Gansu Travel Reviews on Tripadvisor.com

My family and I went on a 11 days Silk Road Tour in China end of Oct 2023 with China Discovery. Journey began at Beijing to Xian, Dunhuang, Turpan, Urumqi then end in Kashgar. Overall a very well organised trip. Logistics were well coordinated, and hotels were of excellent standard. Local cuisines were gastronomic delights. The guides were all knowledgeable which added so much colours to the sights and sounds. Rita the arranging agent was very responsive from the start and continue to monitor to ensure a smooth tour. Definitely a recommendation for anyone thinking of using China Discovery and Rita.

My husband and I took private tour to Silkroad from Xian to Kashgar through China Discovery. If I knew this tour company earlier I would have been there long time ago. Their consultant and guides at each destination were wonderful to make my trip seamless and pleasant from preparing, visa application, money exchange, getting us familiar with their culture, food ordering recommendations... even to flight check-in problem solving, etc., and my life long dream came true. I thank more than enough for their professional services and certainly recommend this company.

We had just a few days to go to Dunhuang but China Discovery ( Rita) did an incredible job. She managed to put our whole wish list into a program! The guide we had was amazing ( Jenny) ! She knew so much, could give a lot of inside information, showed us where we could eat the local food we wanted to try out. This trip was amazing, well organised, well communicated! I will definitely use China discovery again next time!

A truly amazing tour of Xi'an (terracotta warriors), the ancient city of DunHuang, and the exotic cities of Xinjiang within 14 days, fully arranged by China Discovery. The Travel Consultant Mr Johnson Wang had been extremely patient in answering enquiries and clarifying doubts before finalisation of the Tour which the Company carefully tailored to our physical needs. Our requirement of a leisurely tour was fully met and hotels provided were clean and spacious ! The Guides, Drivers and cars were definitely above our expectations!

Our flight out of Kashgar was unexpectedly cancelled by the Airline and we were left stranded with our visa-free permit expiring in 2 days! We missed our next connecting flight and risked leaving China without an extended visa!! Mr Johnson Wang and the Management of China Discovery kindly helped in assisting us obtain an extension of our visa, and extended hotel bookings. For this, we are truly grateful to Johnson and China Discovery!

We will definitely use back China Discovery for other Tours within China should there be another opportunity !!!

We took a 20 day Chinese Silk Road trip starting in Luoyang and ending in Kashgar - the western most city in China close to the border with Kyrgyzstan. There were 8 of us in a small privately organised tour which Leo Li managed for us from China Discovery Chengdu.

I have been to China for work and twice before for holidays - this is definitely the best trip hands down. The itinerary was excellent and tailored to our needs. The hotels were fantastic (maybe except for one which was borderline) - all Chinese owned and operated hotels (there was only 1 international branded hotel in the entire 20 days). They were clean, spacious and very obliging to our needs.

The food organised by Leo was excellent on all days.

We requested English speaking guides and had 6 in all at various stages of our trip. They were all excellent, very knowledgeable about the history and significance of the locations in relation to the Silk Road and great company and humour too.

The guides went out of their way to ensure we were comfortable - even to the extent of organising special meals when a few of us got sick and another left his bag in the mountains!

The trip included historic cities beginning with Luoyang, Lanzhou, Xian, Xining, Qinghai Lake, Chaka Lake, Jiayuguan, Dunhuang, Turpan, Urumuqi and Kashgar. The trip utilised a combination of China's excellent bullet trains, private bus and flights (between Urumuqi and Kashgar and Kashgar to Shanghai)

Leo seemed to work all hours! Thank you Leo and your team for making our trip so memorable!

I highly recommend China Discovery Tours and will definitely without hesitation use them again.

Some tips for travelling in China:

1. Bring Cash! - WeChat Pay (linked to your credit card) works, but not all the time. Our personal success rate was about 40%. Even in the big cities like Shanghai. So definitely bring cash. PS - you will need internet connection to pay by WeChat - see internet connection below.

2. Watch for "Spit Bombs" (the Hark...Phui!) - its getting better especially after the pandemic. But in the smaller tier 2 and 3 cities definitely watch for it. Now you know why Chinese people take off their shoes when entering homes! :)

3. Chinese hotels are very warm and the aircon doesn't work in winter. Switching the aircon to cool will STILL give you heat!! So be prepared. However, despite this, as mentioned, our Chinese branded hotels were excellent.

4. Everything in China is huge! Except for the toilet rolls in the hotels! Don't ask me why. So if you need to have a big one, make sure you have sufficient toilet paper! Don't be afraid to ask, they are generous when you ask. (The 4-5 star hotels in the main cities are OK though)

5. Speaking of loos, we tried to make sure we only do No 1s in the public loos. Most of the tourist locations are OK but they are of the squatting kind... Of course the ladies have a tougher time than us guys. So before you embark on your daily tours - as much as possible make sure your system is all clear!

6. Internet connection seems to work fine (yes even Google, Messenger, YouTube etc)...BUT, BUT I think it is because I am on data roaming. Another member of the group had the same experience - No need for VPNs. But have a VPN loaded on your phone anyway as a backup. (We were on Australian Mobile network - Vodafone and Optus). Not sure how long this is going to last. Others not on data roaming had massive issues with the Great Firewall. Of course forget about the hotel wifi, the firewall is strongest there! Also 4G works better than 5G. So setting your phone to only 4G might make your internet connection more stable and reliable.

7. Enjoy the people - they are very friendly and patient (especially with our payment issues with WeChat). Trying to speak mandarin goes a long way!

8. Enjoy the food - it is generally safe but of course be sensible. We stuck to the main markets, hot cooked food and except for a short unexplained stint, we were good.

Above all - enjoy the experience!

We had Johnson Wang as our travel consultant to develop a customized 16 days itinerary with flexibility to accommodate any unexpected surprises. A team of dedicated and knowledgeable staff that included local guides and drivers made our tour an amazing and worry-free one. We appreciate very much the help from local guides for transfer at train stations and airports as the check-in process may not always be the same. My most impressive experience was in Dunhuang and Chengdu. The tours at Turpan, Kashgar, and Tashkrugan are my favorites. Beijing and Xian are always fascinating. We are looking forward to China Discovery to plan our next trip.

We traveled the Silk Road from Gansu province to Xinjiang province by rail.

Our planned stops at Lanzhou, Zhangye, Dunhuang, Turpan, Kashgar and Urumqi is sufficient to open our eyes to the beauty of what these provinces has to offer. From their spectacular landscapes and UNESCO sites to the beauty and friendliness of the locals, it’s just too amazing. We had 5 different English speaking guides and 7 different drivers throughout and their service was great

Everything went smoothly as planned. There were some very small glitches but Jack Li, our travel advisor is very good and helpful in sorting things out for us as he is very responsive to messages. Overall, we enjoyed our trip very much and looking forward to our next trip next Spring with China Discovery.

Rita Jiang was our travel consultant from China Discovery who worked with me to plan our 30 days in China. She helped with a suggested itinerary and when I added or removed destinations, she swiftly and efficiently adjusted it with clever additions I had not researched. I tried 2 other large Chinese travel agencies with my proposed itinerary before settling with China Discovery. China Discovery was not the cheapest, but they were certainly the most efficient in response time and also, most importantly, they created an excellent itinerary with clever routes and efficient transportation options between destinations. When you are travelling for this length of time as a family, efficient travel time is very important. The guides which met us in each location were well spoken and highly knowledgable. The drivers were excellent too. We covered Shanghai, Zhangzhou, Zhangjiajie, Fenghuang, Guilin, Kunming, Dongchuan Red Lands, Lijiang, Chengdu, Juizhaigou and Huanglong Valley, Xian, Luoyang, Zhangye, Dunhuang, Datong and Beijing with our two children aged 9 and 10.

There is no other way to travel efficiently through China and get to understand the culture and history without the help of a local travel agent. I highly recommend China discovery to help you plan your next trip!

Our 10 Day Silk Road Tour began in Xi’an and ended in Kashgar. Leo Li did a great job of arranging our accommodations, interesting itinerary, transfers , drivers and very knowledgeable guides! The tour gives us a deeper insight to the China segment of the Silk Route. In Xi’an we enjoyed strolling along the solid Ancient City Wall and we amazed by the huge numbers of Terracotta warriors in Pit 1! In Dunhuang the Mogao Grottoes the art works were so well preserved! Naturally preserved mummies in the Xinjiang Museum were something not to be missed. We were well rewarded by two overwhelmingly beautiful lakes and their surroundings after a long drive from downtown Kashgar. We also net friendly locals along the way and enjoyed spicy noodles and kebabs!

As always, our experience with China Discovery was AMAZING! From excellent accommodations to the best and most knowledgeable local tour guides, I can honestly say that my friends and I enjoyed every moment. There were so many highlights, from the Mogao Grottos, to the Rainbow Mountains, to the night market in Dunghuang, to riding camels and camping out in the desert, to learning all about the history of the Silk Road, to the food (especially the lamb shish kabob!) Another highlight was the Gansu Provincial Museum, we even went back for a second time because the exhibits were fantastic! Plan to spend 2-3 hours there. It was all wonderful. I would highly recommend this trip if you are interested in learning about the history of the Silk Road, and there is never a dull moment. Jack did a wonderful job putting our itinerary together and always answers our pre-trip questions promptly. Our local tour guides Helen and Jacky were so kind and knowledgeable, and we felt very safe with both of our drivers at all times. I would highly recommend the Silk Road tour!

Amazing 5 day private tour Jack tour organiser Zhang Li the English speaking guide and driver were all fantastic. Zhangye, Jiayugyan and Dunhuang were fabulous Buddhist art caves, Great Wall Fort ,Rainbow Mountains and desert and dunes were stunning and well worth visiting it was a truly memorable trip. Would highly recommend especially Silk Road hotel in Dunhuang to end the trip overlooking the sand dunes amazing.

My friends and I just returned from an 8 day Qinghai and Gansu tour with China Discovery. This was a huge bucket list trip for me and my friends and it did not disappoint. Every detail was planned to the exact things we wanted and Rita made sure she was available whenever we needed anything. Our guides Nancy and Jackie were incredible and we learnt so much from them during our trip. Our driver ZhongMing was so friendly and took on the role of a guide when we had long drives between the provinces. Every aspect of the trip was superb and we can't wait to book our next trip. Thanks China Discovery!

China Discovery thanks for all your efforts despite the trouble due to pandemic controls and daily tests, we had a wonderful time, special thanks to Wonder to arrange all this and Adam, our great friendly tour guide!! VAMOS!!! Thanks for your great support you made this experience to be in our hearts and memory forever. Gracias!! Thank you!! Xie Xie !!

Wow, what beautiful scenery we saw. Thank you Jack for recommending this group tour to us.

It was so much fun meeting new people. We had kind guides with lots of knowledge that spoke English well. The accommodation was comfortable and conveniently located.

Can really recommend this company and will definitely use them again for future traveling needs.

I completed the 5-Day Silk Road Tour organized by Wonder with stops at Zhangye (Rainbow Mountains & Mati Temple), Jiayuguan (Fort and Overhanging Great Wall), and Dunhuang (Singing Sand Dunes and Mogao Grottoes).

This trip must not have been easy for Wonder to organize--there were COVID protocols and restrictions to account for as well as flooding in the area, leading to site closures. But Wonder was always extremely accommodating and customer-oriented, letting me know such info in a concise, friendly manner while exploring alternatives.

The trip itself was something special. I'm interested in history and religion, so seeing sites like the Mogao Grottoes and Jiayuguan was absolutely fascinating for me. Rainbow Mountains were spectacular.

The English-speaking guide and driver Wonder helped arrange were also fantastic. The guide was very knowledgeable, offered context and answered questions throughout the trip, and helped me navigate the COVID protocols, which would've literally been impossible without his help. Accommodations were all spacious four-star hotels located in excellent areas with access to night markets.

Throughout the trip, I was sending photos of the sites to family back home who were blown away. More importantly, this was a trip that I'll never forget.

Zhangye / Inner Mongolia - The favorite part of our trip was the way we saw so many different landscapes in 4 days - rock formations, rainbow mountains, Gobi desert, and snowy caverns all in one trip - amazing! Our driver was very accomodating and took very good care of us. She was flexible in that we changed some of our itinerary and she helped us go and do what we wanted. We rode camels, stayed in a yurt, and climbed sand dunes at sunrise! Our personal driver for the desert part of our trip was very skilled. We would recommend going in the fall. It was great!

Xinjiang was always in my bucket-list since the day i arrived in China, and finally china discovery made it true. The all in all experience was very good. They agreed to a customized itinerary as I wanted to cover different landscapes together in Gansu and Xinjiang . Our tour guide was not able to join us for one day, even though our driver helped us with the tickets and stuff , the company instantly gave a refund for the tour guide service as well. The tour guides and drivers all were very sweet and friendly. Since I’m from India, the driver in xinjiang offered to play indian songs during our road trips

CD very responsive & accomdating and flexible. Guide professional. A bit expensive but you are well handled. 2nd trip.

We did a 1 week tour around Dunhuang with this agency and everything was very well organized. Hotels were well chosen, meals were well arranged and good english speakers guides were provided. We booked the trip with very short notice and they were able to prepare it and booked everything which was challenging since was golden week. I definitely recommend this agency, specifically Echo Agent that was in charge of our trip.

We had a wonderful tour of Dunhuang and the Gobi Desert along the old Silk Road. In addition, we explored the amazing area of Zhangye with its Buddhist temples/grottoes and Rainbow Mountains. The trip was fabulous as were our guide and drivers who took care of all our needs. I would definitely recommend this trip to anyone who likes a little bit of everything - culture, adventure, and history.

Amazing 10-days trip in end of August organized by Jack in only one day (guides, drivers, hotels & travel permit for restricted area).

My boyfriend and I travelled accompanied with Peima in Qinghai province and Gary in Gansu and Inner Mongolia. Both of them spoke good English, very friendly and caring.

We appreciated their professionalism, insights as locals and personal stories. When the weather wasn’t the best we trusted their planning changes and it was totally worth it.

Our guides also recommended food destinations and lively areas to visit during our free time. We had to take a COVID test in Zhangye, the hospital didn’t have foreigners before but our guide eased the process and made it efficient.

All drivers were very competent, especially the 4x4 sand expert in Badan Jilin desert. We always felt safe.

Mind-blowing landscapes, all destinations were exceptional. All parks are a must see in one’s life, chinese or foreign, we definitely recommend you to explore this part of the Silk Road. Our favorite was Badan Jilin desert but all were amazing.

We were lucky and could avoid the crowds as most recent group trips were cancelled due to recent COVID cases.

Most parks are very protected and allow visitors only in designated locations. One of them also has a limited time per seeing-spot (Yardan geopark in western Gansu). A bit frustrating not to be more free but once witnessing the beauty of the landscape, one can understand the need of protection/restrictions. Every places is still very worth it and the views are unforgettable.

We will definitely contact China Discovery if need of trip planning and have already recommended to our friends since we were so happy!

We did a ten day private custom made tour for our family of four with China Discovery, Lijiang/ Dali in Yunnan, Guilin/Yangshuo in Guangxi and finally Chengdu.

My family along with another friends family spent 11 days during summer holiday visiting the highlights of the old Silk Road in the Gansu and Qinghai provinces. China discovery organised everything for us and was very flexible to adjust the plans to our specific demands. They replied super fast and gave us an excellent price. The tour guide allocated to us was very knowledgable and our driver very cautious. We visited some amazing sites and can across breath taking landscapes. We will definitely keep these amazing memories with us for a very long time specially our nights camping in the desert and all the sandsliding can’t wait for our next adventure with China Discovery!

First of all, a shout out to our tour organiser - Ms Riley Guo!. We had a memorable private tailor made family tour to Xi-an and Dunhuang. She is bilingual (speaks both English and Chinese). She was quick to response to our enquiries and were always prepared to accommodate our needs and preferences. There is no pushy, hard selling of tour packages and she is always patient to answer all our questions.

I would love also to mention Jacky , our Dunhuang tour guide for 3 days. A lovely and responsible guide that given a chance, i would want to have her again for our future travels.

Well done China Discovery!

My wife and I engaged China Discovery to help us navigate our first foray into post COVID-19 travel, and we couldn’t be happier with our decision. Our liaison Johnson’s excellent communication as well as his extensive knowledge of the logistics of cross-country travel were invaluable to us. The accommodations, meals, and sightseeing attractions they organized for us were all of the highest quality. Highly recommended!

Amazing trip through China. Jack was easier to work with and adjusted my schedule as needed. He was professional and it was worth the money for a tailor made tour. The English speaking tour guides were outstanding and the drivers were safe and cars clean. The accommodations were clean and had good service.

Excellent experience with China Discovery on our trip to Gansu, Qinghai, and Inner Mongolia. Our contact, Jack, was consistently professional, competent, and flexible to tailor his proposal to our requirements. From meeting our guides, to waving goodby to them, everything ran smoothly. The guides were very knowledgeable, and respectful, providing plenty of geographical, cultural, historical information, without ever forcing them on us whenever we preferred to roam around and just look or take photos. The drivers were careful, and the cars were clean and tidy. The train transfers were arranged to our requirements.

Everything run smoothly, it was a memorable trip, and based on the experience of our travelling party of four, I’m happy to recommend China Discovery.

Fantastic trip to western China.

Amazing diversity in scenery, people and things to do. Trip very well organized. Amazingly smooth communications with Rita Jiang. Thoroughly recommend this tour agency../p>

We booked a day trip in Dunhuang as our time there was short and we didn’t want to waste time on finding taxis, tickets etc for our family of 5. China Discovery was excellent in responding to our request. We had a great local guide and had a wonderful day!

We travelled across 3 places over 6 days (Xi'an, Zhangye & Dunhuang).

China Discovery helped arrange all aspects of the trip (travel, stay, food and tour guide) It was overall a wonderful experience. The service was tailored to our specific requirememts (food, flexibility in itenarary etc). They are also very open to feedback at every stage and respond to it well.

Despite some issues (inexperienced tour guide) we faced in one city, we are very glad to recommend China Discovery to other prospective travellers considering a trip in China!

We thought that traveling during the pandemic would be challenging but with the help of Wendy from China Discovery, everything is possible! She organized our 14 days trip in Gansu province and we had an amazing time there. Everything works perfectly well from preparing all the documents we need, picking us up, driving us from city to city and also arranging our train tickets. She is also very flexible if we want to change our itinerary, her response to our inquiries is very impressive. We totally recommend China Discovery!

I contacted China Discovery about a tour in Gansu. I had booked hotels already but wanted day tours and travel between Dunhuang, Zhangye and Lanzhou to be arranged by them if possible. They provided an excellent service from start to finish. Wonder produced a superb itinerary for me and was straight on to helping me arrange and plan the whole trip. All I had to do was agree or disagree and also Wonder was so understanding about my time and was very patient through the booking process and was always available during the trip with updates and so on as well as checking if everything was okay with the drivers. The whole trip when so smoothly, considering it was Golden Week, it was a miracle nothing went wrong but the main reason why was because of Wonder's efficiency and excellent organization, arranging all of the tickets, drivers and travel plans from start to finish. He even managed to get my friend tickets at very short notice and went above and beyond for us to ensure we had a fantastic time. We certainly did, thanks to him for his help and the amazing team at China Discovery.

It was a trip along the old Silk Road in the foot steps of the 7th century monk Xuanzang. We prepared the itinerary approached the agencies to arrange the transport, hotels and guide for our trip. China Discovery offered us the tour the way we were looking for. Ms Riley Guo of CD was vary helpful in finalization of details. We appreciate the arrangements.

Our group of 8 travel friends was looking for a tour of the Chinese Silk Road. We knew which places we wanted to visit but we could not find any tour offered by a US tour company. After researching on the Internet, we took a chance and chose "China Discovery", based in Chengdu, China. We chose them because they would customize a tour for us and because of their excellent communication via email. I was lucky to have Mr. Wonder Wang respond and that was the beginning of many emails to set up our requested itinerary and work out all the details of which cites would fit into our 20 days schedule. We visited Beijing, Xian, Lanzhou, Jiayuguan,Dunhuang,Turpan, Urumqi, and Kashgar. We traveled by high speed train, by air, and in 35 passenger buses. Our English speaking guides were always waiting for us at each new destination and the bus drivers were great in the crazy Chinese traffic. The tour guides were flexible to make our days more efficient and to meet our needs. The food was very good and the hotels were better than I expected for the Silk Road.

It was a pleasure working with Wonder, it was so easy because he always quickly responded to my emails. He made suggestions on everything such as sleeper trains vs high speed trains, 15 passengers van vs 35 persons bus, hotels, and adjusting the schedule to fit our many requests. My favorite was letting us know that we could upgrade from second class train seats to first class for only $71 per person for all 3 of our high speed train trips.

Rita Jiang with China Discovery arranged my solo tour of this western China portion of the historical Silk Road. Starting from Lanzhou to Zhangye,Jiayuguan, Dunhuang, Turpan, Urumqi, and finally Kashgar. The tour guides and drivers were very good with very comfortable 4 star accomodations. I especially liked being able to experience various modes to transportation from high speed train to overnight train, private driver,and some short flights. The arrangements were seemless. The landscapes were varied from snow covered mountains, sand dunes, rivers and lakes, and some very interesting desert topography. Of course, the highlights are the historical sights such as Mogao Grottoes, Jiaohe Ancient City, Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves, and Yardang National Park. I was very surprised how these western outpost cities have been transformed into modern cities. Overall, I really enjoyed this trip.

Rita Jiang with China Discovery arranged my solo tour of this western China portion of the historical Silk Road. Starting from Lanzhou to Zhangye,Jiayuguan, Dunhuang, Turpan, Urumqi, and finally Kashgar. The tour guides and drivers were very good with very comfortable 4 star accomodations. I especially liked being able to experience various modes to transportation from high speed train to overnight train, private driver,and some short flights. The arrangements were seemless. The landscapes were varied from snow covered mountains, sand dunes, rivers and lakes, and some very interesting desert topography. Of course, the highlights are the historical sights such as Mogao Grottoes, Jiaohe Ancient City, Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves, and Yardang National Park. I was very surprised how these western outpost cities have been transformed into modern cities. Overall, I really enjoyed this trip.