we enjoyed.

Also the guide Eileen was very nice and helpful.

In all we a bit surprised by China how green the cities were and people nice, we had a great time and enjoyed the sights seeing. We also liked to stroll around local markets in Beijing, Xian and Guilin, so thank you very much Wonder we had a great time and very good service from all of you

Best Regards

Mats

Hi Wing,

Sorry for the late reply to your request for a review. We are still overseas at the moment and have not returned home as yet.

However I have a spare moment to give you our thoughts of your service and the tour as a whole.

First of all we are very happy with you, our Travel Consultant who tirelessly and very patiently answered all our questions and concerns such that we decided to proceed with the tour that was tailored for us without any hesitation. All due to the confidence and effort and help that you have given us. You have also went beyond your normal duty of helping us book our train tickets required after our tour ended to get to Shenzen and from Shenzen to Hong Kong as well. And a special mention is called for in that you had done a good job in choosing the seats ensuring that our train they were away from the sun when travelling.

We had made several changes along the way to suit our travel of China more meaningful to us and you did it for us happily and without hesitation. We would like to thank you for your great assistance which made our tour a great pleasure and success.

2. The tour arrangements was excellent. All went smoothly as planned. We were happy with the hotels as they were spacious and clean. Meals were good when provided. However it would be good to provide more meals.

3. Yes, I will definitely recommend your service without hesitations to others who wish to visit China.

4. Your Company and staff including Tour guides and Drivers were very professional, knowledgeable and helpful. Your Company service provided was very sufficient and satisfactory. I only have a suggestion of having to provide more meals.

Tony

Dear Ms. Wing Zeng,

I apologized for the delay in providing my feedback. Here are my comments:

(1) Is your travel consultant of our company fast enough to answer your E-mail and patient enough to answer your questions?
I chose your company because of your travel consultant. She not only responded promptly but also provided valuable information and assistance. This was my first time planning to use a China-local tour service, as opposed to an outbound tour from my country, so I had many questions. Your travel consultant patiently addressed all of my inquiries, which gave me the confidence to proceed with the local tour service.

(2) How do you comment your tour arrangements?
Despite having limited time for our travels, we managed to make the most of our time and had a fantastic trip with my friends.

(3) Are you willing to recommend our service to your people who also have an interest to visit China?
Certainly, I am more than willing to recommend your service, and in fact, I have already done so by referring a friend to your company.

(4) Your general opinion on us?
I would like to convey my appreciation to your travel consultant, guide, and driver, all of whom demonstrated exceptional professionalism. As it was our first time using a local tour service in China, my friends and I had some initial concerns about navigating the country on our own, given our limited knowledge of the Chinese language and potential unforeseen issues before meeting the guide.

(5) If you come to China again, would you like to use our service again?
If I decide to visit China again, your company will be my first choice. However, I would need to take into account both the cost and the specific program offered. This is precisely why I recommend that you consider implementing a retention program. Sincerely Yours,

Pichavadee

Hi, Ms.Wing Zeng,

sorry to reply till now, as follows:

(1) Is your travel consultant of our company fast enough to answer your E-mail and patient enough to answer your questions?
Generally, the answer to my email is fast enough except for weekends for instance when the consultant seems not to be working. As for patience, no problem, we discuss the issues concerned at lengths until it is “solved” one way or the other.

(2) How do you comment your tour arrangements?
Well, the travel plans are created successively as the time goes by, mainly from the customer side. It undergoes quite many changes , even big one (like changing South Xinjiang plan to North Xinjiang plan) and/or at the late stage of the planning discussion to take into account other unexpected issues like the air plane schedule. Some arrangements e.g. those from Shanxi part are mainly taken from your company’s template offering until later when we are adding Hukou Waterfall to it as “it is on the way to Xi’an”.

(3) Are you willing to recommend our service to your people who also have an interest to visit China?
Yes.

(4) Your general opinion on us?
From the practical experience with the tour guides you are providing, it shows the difference with other trave company’s offering. Keep on using good tour guide to make the travelers happy.

T.H.Go

Dear Leo,

Thank you so much for your response.

I have completed the review and attached some photos.

1. Is your travel consultant of our company fast enough to answer your E-mail and patient enough to answer your questions?

Our travel consultant was Leo and we found him absolutely amazing! He answered every email and question in very good time and he always reassured us with any worries we had.

2. How do you comment your tour arrangements?

Everything was very well arranged, we didn’t have to worry about anything as Leo had made sure we had all the information we needed as well as the contact details of all our guides. All of the tours went very well!

3. Are you willing to recommend our service to your people who also have an interest to visit China?

I would definitely recommend this service especially for someone who has never been to China before.

4. Your general opinion on us?

We had a great experience with China discovery, the tour guides were incredibly friendly and had a lot of knowledge. We went during golden week which was incredibly busy but the tour guides, especially Linda during our Beijing trip, went above and beyond and were excellent at making sure it didn’t affect our trip.

5. Do you have any suggestions on improving our services?

At times it may have been nice to have some free time in some of the attractions because it felt rushed but otherwise we really enjoyed ourselves.

6. Can we use your comments of our service, the photos or other images that you took on the tour for our websites, brochures, marketing and publicity? If yes, could you please send us some of your photos by E-mail?

Yes.

Claire

Hi, Wonder ,

First of all, thanks a lot for organizing this wonderful trip for me! It was really perfect in every aspect.

I have so many photos, more than 2000, so still in the process of sorting them.

Here some answers to your questions:

1. Is your travel consultant of our company fast enough to answer your E-mail and patient enough to answer your questions?

YES! It was really perfect, I had many questions and individual requests, and I was extremely happy how fast and professional everything was answered and immediately organized according to my ideas. It was surely one of the best experiences I have ever had.

2. How’s the service of the tour guides during your whole tour?

The guides were very professional and knowledgeable, and therefore made sure that the itinerary was enjoyable and all sights were perfectly represented.

3. Would you like to recommend our company? For sure, 100%!

Regarding the itinerary, as I said everything was perfect. Just a recommendation in general: - Maybe if I would skip one thing, it would be the Sangke grassland. It is a rather small area, not so natural but very commercialized, and I think not so interesting for tourists from Europe or Central Asia. - One place where I would rather have spent more time is Gyantse. A very beautiful town but due to the very packed itinerary we arrived there only at 5.30pm so had just short time to see Palcho monastery and nothing else. It was one of my favorite places.

Once again, thank you so much for your support and patience, over almost 4 years, to finally get this trip organized. I can't wait to come back another time!

Best regards

Marco

Hello Zeva,

The tour was fabulous thank you and Tashi our guide was excellent. Although it had to be cut short due to the flight cancellation we were still able to visit the places we wanted to see. Tashi was very knowledgable and spoke very good English.

I will try and attach some photos to this email of the Potala palace, Lhasa street scene, Jokhang temple and monks at Drepung Monastery.

Best wishes

Karen

Hi Tracy,

Feedback for Zhangjiajie

o Guide: Lilly was a great guide, first she thought we will be quicker but with Ruby walking a lot or carrying her, we were slower than other groups. She adapted quickly and changed the plans according to our needs, which was really nice. She was a great guide with lots of knowledge, good English and she even took care of Ruby some times.

o Hotel: The Pullman, breakfast was ok not really good and as there were a lot of Chinese groups it was crowded. Room was ok but a bit outdated. The baby bed was not good, it was for really small babies (who cannot walk or stand) and one wheel was broken. We adapted it and it was ok for the 2 nights.

o Attractions: These two days were amazing, the glass bridge and the river tour was nice even the walk along the river was great. The national park (with avatar mountains) on second day was also really cool and Lilly also guided us through less crowded places. We were quite tired in the end but it was really worth it.

o Restaurants: Both were fine, we liked the second one better. The first one all dishes were cooked with lots of Oil. And actually for us it was way too much food. but maybe other people eat more.

o Car and Driver: Both were good and nice

Feedback for Chongqing

o Guide: Jim was always a bit stressful and hectic. His English was good. We think he really tried hard to satisfy us, but for us it sometimes felt too much, on the first night he arranged a hotpot for us which was great.

o Attractions: Houses in the Hill at the riverfront is really nice and actually I think lots of people would enjoy to walk down the stairs instead of taking the elevator. It would be nice to spend a little more time there and let people wander around. Monorail inside the building we think is ok to see but not really special, could maybe be skipped depending on the group speed. Old town was really nice, I think western people would enjoy to wander around, try food and drinks or buy souvenirs and not just rush through it. Museum is nice to hear and see something about the culture, but as this was our last stop in the city we were tired and had enough after the first floor with the information about the 3 Georges. We asked Jim if we can go to the boat now and he agreed which was great for us.

o Car and Driver: both were good

Feedback for Yangtze River Cruise

We spend a nice time on the boat, the food was good and the rooms were nice. First they just prepared a foldable chair for Ruby as bed, but after we asked for a real baby bed they put one in our room. That was great.

o Trips general: for us it was great that there were mostly two trips a day one in the morning and one in the afternoon. So Ruby was able to do her nap in the room. The service staff on the boat was great too, they always helped and suggested us if we should go on the additional trip or if it is better for us to walk around on our own.

o First day trip morning: We actually left the guide at the temple because the speed was also not suitable for us. And obviously the other part of the group was quicker than us with Ruby. But it was fine for us like this. We were able to look at all the things in our speed.

o First day trip evening (optional): We didn´t go to the show, because Ruby goes to bed around 7:30pm and someone had to stay with her. But we enjoyed the dinner and drinks and music in the bar.

o Second Day morning (optional): White Emperor city was not recommended to us, so we didn´t participate. We still left the boat and just walked around the harbor, there was also and old city wall and a white tower, which was nice to explore for 1-2 hours. Then we went back on the boat

o Second Day afternoon Boat trip: that was really nice and great to see. Ruby also enjoyed the ride a lot. The tour guide spoke great English.

o Third Day: Checkout, it was a bit surprising that we should give all our big luggage’s already the evening before we left the boat to the boat staff. Which was not possible for us, with having a kid. You have to pack in the morning. But we managed to keep one and give the other one already to the boat staff. Another surprise was that the room cards didn´t work after the breakfast on the last days, they just locked everyone out, so you had to get a staff member to open the door again. Would be nice to inform the people about it or have the room cards work at least until the time when everyone should leave the boat. least

- Dam: It is for sure impressive why they build it and to get to know some information about height and relocation of cities just for this. But to get to the top and walking around there was not really nice, way to many people, it felt like all ships had the same timing so it was super crowded. I think I would maybe skip that but also because we have a small kid and it was a bit overwhelming for her with all the people.

- Guide: Nancy spoke very good English. She was nice but not as friendly and helpful as Lilly

- Restaurant: Good and nice food. But we had to pay for water, but two bottles of beer were included. Which is a bit strange, as we were 4 people and especially one pregnant woman and a kid.

- Attraction: Cave and path around half island, that was nice to see and the good part was most of it was shady.

- Car: it was a fancy car, but too small to fit our luggage (4 Suitcases and a stroller) we had no issues with the other cars. So it was a bit uncomfortable to sit, as one luggage and the stroller had to fit in the area we were sitting

- Driver: Nice and friendly

- If there would have been a flight in the afternoon or earlier in the evening around 6pm that would have been better for us. So it was a really long day.

Whole trip: it was very nice and we would do it again, maybe with some small adaptions. Thanks for organizing it we took a lot of great pictures and created some really nice memories.

Best regards,

Fioni

Hi Leo,

It was incredible! Thanks for another amazing trip! I loved the driver I was so impressed with his skills and kindness. Driving on those mountain roads is not easy. Pur bu the guide was such a great guide. He was so knowledgeable, and I learned so much from him. His knowledge of Tibetan culture and history was amazing. I loved all the activities and things I got to see. Tibet is such a unique and incredible place I felt so lucky and blessed to be there and to have those two help me guide through it. I have no complaints and leave very happy and blessed to have had this experience. I still think about northern xinjiang and I have some friends who might come to China from America so I’ll keep in touch and let you know. I always try to share your contact with others too. You have been such a great help to me and thanks for everything.

Megan

Dear Wing,

Sorry for not providing my feedback soon enough. We’ve completed our marvelous China tour and now at home recovering from the jet lag.

Yvonne and I would like to express my deepest gratitude for the exceptional level of service and meticulous planning you provided in organizing our recent Yangtze River Cruise from Yichang to Chongqing. We wanted to let you know how much we appreciate your efforts and the incredible experience you helped create.

From the moment we started discussing our travel plans, it was evident that you possess an extraordinary understanding of the travel industry and an unparalleled dedication to your clients. Your attention to detail was evident in every aspect of the trip, from the selection of high-speed train rides to the choice of accommodations and activities.

We were genuinely impressed with how you took the time to understand our preferences and interests, ensuring that the itinerary perfectly aligned with our desires. The thoughtfulness you put into every recommendation and suggestion exceeded our expectations. You have been very patient in answering our questions about train-rides and their respective station’s environment such as availability of elevators. Each destination we visited was captivating and offered unique experiences that will remain etched in our memory forever.

Your expertise in navigating the complexities of travel arrangements was evident throughout the entire process. Your comprehensive knowledge of the destinations, including the hotels, attractions, and hidden gems, truly enriched our travel experience.

What sets you apart is your exceptional level of customer service. This was clearly demonstrated in your follow-up calls to ensure we’ve boarded the train timely to Yichang so that we won’t miss the river cruise. You even helped us set up a new WeChat account while enroute to Shanghai. You were always prompt in responding to our inquiries and went above and beyond to accommodate any changes or requests we had. Your professionalism, patience, and positive attitude made the planning process enjoyable and stress-free. It was truly a pleasure working with you.

Thanks to your meticulous planning, our trip was an incredible adventure filled with unforgettable moments. We returned home feeling refreshed, inspired, and with a deep appreciation for the beauty and diversity of the places we visited. The memories we made will be cherished for a lifetime, and we have you to thank for curating such a remarkable journey.

Please extend our heartfelt appreciation to the entire team at Chengdu Bamboo International Tour Co. Ltd.. Your collective efforts and dedication have made this trip a truly extraordinary experience. We will undoubtedly recommend your services to our family, friends, and colleagues, confident that they will receive the same outstanding level of service that we did.

Once again, thank you, Wing, for your meticulous planning, exceptional expertise, and outstanding customer service. You have exceeded our expectations, and we’re genuinely grateful for your contributions in making our trip an extraordinary one.

Wishing you continued success in your career and many more opportunities to create incredible journeys for others.

Attached herewith is a photo taken while touring the Three Gorges Dam.

With sincere appreciation,

David

Dear Tracy good morning from London,

My sincere apology for late response due to my very busy schedule at home.

We all four arrive safely and comfortably at home as per our scheduled program.

I don't mind if you want to post our photos and videos in your page.

The trip itself was so wonderful and full of excitement and so beautifully choreographed and very well managed and organized, in over all I can say is the trip was beyond expectation and we all enjoyed the trip so so much in fullest.

The service and help from Vivian and Lily were very impressive perfect and beyond the excellent they have given us their best effort to keep us very happy, comfortable and make our trip most enjoyable.

The service of the drivers (I regret couldn't remember their name) were excellent however if I have to compare in two the best one was the driver of Zhangjiajie.

The accommodation and breakfast in the hotels were excellent the lunch Vivian and Lily had chosen us were very delicious and more than enough.

The accommodation and breakfast in the hotels were excellent the lunch Vivian and Lily had chosen us were very delicious and more than enough.

Unfortunately almost at the end of our trip on Friday night/Saturday morning my wife suddenly got very unwell (sick) so she had to be taken to hospital and at this difficult time Lily had done every thing in her capacity to take care of my wife also keep continue to trip going as scheduled programmed she managed everything very well I must highly appreciate Lily for her effort and service in this matter.

I would like to say many thanks to you, Vivian, Lily, both drivers, China Discovery and all person those who were involved in our trip. Please convey our sincere appreciation to Vivian Lily and both drivers also your help and excellent service in this trip is highly appreciated.

I have an impression I never be enough to visit China with the China Discovery if I can afford it I will visit China third or even more time in coming days.

Again thank you all.

Keshar

Hi Tracy,

Thank you for the email asking about our flight back to the UK. Yes, we all arrived here well and as scheduled.

Well, about the trip (our tour), I would say it was my one of the best from starting to finish. Yes you might have heard from Lily that we had some turbulence on the health wise to one of lady, but it was overcome very smoothly and calmly by Lily. Otherwise, you (Tracy) were so responsive, helpful and accurate on our planning and preparation to start and all the way to the finish.

On our arrival at Zhangjiajie Lily (tour guide) again waiting for our reception eagerly and led us to hotel through beautiful place. On the following day she led us for first day tour in Zhangjiajie so exiting and scary places. Through out the tour in Zhangjiajie so nice and breathtaking places. I loved it.

In overall, both tour guides were excellent, punctuality helpful and full of knowledge on their own areas. Enjoyed all lunches and breakfast in hotels. Hotel in Zhangjiajie was very good. Timing Schedule was very good for the tour. I and my wife enjoyed the tour very much. We wished we could stay there for more. I would definitely recommend China Discovery to anyone for visit in China.

Thank you very much for your excellent and exceptional service for whole tour and please pass our hello and greetings to our lovely tour guides Vivian and Lily.

Tek

Dear Vivian,

I am at a loss for words to express the immense joy I experienced on this extraordinary trip, encompassing the enchanting destinations of Beijing and Guilin. From start to finish, the journey was an absolute triumph, leaving me with a profound sense of fulfillment. I am delighted to affirm that the trip was an unparalleled success, achieving a flawless 100% rating in every aspect. Your exceptional skills as a trip organizer shone through, as you stood by our side until the very last moment, ensuring a seamless and unforgettable experience. I am truly grateful for your unwavering dedication.

Please convey my heartfelt appreciation to Smaily for her exceptional work. She went above and beyond to make every moment memorable, and her efforts were truly outstanding. Her profound knowledge, unwavering commitment, and tireless efforts to showcase the very best of each destination made the entire trip an absolute delight. Without a doubt, she deserves the highest accolades and recognition.

I must also commend the driver, whose gentle and respectful demeanor added a touch of grace to our journey.

Reflecting on the overall two weeks in China, I am filled with an overwhelming sense of awe and wonder. The meticulous planning and flawless execution by China Discovery Tour left an indelible mark, and it is without a doubt that you, Vivian, were the shining star behind it all.

With deepest gratitude,

Mohammed

Hello Mr. Wonder Wang,

We have arrived safely to Kuwait and are now cherishing our memories of China. We had a very positive impression of the country and its people in terms of organization, cleanliness, friendliness, beauty and convenience. We would definitely recommend your company to our family and friends. We were well cared for by your guides, which made us feel safe and comfortable the whole time. Regarding your specific questions, we have these remarks:

1. Most definitely Mr. Wonder Wang was quick to answer our many questions. He offered valuable advice and was patient through multiple emails between our first point of contact a month before departure, during the tour of China, and until we returned home.

2. The service of the guides was generally very good. They gave us insight into the history and culture of China, and explained the significance of sites along the way. We also felt safe with the designated drivers. At the end of each guide's service, (s)he asked us to fill a questionnaire, and we can see why this is important. Generally our comments were very positive, but we did not have time to adequately assess one guide who was not at the usual standard for this company. His English name is Waldener. We felt he slacked in sharing beneficial knowledge of his city, instead joking around and showing off his knowledge of American history and culture. He was too familiar for our taste and his comments were often immodest. We feel he might benefit from more cultural sensitivity training. The remaining tour guides were very engaging, knowledgeable, dignified and helpful. Jack (in Beijing), in particular, was exemplary in friendliness and helpfulness.

We also have a couple other minor comments. The cruise ship had very little and usually no Internet connection, which was frustrating. On the other hand, the cruise manager kindly asked us about any dietary restrictions and made sure we had food that met our requirements. Likewise, two of the tour guides understood that we only eat halal meat and took us to a halal restaurant for lunch -- this unexpected consideration was highly appreciated. (This is a very important service for most of your future Middle-Eastern guests!!)

Thank you, Mr. Wonder Wang, for your professional communication and friendly assistance throughout this experience,

Sincerely,

Yaser

Hi Leo,

The Guizhou trip was very nice! Guide and driver very helpful and skilled; The places we visited in general are very nice too!

As you had anticipated, Xijiang was pretty crowded during May Day holiday. We could not get near the village with the car, as all the Parking lots were full

So we had to park the car in Leishan and take a bus to get to the Parking lots …and from there to the village by another bus and shuttle, To take that final shuttle, it was really crowded But we managed and had a great time the next morning really early (6:30AM) to stroll through the empty village

There were a lot of people in all the places, but except Xijiang it was really at an acceptable level Actually Zhanli was pretty empty…

The least interesting visit was Qingyan Ancient Town. Actually most of the area is like a tourist area with the typical stores you see in all Ancient Towns; Yes, Qingyan was not so nice, actually the building mentioned in te program> Christian church, catholic church and house of number one scholar were all closed, So, not really much to see, besides a small exposition about Tang Dynasty

The Huangguoshu Waterfall area was very nice, not too many people there. Only the way to the path behind the Waterfall was pretty full, But acceptable…

So all-in-all a very nice experience.

Hi Leo,

This is a very short customised arrangement during which the China border is not fully opened yet.

China Discovery charges a premium though, but it delivered without fail.

The VOA is very new to even the custom officers who were on duty when I cleared the immigration check at Shenzhen as well as the HK side. I must say that the agent did his professional service by always on the call to allow on-site changes of my arrival time because immigration clearance was so unpredictable. I can be assured that someone is just outside the arrival hall to pick me up and, I could tell the immigration officer that my local contact person is just waiting outside to pick me once I am cleared with this new procedure.

It is always safer to have a local contact to guide you and make arrangements for your local transfer when language ( Cantonese instead of Mandarin) is a problem in China .

Thx for the service . Thx to Matt too.

Rgds

Dear Wonder,

Thank you so much for your assistance with our recent trip to Harbin! Please see our written feedback below:

Our family had the pleasure of working with Mr. Wonder, who assisted us in a trip to Harbin from Dec.26-29, 2022. Mr. Wonder helped generate an attractive itinerary the same day we requested and even made alterations to it so that it aligned with our requests.

Having never traveled to NE China before, Mr. Wonder made sure we had lots to do and explore during our 3 nights-2 days trip. It was the perfect amount of time to explore a variety of activities with our young family, including the following: Central Street, a traditional Harbin lunch, Songhua Ice Activities, Sun Island Ice Sculptures, Cable Car over the Songhua River, and last but not least, the Ice and Snow World! Due to the pandemic, there were a couple attractions that were closed, including the Volga Manor and Siberian Tiger Park, but Mr. Wonder made sure we had plenty to do and advised us as to what alternative activities could fill our time and be just as meaningful.

Throughout our initial booking, travel experience, and arrival back home, Mr. Wonder was consistently available and responsive to any questions or requests that we had and always gave timely responses. We look forward to working with him again in the near future as he helps us explore the many sites and wonders of China.

Hi Leo,

it was great! I really appreciated Lily's flexibility when I needed to rest a bit more one day and and she was amazing when she came to meet be the day I arrived even though the tour hadn't started because my hotel was blocked off for covid testing (close contact). I was tired and frustrated but she helped me navigate the situation and was very kind about it. I also really enjoyed the itinerary- I felt like I got to see so much and Lily gave me a lot of interesting information. She was obviously very professional and experienced, knowing exactly how to make the most of our visits. The driver was great, I felt very safe the whole time. The restaurants were a bit expensive for lunch for 1 person but it wasn't a huge deal- I invited Lily to join me because I couldn't eat the huge portions. Overall, I really enjoyed my time in Zhangjiajie and it went smoothly because Lily truly has expertise in the area but was also flexible when necessary.

Kelly

Yes – Vivien responded promptly, was friendly and helpful.

We really enjoyed the trip, it was well organised took us to some places we would have found difficult to access independently.

The guides and drivers were all very friendly and welcoming. Thy thought of lots of great extra touches, like providing a useful travel pouch and lots of water.

It was certainly lucky we used the guide system during Covid-19, as the health code and testing system in Inner Mongolia was very different from where we live in China. We had many problems that we would not have been able to solve by ourselves. We usually travel independently, but we are glad we had a guide on this trip.

Mary and Xiaowang in particular went above and beyond to make sure we could get covid tests done in time. Lisa was also very friendly and helped us to take lots of great photos.

The museum being closed on Monday was the only disappoint, as we couldn’t go to the museum, we wished we’d spent longer that morning in the grassland.

Ewan

Hi Vivien,

We are happy to answer your questions.

1. Our travel consultant, Vivien, was outstanding and exceeded our expectations. Due to covid travel restrictions, our trip had to be changed and postponed several times but Vivien dealt with this efficiently and respectfully despite at times having to change plans at the last minute. Without Vivien, we would have cancelled our wonderful trip. Every request we made was met and everything was highly organized and communicated with us downtown to the finest detail. The guides and drivers arranged were excellent and we felt relaxed throughout our trip.Vivien is a credit to the company and an exemplary representative.

2. Our tour guides had excellent English and were very knowledgeable. Especially appreciated was their patience and flexibility as I have a bone disease and often struggle to walk. They let me rest without complaint and went above and beyond in all regards even to Yenny ordering us some sesame rice balls to be delivered to the hotel because I had enjoyed them so much at lunch and Ellen taking us for hotpot for lunch at our request. Nothing was too much trouble.

3. We are leaving China this year and despite not usually using a travel agent when we travel, we hope to return to China in the future and will use China Discovery and hopefully Vivien without a doubt.

Vivien, words cannot express how grateful we are for everything you have done for us to ensure we managed a break away. Personally, we needed a holiday and you provided us with the most amazing trip.

Even though we have never met you and do not even know what you look like, you will hold a place in our hearts forever. You have truly been a blessing and we are eternally grateful for your patience, kind and caring attitude and professionalism throughout the last year.

Thank you so much.

I have attached some photos and you can use these if they are any good as well as our recommendations.

Val and Steve Hart

Hi Johnson,

I still owe you some feedback about the fantastic trip to Qinghai and Gansu province.

The whole service and organization was again flawless and very convenient. We felt very well taken care off.

Highlights

• We really enjoyed the bike ride along the Qinghai lake. Our guide Sally chose the best bike rental. We got really good and robust bikes and could easily ride along the lake on the dirt road. That was a super nice experience. We stopped wherever we liked to take pictures.

• We LOVED the night in the yurt. The tent is very spacious and convenient, and the shared bathrooms were super clean and well maintained. And in the evening we had dinner sitting outside beneath the stars being surrounded by the Rainbow mountains. This was a fantastic experience and we would not want to miss it.

• Your best recommendation was the two days in the desert. This was a mind blowing experience. We have never seen a landscape like this. The driver made us feel very safe and we could stop for pictures everywhere we liked. And staying overnight in the headman’s house was also a very special experience and allowed us to get up for the sunrise. If guests have enough time, I would definitely recommend it.

• The open air show in Dunhuang was very nice. We had dinner in the Silk Road hotel on the roof terrace before. I would recommend this show for other travellers.

• We also especially want to mention our guide in Gansu province: Spring . She adjusted the program to our wishes. She was always there for us with tips and support, but also gave us our freedom and room to explore on our own. She was really listening to our wishes and always made it happen (for example flexible lunch breaks, flexible timing, recommending Chinese food, reduce the program when we were tired). She adjusted to us which was highly appreciated.

Hotels

All hotels were fine except for the Jiayuguan Hotel (Guancheng Silk Road Culture Expo Park). That was really old and not very clean. I know you only had to book it because the other hotel was cancelled. Just for future guests we don’ t recommend it.

We liked our hotel in Dunhuang a lot (WanSheng International Hotel), because it was walking distance to the night market. We went there every evening. Another good hotel option would be the Silk Road Hotel (close to where the open air show is) with the roof terrace overlooking the sand dunes.

Do different next time

The boat tour on the Qinghai lake was not so exciting. You can only stay inside the boat. The little island we went to was nice to explore on foot and take some pictures, but our expectation was more about the boat tour itself, so that we would probably not repeat a next time.

I hope this feedback is useful for you.

Wishing you a good week.

Best regards,

Christine

Hi Johnson,

We are really enjoying Xi’an, Timo and Bruce have been great, thanks for asking! We will certainly reach out if we need anything, thanks for the offer!

Hi Johnson! The Grottoes are amazing and so is the Fuxi temple. So glad this was on our itinerary!

Yes the hotel did check the Covid test. We are also not able to get the Gansu green code because it is setup for the Chinese ID, but they did take the travel code (the one with the arrow). They definitely wanted the most information of any place we’ve encountered! Including residence in shanghai and future travel plans. But David did a great job. If we came back we would definitely add a day to take the tram and wander around the river! It’s a cool place.

We had a marvelous time on our trip! Thank you so much.

Could I ask you to send us a personal Fapaio? Thanks again!

Alex and Steve

Hi Johnson,

Our five families had a superb trip! The incredible sites we visited such as the 'Great wall' and the 'Terracotta warriors' will stay in our memories forever! Our guides took us to some superb restaurants where we really enjoyed the local food. The Peking duck for me was a favourite. Your organization and that of our local guides was excellent! Our guides knowledge of the places we visited was in-depth and really added to the interest in what we were seeing. I will highly recommend your tour to other teachers at my school and friends and family back in New Zealand.

Things to improve upon:

I think when travelling with younger children we found it's better sometimes to do 1 or 2 things a day rather than try and fit everything in on the itinerary especially when it was hot and there was lot's of walking to do. I think the guides were good at realizing this and were flexible when there were things we cut out of the daily itinerary. Having a pool at the end of the day was great for tired kids.

Perhaps next time with families try and have them stay not underneath the bar on the boat as it got a bit noisy. Although the people on the boat were really good when we said something about this on the first night. We also thought there could have been a bit more for children to do on the boat and we put that in our comments at the end of the trip.

That's all I can really think of as there was not really anything wrong with the trip. Thanks again Johnson, let me know if you want me to add any more detail in recommending the trip to others.

Regards.

Cameron

Thanks Jo. You too and thanks for amazing memories!! We are on the way home ready for bed!!

Beatriz

Us too! Adding our thanks for letting us join you. It was a great trip and fun to spend time with you all. Thanks to Johnson for all of his efforts and planning!

Lisa

Fantastic trip y’all! Thanks for all the memories! I’ll try and get photos from everyone and get some out together in the next week or so.

Matthew

Yes fantastic trip thanks everyone! We’ll get some feedback to you soon Johnson.

Cameron

We must have already been asleep when these messages came through. We have had a wonderful time. Thanks Johnson and Cam. Great to tick off so many must-sees in China ! Let’s have a post holiday debrief at our new apartment once we have unpacked!

Kylie

Hi Johnson, I know this is a bit late telling you. But our family had a lovely time on the trip you organised for us. We got to see so much of China! We feel very lucky. We are spending a week in Sanya. China is so beautiful!

Tessa

Hi Wonder,

we are safely on the train back to Nanjing. Thank you for creating a holiday that has been full of memories that will last a life time. We have had an amazing journey. Most importantly your attention to detail, experience and diligence has given Gerry and I peace of mind. You have been wonderful.

Gillian

Hi Wonder.

Dali is doing good and we will be taking the train this evening to Kunming. Want to keep you informed that the hotel in Dali was the best and it is very good. You should recommend your guests more to this type of hotel.

For our tomorrow's flight to Shenzhen, requesting you to block our two seats in the front row (one window and one middle next to each other). Thanks.

GM. We are at present in the stone forest. FYI, the hotel in Kunming was very good How are the arrangements for the flight..: hope no more changes.

Gd eve. Just got into taxi and on our way home. Everything was smooth. Thanks for everything. Will get I. Touch with you next week for upcoming October holiday to Tibet, if situation is good.

The trip was wonderful Wonderful. Thanks for making good arrangements and hotels.

Only one negative is the hotel in Lijiang which is not considered a boutique hotel but a bed and breakfast type suitable for backpackers and youngsters! We had a tough time climbing up and down foe 3 days in that place!!

Sivarama

Dear Tracy,

We came back from our wonderful Yunnan trip yesterday, so I thought I would just give you some detailed feedback. My expectation is to use you whenever we go travelling in China as long as your prices are competitive, so I think it will benefit us both to give you feedback each time.

First of all I would like to say, that this is one of the best trips we ever had as a family - we really enjoyed it.

Dali

Nancy is the best guide we have had in China so far - she is so sweet and really good in explaning our different sightseeing options and telling relevant interesting stories. She also gives advice to us on the day we did not have anything scheduled.

The hotel in Dali was nice, ok breakfast and pool - although a little cold.

We enjoyed both the cycling trip and the Cangshan Mountain. The trip to Shibao Mountain we felt was a little rushed. We would have preferred to have more time here and done some hiking in the beautiful surroundings. It felt like a lot of transportation for a very short walk.

Shaxi

This city is fantastic - and we loved the hotel. The breakfast was perfect, the best breakfast we had at any hotel in China.

Lijiang

Evan was ok as a guide. I wrote to him to get a restaurant recommendation before coming to Lijiang, and his first question was which hotel we stay at. On the day we were going to the Tiger Leaping Gorge hike, he was not really informed about our programme it seemed, and wanted to cut two hours of the hike. I really appreciate when the guides know our itinerary, so we do not have to give him information.

As our first two days in Lijiang was on out own, it would have been nice with just a 2 minutes introduction from his side, when we met at the hotel. For example that there are both a Shuhe old town and a Lijiang Old Town. No one at the hotel spoke a word English, so it was difficult for us to figure out how to best spend the days.

The day in the snow mountain was fantastic - but I had to ask for the yak meadow. I would have liked him to explain to me the options at the snow mountain, so I could make a decision based on that, not my own research. Our friends who came two days later, also travelling with China Discovery, went all the way to the gletcher. We did not even know that was an option.

The hotel in Lijiang was the best on our trip - nice rooms, pool and gym. And I have to say their service is AMAZING! I got the wechat of one of the staff, and he helped us with everything, I do not have his English name, but can send his Chinese to you on WeChat. He should really be recognized for his efforts! The only thing about this hotel was, that their breakfast is really bad. It seemed strange because this hotel is so beautiful and amazing, but their breakfast seems to belong to a one star hotel. I have to say again, that their service is really good - so when we complained they made scramble eggs for us and something that resembled bacon. So the staff did everything they could. But a hotel like that should have better breakfast - maybe they should visit the hotel in Shaxi.

Tiger Leaping Gorge

So everything on this trip was amazing!!!!! We loved the hike and the hotel was like a small piece of paradise. The room, the pool the spa - it was just perfect. Also we really liked Pema, our guide.

One comment is that our friends, who did the hike two days later, had their suitcases brought all the way to this hotel. Why were we not offered this? I know we have paid the same price for the trip.

Shangri-La

The two hikes and visit to the monestary was very good, Pema had a good feeling of what our family liked and he was very sweet to our kids.

We did not really like the hotel that much. Actually I prefer the often much more charming boutique hotels. You properly chose it because of the pool, which I know I wanted. But the water at the pool was 13 degrees - so not really something we could use.

So that was all the feedback I had. I hope it is useful to you! I will send you the name of the employee at the Lijiang hotel, he deserves extra credit.

Kind regards.

Signe

Hi Lyn,

Please find hereunder our assessment about our trip in Qinhai:

1. Program: it was well made:

- Qinghai lake and Chaka lake were as expected. We liked them and liked the road trip, with a little disappointment because we were hoping to enjoy the wild nature and instead we had the feeling to be in Disneyland for the two main attractions.

- Kambula Park: beautiful! It was beyond our expectations. We really had the wild nature for ourselves with no tourists and breathtaking landscapes.

- Bingling Cave-temple: fantastic! It was the highlight of our trip. We didn’t expect such a marvelous combination of natural settings and buddhist statues and carvings, It was raining with few tourists. We were soaked to the bones but we enjoyed every moment.

- Visit of Wutun and Longwu monasteries. Wonderful! No tourists. Thanks to the guide who knows the monks in Wutun, we could have a private visit, possibility of taking pictures, explanations of the different paintings and statues,…

- Visit of Ta’er monastery: it is a must! However, because there were so many tourists, many things that we could do in the previous smaller temples were not allowed (taking pictures,…). If I have to choose, I would choose the smaller temples. However, the museum of butter sculptures in Ta’er is extraordinary, much better than the one we visited last year in Labrang.

- Visit of museum of Tibetan medicine and civilization: good. The world longest thangka is really impressive. The other elements of Tibetan art, medicine, utensils, … are interesting.

2. Hotels:

- Wanda hotel in Xining: top hotel. Excellent. The second night with the upgrade to executive floor, it was really good.

- Hotel in Chaka: correct for Chaka. Breakfast: no western food, not even coffee. We are used to western breakfast.

- Hotel in Linxia: correct. Breakfast not too good but better than in Chaka

- Hotel in Xiahe: below our expected standard: room too small, breakfast of bad quality, including the Chinese food!

- Sofitel Xining: top hotel. Excellent!

3. The car: Renault Koleos. A bit old, small and under the standard I expected, but overall correct.

4. The people:

- Driver Han: very helpful, a bit bad tempered sometimes but overall good.

- Guide Lee: excellent. I really like his knowledge of Tibetan culture and religion, he could answer all my questions on any subject (I have a lot and I usually exhaust my guides). His friendship with the monks in Wutun was great. He is definitely one of the best guides I ever had!

Conclusion: I am very satisfied with your arrangement.

Best regards

Andre

Hello Rita,

Hope you had a good weekend.

Well, my time here has come to an end and I have had "THE" most amazing trip; and seen so many wonderful things in China that I would never have been able to do without your help. The itinerary that you put together for me was perfect and fantastic. Thank you so so much. Every hotel was delightfully comfortable and just right after each full and busy day. The breakfasts were delicious and catered for many different tastes.

The guides and drivers were all increadible. So obliging and flexable....willing and able to meet our every need, politely, patiently and professionally.

I will strongly recommend China Discovery as a tour agency of choice.

Many, many thanks; wishing you only the best throughout this difficult COVID period and the future.

Warmest Regards

Ceresa

Dear Zeva,

Beijing: We had the Great Wall all to ourselves. Fantastic experience. Had a fantastic day.

Guide was amazing, driver amazing, hotel amazing. All 5*

High-speed Train: Looking forward to it. Business class is amazing.

Xian: Today was such a special day, one of my dreams came true, to see for myself the Terracotta soldiers and horses. I was in awe. I cannot find the words to express how amazing an experience it was. Our guide made it even more special, he shared interesting knowledge with us. I am so grateful for this opportunity.

Today’s highlight, biang biang noodle and Chinese burger, very delicious

Xi 'An trip was fantastic. Timo was an amazing guide. Looking forward to the next leg of our journey.

Guilin: Hiking up the Longji rice terraces today was like entering a magical world. The 93% humidity did not deter us

Today was a gastromical delight. The local cuisine at Longji is 5*. The highlight was seeing our vegetables being picked in the garden and then cooked for us. The taste was unbelievable and the icing on the cake a bottle of Portuguese wine. The local wine is great too, more a desert wine. I'm in heaven.

Today had many highlights, visiting the Yao village, where women have hair over 1 meter long, seeing the amazing Reed Flute caves, seeing the sun and moon pagodas and of course my birthday. Its been a wonderful day. Thanks to all who made it so special and for all the birthday wishes. I am so blessed.

Wow, another fantastic day. Li and Dragon river.Wonderful scenery, delicious food, great company and more birthday presents. I am eternally grateful.

Our trip to Guilin was amazing. Alice was a wonderful guide. The only downside was the attitude of the staff at the Armari hotel. They seemed a little uneasy as we were foreigners and even wanted a covid test. Alice handled the situation very well though. The hotel room and facilities were great.

I would give a rating of 5 for the hotel room, facilities and location but 3 for customer service.

Yangtze River Cruise: Its been a great trip.

What better way to finish a holiday than a cruise on the Yangtze river. The staff on the Century Paragon ship made it a journey to remember.

Our final trip before returning home. The three gorges dam, magnificent and powerful.

We had a great holiday. The whole trip was well organised, the guides anazing, everything was perfect. Thank you.

Hi Wonder, back to Shanghai, it was an amazing trip, and the driver is just a great guy who really help us from the beginning to the end. Thank you for everything.

Here is my review about the trip to Guilin, it’s just our point of view so there is nothing bad about what I will say.

At first we had an amazing driver, friendly and always helping us for everything, and very good and safe drive.

Day one was great, not really a lot of things to see or do in Huangluo Yao village, but it’s ok, by the way the restaurant the driver bring us there was very great, best Chinese food we had in China. Ping’an Village is just wonderful, walking in the middle of the rice terrace with an amazing view was perfect. The hotel was nice too (sorry to disturb you this day, but after I realize the woman playing with a kid on the terrace was working for the hotel, at the beginning I thought she was a client), by the way, it was great, she really took care of us, and again excellent food, the view from the room is great too.

Day two was great too, thousand layer terraces is a place to see, and the cable car is very useful, Ping An is better cause we really are in the middle of the rice terrace with all the farmer around, it’s really local, 1000 terrace is more for the view and we really enjoyed it.

Visit of the Tea farmer was interesting.

Then back in Guilin, we went to the city to the pedestrian street near a lake with two beautiful towers, and also went to a park near a hill. Guilin is a nice city but it stays a city, the hotel was great too, but all was a little bit too much “metropole”. I think it should be better to stay in a more local place like small village close from Mopanshan. Nothing bad about this Wonder, but we come from Shanghai who is a big city, and when we go out from a city it’s nice to be in the country side. The hotel was perfect too, but it’s the kind of hotel I go during some business trips, by the way we know Guilin now.

Day 3 was very very very great, the cruise is amazing, the bamboo boat very great too and the country side of Yangshuo is just wow, so beautiful, we have rented a motorbike from the hotel and wend around in the afternoon, just beautiful, we really enjoyed. The hotel was perfect too, all the staff speak English and are very friendly. In the restaurant, Chinese and Western food was nice too, in the evening we went to see a show in Yangshuo, they knew we should come back late and they manage everything so serve us after 10pm. Very great hotel with a so beautiful view. This is the point, at the hotel at Ping An village or Yangshuo, in the evening we can enjoy the view from outside on the balcony of the room, drinking a glass and smoke a cigarette, it’s just empty out mind and we really enjoy this moment, thing we cannot do in Guilin for example.

Day 4, back to Guilin and go to Elephant Hill, it’s just a park like the 100 parks we have in Shanghai, nothing special to see, especially after seeing the rice terraces around Ping An and the beautiful landscape from Li River and Yangshuo. Reed Flute cave was just wow too, so so beautiful, that was the first time in my life I saw a so beautiful cave, really love it.

This trip was the best one we did in China, we both love it, just wish to have one more day in Yangshuo. If I need to give a note I will give 9/10, Thank for your great work.

Hi Wonder,

Our trip has ended and it’s time to complete the evaluation form.

We found China Discovery on line while looking for a reputable company in China to plan our holiday.

After contacting Mr Wonder Wang ( through online email and WeChat ) we found his level of support, information, communication, patience and understanding to be very professional. He was quick to respond to all our questions and accommodating in all our requests.

The tour arrangements were to our liking. Wonder worked closely with us to determine our touring preferences. The transport schedule was not too strenuous, the tours we encountered were interesting and our accommodation was to the most very comfortable.

As far as recommending China Discovery, we would be happy to introduce anyone keen in touring China to this company.

Our tour was conducted in the early part of the year under the curtain of COVID and in the midst of Chinese New Year. Wonder and the guides helped us with all our medical requirements and arrangements and a holiday that could have been disjointed flowed with out any problems.

Wonder gave us contacts to all our guides and they were accessible and helpful.

The drivers who accompanied the guides were also friendly and safe.

The guides were all good - supportive, jovial, attentive and knowledgeable.

The best in our opinion were May, Michael and Steven.

Our accommodation The Gran Melia was very good in Xian and the nearby area was interesting to explore by foot in our free time - the park area across the street from our accommodation and Grand Tang Mall nearby.

The Sofitel in Chengdu was comfortable, the breakfasts were wonderful and the assistance we received from their restaurant manager for dinner one evening was exceptional. The only negative was that the hotel was a little dated.

Our stay in Le Meridien Emei Mountain Resort was very nice.

Our stay in Old Town Lijiang at The Ivy Garden was located well. The hotel had a traditional appeal. We arrived at night so we were surprised at how cold the room was. There was a heater on but not adequate and extra linen should have been available.  There was no choice given for breakfast and it was not to our liking.

The Gurong Boutique was very comfortable and breakfast was minimal but nice.

The Cachet Hotel in Kunming was kind enough to change our room because of ‘smoke odour‘ and it appeared to be an upgrade.

Their kitchen staff were helpful and made us a basic breakfast pack to take on the fast train to Guilin.

The Shangri-La in Guilin was a wonderful stay with a beautiful view. The breakfast and dinner selections were vast and very tasty.

The Amari in Yangshuo was comfortable and well placed. The small ‘fairground attraction’ outside our window was slightly noisy up till about midnight.

All in all, the entire trip was an amazing experience we both enjoyed immensely.

We found it helpful when the guides would initially state what our plans were for the day ahead and go through the itinerary so we were reminded and understood.

Occasionally we did not do something on the schedule and it wasn’t clearly explained to us why not, for example the Pearl Museum and also the option we had to make a terracotta soldier.

We understand that some venues were closed because of COVID / Chinese New Year and in these cases we were informed and alternative arrangements were made.

We were blessed with good weather, good organisation, wonderful guides, good drivers and a beautiful and interesting country to explore.

Thank you to Wonder and your diverse team, we would definitely look at using your company’s services in the future.

Kind Regards

Mario and Angela Crivelli.

Hello Wonder!

I am so very sorry for taking so long to get back to you!  It was such a busy week last week, that every time I sat down to write to you, I kept getting distracted and having to focus on something 

So, first, it was a wonderful trip!  Of course, we wished that COVID didn't interrupt some of our itinerary.   . . . but even with the pop-up-health-concerns in Beijing, we felt very well taken care of.  We really appreciated the fact you frequently checked in and kept us updated.  In addition, we believe Linda was probably the best person to be on a tour with during a health scare, because she took care of us like we were her little kids.  :)   In English, I told her I felt like she was our "mother hen," always making sure we were taken care of!  She also always picked THE BEST food.  One could tell that she has had a number of western tourists before, because she also always tried to find food that not only represented Beijing, but that would also fit with our western palate. :)  

Also, when we went to the Great Wall, we completely lucked out: there was no one there!  For a great part of it, it was as if the Great Wall was our own private wall! :)  Definitely amazing.  Definitely memorable.  Many of the tourist sites were like that: due to COVID fears and the cold, they were nearly empty.  For the western tourist, the emptiness made the tourist sites even more memorable.  :)   Linda provided great context.   It was very cold, but Linda was a trooper -- always trying to make sure we saw what we wanted to see!  

I will say, even the Beijing Public Hospital, despite being a very busy hospital, went fairly smoothly, all things considered.  So, hey, now we can mark that off our list of things we have done in China. :) 

Hotel was nice, but due to Covid, many of the amenities were shut down.  Breakfast was superb, though! :)  Also, Mark and I were trying to be safety cautious, so we did not explore outside the hotel much. There was a lot of extra app scrutiny, which I'm sure you can imagine.  Also, people seemed very nervous. 

Linda also stayed with us all the way until we boarded the train.  She was very thoughtful and considerate.  Our driver (Mr. Lee), was also very kind and considerate during the entire trip.  He was very quiet, but we felt like we were safe in his hands. 

Bruce, in Xi'an, was also fantastic.  Such a different personality, but perfect for Xi'an.  He was enthusiastic about history (great for Mark), and had a passion for the food in the Muslim Quarter (great for me!).  You know, one day, your company should consider incorporating a food tour in Xi'an.  The food is so different than anywhere we've been in China . . . and so tasty!  In a way, I bet Bruce could run the food tour!  By the way, riding the bikes on the wall was a nice extra touch.  We didn't expect that!  Thank you for arranging.  Mark and I would have never thought we would have enjoyed it so much, but we definitely did!  It was also fairly empty. . . and with the sun setting, it was quite magical. 

Sheraton in Xi'an was also a very nice place to stay.  Great choice! :)   

We really enjoyed ourselves, Wonder.  Thank you for picking great tour guides, checking in, adjusting our itinerary, and making sure everything worked smoothly.  In fact, we enjoyed ourselves so much that Mark and I have already started thinking of our next trip!  

Mark and I will have some additional leave coming up in May.  Mark has gotten approval, but I haven't yet.  Either way, we are thinking of a fairly large trip, that would at least include Chengdu (definitely including food-related itinerary) and part of the silk road (the Qinghai to Gansu trip).  I particularly am interested in the grottoes and the desert.  As we get more details/approvals to take leave, we will let you know.  Of course, we will want to work with you, since you are our favorite tour organizer! :) 

Thanks for checking in!

Take care, 

Keena (and Mark)

Hi Wonder,

All good, thanks!! Just finished the train and village visit!

1. Is your travel consultant of our company fast enough to answer your E-mail and patient enough to answer your questions?

Yes, everything was taken care of promptly, and Johnson was very flexible to meet my needs as I looked to modify plans.   I appreciate the great job he did in making this a successful trip.

2.    How do you comment your tour arrangements?

Jingdezhen

-       Tour guide Peter was excellent, very enthusiastic and informative.  He also helped to get all of my train tickets for the trip which was very helpful.

-       Driver very good- no issues.

-       Hotel was very good- new , modern hotel, with good facilities and very good breakfast.  Location in the entertainment district was perfect for walking around at night.    Highly recommend to keep this one.

-       Tour arrangements were good.   Morning touring the kilns and the museum was nice to see.  The afternoon was perhaps a bit less organized without specific stops- would have been better to see specific galleries where shopping could be done, or going to the factory area downtown (which we eventually did because I asked to do so).

-       Lunch was very good- good to go to an authentic local place for food.

-       Transition to Huangshan was smooth , without issue.

Huangshan/Villages

-       Tour guide Xia (Jerry) was excellent, very strategic in his approach to ensure a great experience.

-       Driver was very good- no issues.

-       Huangshan International Hotel was ok- I would say average, could be better.   Location was good near the downtown.  Breakfast was not very good – pretty low quality.

-       Trip to Huangshan was well handled by Jerry, getting to the top of the mountain in reasonable time despite the crowds and he led me well around the mountain.  We covered what I wanted to see-  he encouraged us to see everything on day 1 with the weather getting worse – a very good call.

-       Xihai Hotel had very nice rooms and a nice bar area. The only downside is there is only a buffet for dinner and it is not very good, but guess we had little choice.  I did not eat breakfast there.

-       Trip to Hongcun and Bishan the next day was very good. We left Huangshan early as the mountain was fogged over. Hongcun was crazy busy due to holidays but we saw the main sights, and then I had some time to walk around.  I felt a little rushed with the schedule but still saw enough.  Lunch was ok, not great.  Bishan was very nice, with a chance to bike around the village areas and quiet. Xia guided me around the town on bike and then left me to bike on my own.

-       Accommodation in Bishan was excellent- Pig’s Inn is perfect, and these type of atmospheric farm stays are much preferred by me and would be for other travelers.   The dinner and breakfast were probably the best food I had on the trip, and having the Dog’s Bistro around the corner for drinks was an ideal setup. 

-       The next day was good as well.  As we were running ahead on the agenda, we added Nanping, which was a quiet beautiful village to walk around, and then we went to Xidi, which was really nice and large.   We spent a full morning in these two villages and then stopped for lunch outside Xidi.   Lunch was ok- better than the day before, but not exceptional.    Then we stopped in the Old Street in Huangshan to buy some Shaobing, and then we finished the day a little early at 230 pm.  I feel maybe we could have added one more thing to see, but this was fine.

Train trip to Zhangjiajie

-       No issues, very smooth transition in Changsha.  Driver moved me across the city efficiently.

Zhangjiajie

-       Tour guide Derrick was very good, he had a few moments where we was a bit pessimistic about the weather and crowds, but he managed the situation professionally and did a great job despite the bad weather. 

-       Our main driver was very good, he handled everything well.  The drivers we had for short pickups were less reliable- the one picking me up to go to Tianmen Mountain was late, and generally they were less friendly and reliable, requiring effort by Derrick to fix. 

-       Hotel (Santo Domingo) was below standard and I would strongly advise you to change to Crowne Plaza or Pullman which are much more appropriate hotels for international travelers.  The breakfast looked very questionable in quality so I went to Starbucks. 

-       The tour to the glass bridge was very good and I got to see everything, despite not great weather.  Then, we went to Zhangjiajie where weather was not great at the top but Derrick found good trails on the bottom where we could see some scenery.  We then went to late lunch/early dinner which was an excellent restaurant with very good food.

-       The next day at Avatar mountain was good for weather – Derrick timed the visit to be a bit later to ensure we would see something at the best part of the day.   We missed out the 3^rd viewpoint due to fog, but again, he found another trail for us to hike at the bottom.  Again we went to a late lunch/early dinner at a very good restaurant.   

-       The Best Western hotel in Zhangjiajie had good rooms but common areas and food were below standard.  My advice here would be for travelers to spend the night up in Wulingyuan at either Crowne or Pullman and then go into town the next morning early.

-       Tianmen Mountain was totally fogged over, so I got unlucky.  We did the trip anyway which was fine and I saw the glass bridge.  After seeing this, we stopped for a small lunch at a wonton stand (very good) and then we went to a lake for a quick visit.   Then we traveled to Fenghuang.   We checked into the hotel and then Derrick arranged a dinner at a local restaurant.     This food was not great to be honest, it was a bit low quality but this was the only miss.    I was able to walk around the town and enjoy the scenery.

-       The hostel I chose- Yunji Inn- was very nice with great views and comfortable beds and showers.  Just to note cleanliness in the corners was not great so some would be turned off by this, but I didn’t mind honestly.  

-       After a morning to myself , which I appreciated,  Derrick toured me around the town and then we headed back to ZJJ.   As we got back, Derrick chose a restaurant with a view of Tianmen from a distance, which was clearly visible- much appreciated as he was thinking of me, and the food was good.  Then he dropped me at the airport.

3.    Are you willing to recommend our service to your people who also have an interest to visit China?

  Yes, also for those within China

4.  Your general opinion on us?
Very professional, well organized and flexible.   This is the 2^nd trip I’ve taken with you and both were successful.

5.    Do you have any suggestions on improving our services?

-       Guides – keep them , they are great.

-       Itinerary-   looks good overall, you may be able to add more villages or sights to the Huangshan/villages tour as there is enough time in the schedule.   Beef up the Jingdezhen afternoon itinerary with clear visits to galleries for shopping. 

-       Transportation-  Drivers all good except for the short trip drivers in ZJJ,  train trips were well arranged.

-       Hotels-  As mentioned, smaller atmospheric stays like Pig’s Inn or Yunji Inn would be preferred.   I think you can offer two choices to visitors- either standard international hotel or rustic stays and they can decide.   In Wulingyuan,  switch to Pullman or Crowne Plaza and avoid Santo Domingo, and then consider to stay there before Tianmen as the Best Western is a little beat down.    Continue with the hotel in Jingdezhen, that was perfect.

6.    Can we use your comments of our service, the photos or other images that you took on the tour for our websites, brochures, marketing and publicity? If yes, could you please send us some of your photos by E-mail?

Yes, this is fine.   I can forward some images on wechat – this will be easier.  Let me know if this is ok- just ping me- and also let me know what you might like pictures of – as I have them from all places.

7. If you had a nice tour experience, may I know whether you could write us a review on Trip Advisor? It’s very important to our company and my own career! If so, please let me know and I will send you the our homepage link on Trip Advisor.

I will try to do so when I have time.

Hi Johnson,

Here are my answers.

1. Is your travel consultant of our company fast enough to answer your E-mail and patient enough to answer your questions?

Yes, very reactive and we were able to custom made our trip and even modify it during the trip due to some unexpected change in Fuyin.

2. How do you comment on your tour arrangements?

Since we work together on the route we can only say that it match our requirement and you help us to build the itinerary for a great photography tour.

3. Are you willing to recommend our service to your people who also have an interest to visit China?

Yes sure i will specially communication was good and have good follow up during the trip

4. Your general opinion on us?

Great driver and able to manage the complexity of Xinjiang county specially for foreigners and numerous checkpoints. Very good reactivity on last day and good suggestions on avoid additional unnecessary trouble due to covid situation even we are in China since february 2020

5. Do you have any suggestions on improving our services?

Since everything was clear and yes it's also a good chance to meet this driver i don't have suggestions. Probably some hotels have included breakfast.

6. Can we use your comments of our service, the photos or other images that you took on the tour for our websites, brochures, marketing and publicity? If yes, could you please send us some of your photos by E-mail?

You can pick up some of my photos but need to keep photos with trademarks.

www.floriandelalee.com

https://www.behance.net/Flowrian

7. We sometimes have requests from potential customers who would like to inquire from or our ex-customers. May they contact you for advices?

If you want another testimony on tripadvisor please send me the link but i don't want to be contact by customer. If i have people interested i will share your wechat contact.

Dear Ms Zeng,

So I am now back home in England and already I am very much missing China!

Overall my tour was excellent and I would be very happy to recommend your company to my friends and family.  In fact I have already done so

Here are my comments about the tour in more detail:

Xi’an 

The train connection went smoothly and I was met at the station by my guide, Crystal

Hotel: The Holiday In Express was good, clean and friendly.  The location is excellent because it is right in the centre of the city.

Guide and driver: Crystal (and the driver) were excellent. Crystal was very well informed, very friendly and great company.

Tour: The places we visited were interesting and I really enjoyed seeing the terracotta warriors.

Beijing

Again the train transfer went smoothly, apart from me arriving at the wrong exit at the station (which you sorted very quickly - thank you!) Having your number for emergencies was a really useful on that occasion

Hotel: the hotel itself was good, clean and comfortable.  I just found the location a little “isolated” and would have preferred somewhere a bit more downtown, near the centre.

Guides: 2 different guides for the 2 days. I have already messaged you about Yuly who I thought was excellent. Informed, patient with the difficult tourists and good company. The guide on the 2nd day was also very good, well-informed and good company.

Tour: Beijing was incredible if very cold! I thoroughly enjoyed all the places we visited and found the guides to be well informed. The Great Wall was amazing!

Shanghai

Again the train transfer went smoothly and I was met on time at the station by the guide.

Hotel: the hotel was warm, clean and comfortable and well located near the railway station and the metro.

Guide: Frank was well-informed, well organised and fun to be with.

Tour: the tours were interesting and well organised.  I felt I saw the best parts of Shanghai

So overall I was very happy with the tour 

I should also add that your itinerary was very comprehensive and I constantly referred to it on my travels.

My only suggestion would be to include a link on how to use the Metro because the first time is confusing (or did I miss that link)

I am happy for you to include my comments in your marketing and I am also happy for potential customers to contact me if they want more feedback before they book.

I took over 900 photos but I have included my 3 favourite photos as they remind me that I have been to these 3 iconic places in China.  I am happy for you to use my photos

Thank you again for organising the tour, Ms Zeng

Best wishes,

Chris

Hi Wonder

Thanks for organising our 8 day Yunnan tour in Dec 2019. We were impressed with your prompt response, efficient service in planning the itinerary and acceding to all of our requests.

The itinerary was very well thought out and was at an easy pace. The 2 drivers we had (Mr Zheng in Kunming and Mr Yu for the rest of the journey) were very friendly and most importantly, safe drivers.

The tour guides were also very informative and spoke English well. Special mention goes to:

1) Mr Wang in Kunming, who guided us all the way from hotel pickup to go through customs and check in at the high speed rail. He even kept my Swiss Army Knife for me when I couldn't bring it onboard the train and returned to me the moment we arrived back in Kunming. He also helped us take very nice pictures while we were in the Stone Forest.

2) Alice in Dali was a breath of fresh air, she was always smiling, high-spirited and checking with us if we wanted to do certain activities she'd planned for us. We really appreciate the initiative taken to show us how the locals live and work (sipping tea, embroidery school, Dai dye, local market etc). She was genuine, honest, open and was very informative and knowledgeable in the local culture and the historical facts about the places we'd visited. 

3) Aten in Shangri-La was very friendly, well-spoken and communicated very well in English about the places of interest we'd visited. He was thoughtful, attentive and ensured that we were safe every step of the way as it had snowed and the floors were slippery at certain places. We really appreciated that he executed the itinerary there seamlessly without rushing through anything. We particularly enjoyed the 3km walk in the Potatso National Park, even though the lake was iced over, it was one of the most beautiful snowscapes we've seen and Aten kept it interesting with stories and facts about the place.

4) Mr Yu, our driver for Dali, Lijiang and Shangri-La was one of the best drivers we've had. He drove well regarding safety as the most important. He was also very friendly and kind and had our best interests at heart: one day in Shangri-La, he noted we were tired the day before and he actually suggested that we start the following day later so we could rest. That touched our hearts :)

All in all, we had a wonderful time in Yunnan and of the many provinces we've visited so far, this is now our favourite. We will visit again.

Thanks Wonder for the beautiful memories we've garnered on this trip.

Cheers

Dom & Guy

Hi Mark,

Happy New Year!

Thank you for being so patient with us on providing feedback.

We shared immediate feedback at the end of every stop we had, but here are se add ns below.

1. How’s the hotel and meals?

Hotels were very good.

Only complaint would be hotel in Emeishan, as a window didn’t close and curtains were a nightmare to close – we had an issue with wifi, but its also on us as we did not go down to ask reception, thankfully it was only for one night, so not a big deal.

Food everywhere was very good with loads of options between local and western selections. I fell in love with the breakfast noodle soup, so was having that everywhere we went.

2. How’s the tour guides’ service and drivers?

Cant fault the drivers and guides on this trip. We learned a lot about the culture and the places we visited. Always had timely pick ups, cars were clean and very good. Sandy picked up all of our onward train tickets in one go, so we didn’t have to waste time on following days to get to train station, that was very helpful!

One comment that I’m not sure how to address is lunches, we really enjoyed our experience in China, and are open people and want to try local food in a sharing environment, we asked in all places if the driver and the guide will eat with us.

-        With Sandy when we could (as one day we were up the mount) both guide and driver ate with us, the restaurants were local and of very good quality and plenty of food to share and try as there were 4 of us on at the table, despite the language barrier it was very nice to eat all together.

-        In Xi’an, Vivian ate with us but the driver did not. We had to request specifically (as our friends recommended) to try Biang Biang noodles – they were awesome. The driver was very lovely and even bought us apples to have on the journey.

-        In Beijing, we ate alone, as Candy said that its company policy that driver and guide eat separately to guests when we were together. Was a bit strange for us to sit at 2 different tables, it wasn’t a big deal, just a different experience to the start of the trip.

We really enjoyed our time at all the places, saw and experienced loads of new places.

3. What do you think of your travel consultant’s service?

Its been a really well organized tour, we’ve seen loads in such a short period of time.

Everything ran smoothly with no hiccups (at least we didn’t see any).

4. Will you recommend our office to people around you?

For sure, already have been, if anyone is planning a trip to china they should definitely use your company to organize everything.

Kind Regards,

Hello Wing,

Sorry the late response....see response in Italic below....

(1)  How do you like our tour arrangements and are you willing to recommend our service to your friends?

 The tour arrangement was perfect and I have already recommended to my friends, etc

(2)  Do you have some suggestions for us to improve our service?

 It is better and easier for us to provide survey feedback for the individual tour guide and driver online, right now it is paper based and sometimes we hold back comments knowing that the tour guide get to see the comments.

(3)  If you come to China again, would you like to use our service again?

 YES

1.) Your travel consultants were very prompt in responding to us. Both Ashley and Wonder were very clear in responding to our requests for information, and both did well in addressing our questions and concerns. We especially appreciated the changes in accommodation they made for our trip in Xian, where our accommodation had to be changed. We appreciated the efforts they made and are generally satisfied with the results. They were also very patient in explaining everything to us, and we had very little confusion regarding the details of the trip.

We want to give extra credit to Kai, our guide in Beijing, who was not only helpful but caring. We thoroughly enjoyed our excursions with him, including the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, and the Summer Palace. He is truly the best guide in our entire tour, and we hope all guides in the future can be as knowledgeable and caring as him.

Our general opinion of your tour company is generally positive, as your tour is a fresh idea compared to the usual Chinese tour operators we encountered in the past. Your focus on spending more time on the historical and cultural aspects of China and not pressuring tourists to do other activities (ex: shopping) is very refreshing, and allows us to appreciate the areas we visit more. We hope there are more tour operators in China who are willing to operate this way in the future.

Hi Wonder!! How are you!!

Sorry for the late response, it has been a bit more time demanding coming back home than I expected!!

We will gladly write a review in trip advisor. Actually Rubi and I worked on a review for you that you can find below, it is written both in English and Spanish if that helps you with the Spanish speaking countries. Also for your information we are sending you our comments of hotels and guides, but that is for you only.

Wonder Wang was fantastic since day 1, he always replied very quickly to our multiple emails and questions. He worked in record time to provide us with a perfect itinerary that adjusted not only to our wishes, but as well to our budget.

As many customers have pointed out, thinking of paying for your trip to a chinese company many miles away could be nervewracking. Nevertheless, you have nothing to worry about, we did the payments through paypal and Wonder and China Discovery fulfilled all our expectations, always going the extra mile.

As an example, once our itinerary and plane tickets were booked, the Chinese government informed that the Forbbiden City was going to be closed in order for the 70th Anniversary preparations. That was very sad, but Wonder informed us right away appending the official communication and with lots of new proposals for us to choose from. Kudos Wonder!!!

Both the guides and drivers were fantastic, they took us to really nice places for lunch with plenty of food and gave great recommendations for our dinners. The vehicles were impeccable, and they always greeted us with water bottles. Thank you Jack in Beijing, Lucas in Xian, Lee in Guilin and Nini in Shanghai.

We have nothing but gratitude to Wonder and China Discovery they managed to make our trip a hassle free no worries holiday, in a challenging country. Definately we will be booking our future China trips with them.

Wonder Wang fue fantástico desde el día 1, siempre contestó rápidamente todos nuestros correos y nuestras dudas. Trabajó en tiempo record con nosotras para poder lograr un itinerario que fuera perfecto, que no sólo se ajustara a nuestros gustos y deseos si no también a nuestro presupuesto. 

Como todos lo han dicho, el pensar en pagar vía paypal a una empresa china a tantos kilómetros da nervios. Sin embargo, no tienen nada de que preocuparse, Wonder y China Discovery cumplieron todas nuestras expectativas!!! y siempre fueron más allá atentos a nosotras y a lo que pudiera pasar. 

A modo de ejemplo, cuando ya habíamos organizado todo nuestro viaje, el gobierno de China informó que la Ciudad Prohibida estaría cerrada por preparativos para el 70 Aniversario. Wonder inmediatamente nos comunicó esta triste noticia, adjuntando el comunicado oficial y con miles de propuestas de visitas. Muy bien resuelto!

Los choferes y guías fueron espectaculares, los lugares a donde nos llevaron a comer deliciosos y sus recomendaciones de lugares de cenas muy buenos. Los vehículos siempre estuvieron bien cuidados y limpios. Todos los días nos recibieron con botellas de agua. Excelente atención!! Gracias Jack en Beijing, Lucas en Xian, Lee en Guilin and Nini in Shanghai.

No nos queda más que agradecer a Wonder y a China Discovery por permitirnos disfrutar inmensamente de nuestras vacaciones, resolviendo todo lo necesario. Definitivamente para nuestros siguientes viajes a China buscaremos a Wonder Wang de China Discovery sin dudarlo.

Now Wonder about your questionnaire, yes you can give our contact details to customers. And finally here are our personal comments on hotels and guides for you:

Beijing:

Jack was a fantastic guide, he knew a lot, he always had great information to talked about. He took us to great places to eat and gave the most wonderful recomendations for dinner. We had a great time with him! 

Sunworld hotel: excellent location, rooms are ok, it is true it is a bit old hotel, but staff was great, the room was clean and of good size for 2 people for a couple of days is good. For this hotel our only concern was the restaurant, it is not big enough for the amount of guests, so unless you wake up really early, it will we difficult to find a place to seat at rush hour. Food choice was good and ok for a couple of days.

Xian:

Lucas was really funny, he had cool fun facts and made the visits were interesting. He also took us to really delicious restaurants and was very attentive to us and our needs. He knew the museum was going to be crowded so beforehand he showed us lots of great pictures and information of the most representative pieces on his ipad so we could appreciate them calmly. We loved that!

Xian Park Hotel, was one of our favorite hotels, room was large and clean, staff was really attentive and the breakfast was great with lots of options to choose from.

Shanghai:

Nini was really sweet and kind, she explain lots of interesting things about the chinese culture and about her and her family. She was our first guide so we didnt know what to expect. We found it odd that on the museum she took us to the top floor, explained to us one jade piece and then left us on our own to explore the museum. We didnt know if this was what we could expect from the guide, but Lucas did it different because he stayd with us through the whole visit to the museum and explain the most important pieces which was nicer than us going alone. The restaurant she took us was nice, clean and with lots of food although it wasnt the best of our trips the other restaurants were tastier.

Sunrise on the bund: our first leg of the trip we thought the hotel was great, the room size and bathroom were great, the breakfast was amazing and the staff very attentive. We thought it was a bit far away, although metro station was close. What shock us the firs time was that one of the beds had holes and hairs between the mattress and the sheet. But our last day the room was better situated and had no problem with the linen. 

Guilin:

Lee was such a nice guy, he was very attentive, he taught lots of cool things and took great pictures of us!! he took us to really nice restaurants and was very helpful with everything we needed.

Guilin park hotel: from our perspective it is not possible to compare the Guilin Park and the Sunworld as the same category 4 stars. We think the Guilin park must be a 3 stars or less. Or maybe it was just bad luck for us the room we were in. The staff was attentive and the location was good. For us the problem was the room, the carpet was dirty, the wallpaper was coming off on several places, the bathroom had damp and mold on ceiling and on the shower, the tv only had 1 channel in english. All the corridors and the room next to us smell awful of cigarette. And the breakfast had very little options and was not nice in taste, we actually bought some food and decided to have that as breakfast for the second day instead of what was offered in the hotel. 

We decided not to bother you with this during our trip, because at the end we knew that we had a tight budget and the first thing we decided to do was to pay less for hotels, and because we could survive it for 2 days. But if we were going back to Guilin we now know that we will be willing to pay more for a better hotel.

If we were to go back to all the same places we will certainly stay at the same hotels except for the one in Guilin, as we say for us it is very far from a 4 stars.

Finally Yangshuo Mountain retreat: was everyhing we wanted and more, rooms were great, food was excelent as well as service!!!

Well Wonder I hope all of this information is good and useful for you.

Once again thank you for everything and we will keep in touch!!

Did you like the mezcal??

Regards

CHINA DISCOVERY (CHENGDU CHINA): chinadiscovery.com Highly recommended.

The itinerary ; 16 days private tour in Shanghai Hangzhou Guilin Zhangjiajie Xian Beijing and group tour Yangtze Cruise (13^th Sept to 28^th September 2019)

If there is one word that best describes the flow of our 16 day long tour to China , the word is SEAMLESS. Our tour operator China discovery (based out of Chengdu China) were simply awesome. Right from the time we landed to the our last day they ensured we were cared for and made all efforts to make the trip memorable. It all started with an email to Leo Li (Representative at China Discovery). I’m sure he practices meditation coz he never lost his cool answering the several questions we had and innumerable changes we made before landing. He replied to my queries even whilst on his personal leave….that’s dedication. He guided me on the dates. We would have landed during golden week and that would have been a challenge with the local holiday crowds. Leo was also empathetic when we lost our perfumes, hairspray and swiss knife to security at the railway station in Xian (bear in mind you cannot have these if you are taking the bullet trains). He arranged to pick the confiscated items from the railway authorities and ship it back to us in Dubai. The level of service is par excellence. Having travelled extensively I can vouch for China discovery for the extra-efforts they put in to make it a great experience.

All tour guides spoke good English (Trust me you need one). I would like to mention KAI (Our guide in Beijing). He is an excellent story teller. Got us hooked to the history of China (Wish I had someone like him teach us in School). Then there were the other guides who gave us enough time as required, never overdoing the information bit. Answering the never ending questions we threw at them.

Our only setback during the trip was missing The forbidden city tour. The site was closed earlier than expected; as preparations were on for the 70^th National Day. However we were re-imbursed by the tour operator.

China has something for everyone. We chose the more scene route. Avatar mountains of Zhangjiajie are surreal, the rice terraces of Guilin, the Li river cruise , the lake city of Hangzhou and the Yangtze cruise were all a delight to experience. We insisted on a no-shopping tour.

Food can be a bit of a challenge to a few . Chinese food although popular may be quite different than how its made in a foreign land. If you are a vegetarian , pls specify this to your tour operator to help them guide you.

Hotel rooms were comfortable and locations were perfect. We could wander around the happening streets in every city and enjoy a dinner and a drink whilst taking in the local experiences.

People of China love to take pics with foreigners and its fun to share a smile , a laughter or even a hug with well-meaning individuals. Chinese parents encourage their kids to speak in English. So do indulge in a bit of a chat with the little one’s .

Tips :

When visiting China , ensure you give it at least 2 weeks. It’s a huge country, with every city/town/village offering different experiences.

Keep an eye out for what you cannot carry on train journeys or risk prohibited items getting forfeited.

VPN : Buy it to stay connected.

Have an offline app to translate your language into Mandarin (This is a BIG help)

Do not take offence if the Chinese don’t smile back at you. They are not being rude. It’s just my understanding that they do not know what to make of your smile. They do not understand your intent or it could be that they simply don’t smile often. They are lovely people if you get to know them .

Do not pack in too much for the day. Every location has lots to see, so a lot of walking. Shortlist your choices and finish the day at around 5 or 6 p.m . This way you are ready for the next day.

China will surprise you in ways you weren’t expecting.  This middle kingdom is indeed a sleeping giant as Napoleon Bonaparte rightly put. The country has had a remarkable growth economically. They have adapted to change .The transportation systems are super-efficient , the development in tourism is surprising and all these changes while keeping its traditions and culture alive.

China fascinates.

Hi Leo,

Here is my review. I will likely post it on TripAdvisor to help other tourists out so they know what to expect. Let me know if you would like anything edited (such as the Wire Transfer vs PayPal part) if you find it harmful for your business. My intent is to describe my experience to other Western travellers that may have similar fears about booking a trip like this.

Thanks for all you did. The trip was both flawless and amazing.

I took a 2 week personalized vacation with Chendu Bamboo tours through China. I wanted to put some thoughts down to the TripAdvisor community as I had a lot of reservations going into it, and I hope my review will help clarify some of the items that I was uncertain of.

First, while I researching, I determined that I wanted to do a custom tour as none of the packages that I saw had everything I wanted. The towns I chose were Beijing, Xian, Dunhuang, Chengdu, Guilin and Shanghai. I submitted inquiries to multiple companies and ChinaDiscovery came back to me promptly with a very comprehensive tour that was detailed and in line with my expectations. The scary part of communicating my requirements was that it had to be done mostly through email, although the company was also quick to Skype call me to handle some of my more advanced questions.

If you decide to book a tour like this (and you are firmly in the middle class) this is and expensive endeavor. For you to pull the trigger, you can expect 4 big expenditures. First, you will need to put 1/3 balance down on the trip to reserve the reservation. That 1/3 was placed through PayPay, and the Paypal account that I placed it to did not look anything like the business I was dealing with. It was scary sending the money to such a strange account, but in the end, the transaction was fine. One point of confusion...you may research and book through ChinaDiscovery, however the invoice then turned into (in my case) Chengdu Bamboo International Tours Co, Ltd. I don't fully understand the relationship, but it was legitimate, although a little confusing of why the website said one thing, but the actual contractor that was doing the work said another. Another scary thing came later when I was asked to pay the remaining 2/3 balance, I was requested to do so via wire transfer. Again, a scary endeavor which I felt I would have no protection if the company was not legitimate. So fearing loss of funds, I reached a win/win compromise to use the Paypal account again (with Visa) to submit the funds. Once I received confirmation, the company executed the hotel, train and plane tickets flawlessly, communicating the reservations about 1 week later.

In short, my fears were unfounded.

You will also have to handle 3 other expenses. First, and not surprising are your international plane tickets, which I handled shortly after the deposit. But the 3rd and 4th were not known. As a US citizen, I needed to get Visas for myself and the family. A Chinese Visa costs about $160 per person, and to get it, you must carefully submit a form to the Chinese consulate in a designated region of the country. Because I delayed doing this, I needed to do expedited service. And because the form is brutal and requires you to send your passports to the Chinese consulate, I enlisted a visa expert (CIBT.com) in order to get in processed. Long story short, about $1K later, I received the last of the passports back from the consulate with about 2 days to spare. 

The other warning, since all the trips have drivers and tour guides that take you around, you are advised (not mandated) to give them tips. Unfortunately, there are no guidelines given or direction of how much to give. I spent time researching on the internet what were fair tips for always outstanding service. Now, 1 week after the trip, I still have no idea if I tipped fairly, generously or cheaply. But, calculate 2 weeks and 2 persons a day, you can calculate that it will cost you hundreds of dollars or thousands of Yuan.

Last warning to give about going to China...you'll need cash. Only some (not most) banks and stores are hooked up to the Visa and Mastercard system. This means, (1) you may need to search for the right bank to get cash in China in order to withdraw funds and (2) the vendors that you'll see only will take your cash. This caused some stress the first couple of days as I had trouble finding a bank that worked.

Now...for the good stuff. Once prepping for all that, the trip that was designed by Chinadiscovery (or Chengdu Bamboo Tour Company) was pretty spectacular. The guides were beyond great, and did a truly amazing, amazing job of being everything you would want as a tour guide. Prompt, flexible, funny, sometimes motherly, sometimes brotherly, open, honest, kind, insightful, human, knowledgeable and ...simply great. Each one in each town was different...but each of them took such pride in their cities/country that you are given a great gift.

The hotels were as good as it gets as well. Breakfast was included in all hotels...some food good, and other food great. The hotels were within walking distance to all the good things. For Beijing, 15 min walk to the Forbidden City. Shanghai? 5 minute walk to the River and 20 minutes to The Bund. I could go on, but the accommodations were really good. Combine that with flawless execution of all travel arrangements, it made for a stress free trip. The lunches were all Chinese and again, and food ranged from good to great. They always gave our family of 3 too much food for one sitting, and I felt embarrassed about leaving so much food behind.

In Beijing, our guide took us through Tienanmen Square, Forbidden City, Summer Palace, The Great Wall, and Temple of Heaven (among other places). When she took us to the train station, she insisted in walking us down to our seat on the High Speed railway car. When I asked if that is the company policy, she said 'that MY policy' (to ensure her clients get to where they are going). Amazing. We reached Xian for a day and Zoe gave us great insights of the growing city, the crowds, and life in China. Then onto Dunjuang, where Lily and her driver rearranged the schedule to ensure that we saw all the Silk Road sites. The schedule changes included her and the driver starting at 6AM (after we were picked up at the airport 10PM the night before) in order to ensure we saw everything. Then in Chengdu, Cherry helped so patiently with my wife's shopping at the Panda sanctuary. And in Guilin, Kennedy was awesome describing the land and China's ethnic minority. The insight for the rice fields and rivers were wonderful. We ate probably the best Chinese food of the trip in the fresh country air. Then finally, to Shanghai, where Zack was truly a joy, and one of the friendliest and enjoyable people I have ever met in my life. The city of Shanghai was amazing, and my son enjoyed it tremendously.

Two things I would do over if I could. First, I would plan to take it in June, not late July. We had to compete with the rest of China, which has summer break at this time. As a result, the places were packed with China tourist going to the same sites, which made the crowds a bit much. Second, I would have also altered the trip to spend 1 less day in Guilin and 1 more day in Shanghai. Other than that, I would not have changed anything.

Our Customized China Trip

Rita,

1. Is your travel consultant of our company fast enough to answer your E-mail and patient enough to answer your questions?

YES ,VERY FAST AND EFFICIENT, EVERY CHANGE AND EVERY REQUEST WAS PROMPTLY PLEASED

2. How do you comment your tour arrangements?

VERY GOOD HOTELS, GUIDE AND ARRANGEMENTS

3. Are you willing to recommend our service to your people who also have an interest to visit China?

YES ,I WILL RECOMEND, I AM IN THE SAME KIND OF BUSINESS,.AND I MEET MANY PEOPLE TRAVELLING LIKE ME

4. Your general opinion on us?

VERY GOOD, I WILL REFER TO YOU AGAIN SOON

5. Do you have any suggestions on improving our services?

LITTLE IMPROVEMENTS COULD BE MADE, MAYBE SUGGEST AHEAD OF THE TOURS OF AREA THAT SHOULD NOT BE MISSED IN THE CITIES WHERE WE ARE GOING, AND ASK WHAT IS THE MAIN INTEREST OF THE TRAVELLERS SUCH AS PHOTOGRAPHY OR HISTORY ETC.

Great Wall - Amazing Manmade Wonder

Comfortable Cruise Time on Li River

Local Fishman on Li River

Dear Ian,

I am pleased to share with you a few points of comments.

1. Overall we are pretty satisfied with our 18-day tour as we are able to see and visit all wonder places as expected. We began and ended our tour with a fond and unforgettable memory. China's cultural and natural wonders are extraordinarily amazing and wonderful. When looking at our photos, we managed to connect with the places and its stories as narrated by the guides.  In addition we are so impressed with the modern systematic public infrastructure and housing projects being implemented by the government. The co-existence of diverse ethnic people and their assimilation in the community look so functionally impressed and amazed.

2. The transfer during the tour from one point to another was smoothly carried out and coordinated.  The guide facilitated our movement and stay until the last minute before boarding the planes.  

3. About food/lunch, the guide should present the menu or ask what we would like to eat instead of simply ordering for us. We knew only when food came. Some guides show us the menu and explain to us about each dish.

4. Customer Care: I really appreciate your calls and communication with guides at each location enquiring about us and the tour.    Your immediate response to irregular/incorrect issues about the tour program and the hotels (especially in Zhangye) is very much appreciated. Some guides also indicated to us that they appreciated your follow up and phone calls. urely we will recommend your agent to our friends.

That's all at this stage.  I will think about writing the story or sharing photos when getting back to Geneva. Right now we are busy with other issues during our short stay in Manila and Bangkok.

Thank you very much for everything. Wish you every success for your business.  

Best regards.

Boonshan Sangfai

Hi Wonder,

Sorry I have taken so long to get around to writing to you to give you our feed-back.

Firstly, let me say that we were very happy with the way you organised our China trip for us.  Your service to us was of the highest standard and we thank you sincerely for that.

GUILIN:

Guide - Linda - a very pleasant young lady with very good English language skills.

Hotel - Bravo - good quality, clean, comfortable, good location.  Breakfast - both western and chinese was quite awful.

Driver/Vehicle - both very good - no improvement needed.

Guilin to Kunming (soft-sleeper train) - I realise that this is outside of your control however I will still advise you of our experience.  Our compartment was used and dirty when we boarded the train.

KUNMING:

Guide - Wayan - very personable, friendly, and knowledgeable young man.  We very much enjoyed his company and the information which he shared with us about Kunming, its surrounds, and China in general. Wayan chose good restaurants and local dishes for us to enjoy.  He made us feel that he was always doing his best to ensure that our time with him was the best he could make it.

Hotel - Jinjian - good quality, clean, comfortable. Although the hotel was handy to the railway station it was not a particularly good location. Breakfast was the best that we experienced during our time in China. 

Driver/Vehicle - both very good - no improvement needed.

LIAJIANG:

Guide - Sophie - very personable, friendly, and caring young woman.  We enjoyed her company and her bubbly personality. 

Hotel - He Xi - clean and comfortable in an excellent location.

Driver/Vehicle - both very good - no improvement needed.

JINGHONG:

Guide - Mike - our least experienced guide but by far our most enthusiastic.  Mike is an outstanding young man who with experience will prove to be a major asset to your company.

Hotel - Tai Garden - good quality, clean, comfortable, with OK location.

Driver/Vehicle - both very good - no improvement needed.

All in all a very satisfactory experience.  One suggestion might be, for groups such as ours who are responsible for finding their dinner each evening, you might provide a list of suggested local restaurants. Perhaps a short tour of the city area would help your guests to orient themselves with regard to their hotel and its locale. We found Guilin and Lijiang relatively easy for this but Kunming and Jinghong were more of a challenge.

Thank you for all of your assistance.

Kindest regards,

Paul Hamill