General China Tour Comments

China Trip July 2005

We had a lovely time in China. Thanks very much to you, your staff and your guides. We were impressed with the itinerary you suggested and enjoyed our travels immensely. All hotels were fine, some better than others, but none were unacceptable. On the contrary, we were surprised to find them so comfortable. Our daughter was pleased with the internet access in some of the hotel rooms and we were pleased with the absence of it in others :-)

Shanghai was lots of fun, the market chaotic, the harbor bustling with activity and the intense city life were very different from what we are accustomed to. None of us would have missed Putuoshan - the calm and welcome change to the city's cacaphony of sound. The beach was beautiful and we were mesmerized by the serenity of the convents.

The Yangtze River cruise was fantastic, an experience we will remember and cherish always. Especialy due to the fact that we most likely won't see it again before the dam is finished and the water level has risen to the expected 175 m.

Xian was interesting, we saw all the towers and rented bicycles on the old city wall. The terracotta warriors were of course utterly amazing. The sheer number of them astonishing!

Beijing so very different from the other cities... what diversity! We loved the - almost - orderly traffic (compared to Shanghai) and the grandeur of the emperors residences. The summer palace and the forbidden city, are all stunning. And Tian Anmen square so much greater than we had imagined. Last but not least, the Wall. It is definitley one of the most amazing human creations we have ever seen!

The domestic travel was quite carefree, due to your services, and we never found it too hard to get around. We arranged our own transportation to the Wall - with a bus full of Chinese tourists and their 2 guides!! What great fun - and although we didn't understand a word, we had our tourist guide book with us therefore it was actually no problem. This was our first visit to China but hopefully not the last. Thank you once again for assisting us, we were impressed with the smoothness of your operation!

Best regards, Anne Hertz and family
Jul 2005

May 2005

Firstly, we have to say thank you for arrangeing all our travel within China after us leaving Kathryn & Wayne at Chongchou. They gave us a lot of confidence to explore areas and communicate with the locals. We had 5 very busy days with them and we think that the highlight with them was our stay in Tongli water village and staying in a traditional Chinese hotel and of course silk city Souchou. We also enjoyed our trip to Nanjing and of course Shanghai was great but very busy being festival week.

On leaving Kathryn & Wayne we went by train to Xian and although we had bottom bunk tickets a family of 3 adults and a child were in the same sleeper carriage and it was very difficult trying to communicate to them that they could all not stay in our compartment. It all got very difficult so in the end I gave my bottom bunk to the mum and child and Jill & I slept above one another. We arrived in Xian 14 hours later and were met at the train by your guide and his name was Leo. Leo showed us all that was possible to see in Xian and we enjoyed walking in the park in the morning with all the people doing tai-chi, and Jill & I were invited to ballroom dance with the many people dancing. The Terracotta warriors were great and walking on the city wall was also great.

Flying from Xian to Chengdu was very cloudy so didn't get to see the city from the air but we were met at the airport after a late flight by Kelly and we went off to the panda bears at about 4.30pm so were a little rushed but still enjoyed it very much. Our visit and stay at Emei was also a very nice place to go and to feed the monkeys by hand was great.

We were very impressed by our driver in Chendu-Emei and if you could send me his name and mail address I would be greatful. He was a very nice guy and did lots of little things to make our stay enjoyable and I would like to write to him. Chengdu city was very cloudy and smoggy so we didn't get to see much sun at all so was very dull. Our overnight train trip to Chongqing was uneventful because we had the whole compartment to ourselves for 10 hours so slept very well. We were met at the station by Ken who we think was a very knowledgable guy and he gave us a very good city tour and dropped us off at the ferry for our Yangtze cruise. The river cruise was probably the second highlight of our trip and seeing the cities that are being rebuilt and the height of the proposed changes in river level by 2009 and to see the dam project was fantastic. I think it also gave us time to have a rest and appreciate all that was going on around us and to see the size of some of the coal boats was amazing.The shore trips that we did were very good as well. After a very brief stay in Yichang we were off to Beijing where we were met by Sophie who were thought was a very good guide and we have since been in contact with her by email so that is nice. She was very well organised and gave us a excellent tour of Beijing with the number 1 highlight being our visit and walk on the Great Wall Of China. It was very emotional as Jill's parents have also been on the wall, so it was a good time for us to remember them. It was very sad leaving China after such a wonderful holiday. We met some very nice people throughout China and Jill and I would like to say thank you so much Christy for the effort that you went to in preperation for our holiday. You covered everything that was possible in the 3 week period and you made it so enjoyable because we didn't have to contend with trying to communicate what we wanted because we had some very good guides to help us. To all our guides and the drivers we say thank you for sharing your knowledge of China with us and hopefully we can return after 2009 and see the massive changes that are occuring in China come to fruition. It is amazing to see the building being built and the road works going on.We are telling all our friends that if they decide to go to China then they should get in contact with you for all their travel arrangements within China.

Thank you again Christy, we had a wonderful time because you made it easy for us and we loved China very much and we would love to come back at some stage and see more. We have bought home many presents and ornaments to constantly remind us of our trip.
Kind regards Malcolm & Jill Adams
May 2005

Our China trip
We have returned to Denmark after 4 really nice and interesting weeks in China. We will say thanks to you and your group for a fantastic well arranged tour despite the difficulties especially caused by SARS and the flood. Although you and we had to improvise very often, we always felt comfortable.

On our trip on the Yangtze we had the luck that we met an Australian family with a guide - otherwise everything would have been difficult and we wouldn't have known what, when and where. It was interesting to travel on a cruise boat dedicated to Chinese tourists. But we should have chosen a first class room at the cruise instead of a second class room.

For our planning it would have been nice to have more specified prices, so we could have prioritized the trip.

We were disappointed about the hotel in Mt. Emei. It was located farfrom the city centre, the business centre was totally closed and the breakfast was poor.

Best regards
Jes Klausby and Birgit Daetz
Jul 14, 2003

China tour…

Dear Christy - having now returned to the UK, both my wife and I would like to take this opportunity to thank you and your organisation for the very professional way in which all our holiday arrangements were handled. As we are both aware we had much email correspondence before our trip but the depth of planning including your recommendations all added up to a wonderful holiday.

I would be pleased to support you in your endeavours to develop the business and will be mentioning your organisation to many friends both here and overseas as they express an interest in visiting China. We also will come back to you when we plan a return trip!

Re the situation on the Yangtze there is no problem with the ships and I would highly recommend the East Queen - our voyage was very enjoyable.

Many thanks again

Best personal regards

Michael Stevens.
Sep 3, 2003

My Mother-in-law′s Unexpected Pick Up

Family Noervlev comes from Denmark and lives in Shanghai, China recently. Her mother-in-law visisted them in May and had an unexpected pick up at Beijing International Airport on her way back.

I write to you about my mother-in-law`s trip back home.

To let you know, that she arrived safely back home in Denmark - BUT not everything was as well, as it should have been!!

When she arrived Sunday in Beijing, a young man - around 20 - said to her, that he was there to takeher to the hotel. They went to his van, where another man helped with the suitcases, and all three went into the car. My mother-in-law sitting at the back next to the luggage and the two men in front. After some hundred meters drive, they pulled over and said to her, that she should pay 100 RMB. She showed the letter to them, explaining that she had already paid for everything.

The driver then drove another hundred meters, pulled over and said to her, that NOW she was to pay the money. She did not dare to do otherwise, so she paid!

When arrived to the hotel, she told what happened to the desk - but they did not want to listen/pay attention. It seemed clear to Inger that they knew about it all!!

NOW - all this I think was very bad service from the hotel - or whoever was behind!

I want you to know this - not because of the money, as my mother-in-law said to me - but because you may not want to use such a place again?!

I am sad to tell you this - otherwise we have always been just happy about your arrangements!!

Sincerely yours,

Gitte Noerlev, May 2002

My Trip to Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Guilin

Mr. Gilbert Dugast comes from France. He lived in Shanghai at the time he made this trip to the south.

My trip was very good, organization not too bad. My comments:

Hong Kong: Dragon Air flight was OK, on time and good service. We arrive in the hotel easily by express train, it was very comfortable and convenient. Our guide was good, bring us for a nice visit of Hong Kong...

Hong Kong to Canton (Guangzhou) & to Guilin: China Southern Airlines was delay, service and information was really bad. In Canton we had to run very quickly for to be on time for the flight to Guilin. We arrive just on time at boarding gate but nobody, not any Airline staff, not any information. After waiting long time, somebody came and write a new boarding gate number. The second flight was also delayed. Many time it is not really Airlines responsibility but the information must be from them. So China Southern Airlines doesn't respect passenger well...

Guilin: We arrive late but the lady was waiting for us, not any problem. Good English speaking and understanding, efficient. She bring us to Guilin Plaza Hotel. Outside there was too many machines broken the grund, inside there was temporary lobby and in our bed room one window cannot close. This hotel was not too much expansive but the standard and service was absolutely not Four Star Standard...

Yangshuo: ...Paradis hotel is not really new but no problem.

I will keep a very good memory of this trip, it was much better if it was possilble to change hotel one night for visit Longshen but almost everything was great..."

Gilbert DUGAST, Apr 2001

Need To Sign a Release Form to Open the Window

John Graham comes from United State, and lived in Shanghai when he made this trip to Guilin. It was during the Chinese New Year Holiday and he told us about his hotels after he returned. We sent his letter further to the hotel in Guilin and the hotel immediately sent an apology letter to John Graham.

If you have a chance I would like to discuss the Guilin portion of the tour with you also. It was beautiful, but the hotel in Guilin was absolutely not. The location is not so convenient; there is a lot of constructionsurrounding it, and repairs going on inside (only 1 elevator worked, and that was even having problems). We had a most uncomfortable night as it was rather hot and the air conditioning was broken throughout the hotel. They didn't have a single fan either. They offered to open our windows after we signed a release form that said they would not be responsible for injury resulting from having the window open. I had friends join me in Guilin, so we had two rooms booked there. This was not worth the RMB650 we paid, and really made me and my travel companions upset for one sleepless night and the next day. That should not be a 5 star hotel…

The hotel in Yangshuo was fine. The staff was polite and service was good. The only problem was that they seemed to have given us the worst 2 rooms in the hotel. It is hard to describe, but right out the window was a dirty wall blocking most of the day light, and the city bus stop beyond that. They didn't seem to be at all full, so I am puzzled as to why they would put us in the darkest little corner of the whole hotel.

Anyway, it is a spectacular place to spend a few days, and I don't let the little problems affect the bigger picture...

John Graham, Feb 2002

I wanted to particulaly thank you for the arrangements that you made for us. You planned everything beautifully. I got everything that I asked for and there were no unpleasant surprises. I particularly appreciated the fact that all your arrangement came off with no problems or questions. Every place we visited was well prepared for our arrival and all the arrangement that you made were just as you had promised.Although I was very hesitant about making arrangements of the internet, your prompt and courteous responses put me at ease. You made it all seem very simple although I know it was a lot of work for you. I will definitely be using your services for my next trip….You have won a loyal customer. Please don't hesitate to use me as reference if that is of any help to you."

-David Mungenast, Milwaukke, WI, Jun 2001

The trip we planned with you has worked out well so far, I just thought I would alert you to a few problems that we encountered along the way.

The boat was ok, not quite as nice as I had expected for the price, but satisfactory. My major concern during the Three Gorges portion was that there was absolutely no English speaking guide services or explanations offered at all. I was led to understand that there would be for the Gorges section of the tour. We were the only two people on the boat who were English speakers, and I believe many of the guides/staff on the boat speak English, but no explanation was offered as we passed the various sections of the gorges, so I felt like we missed out on some deeper understanding ofwhat we were seeing.

We arrived early in Yichang, so the contact there offered to give us a tour of the city for 100 yuan per person (￥200 total) including various entry fees, which he assured us was a good deal. It turns out that the places we went to had a very low entry fee or none at all (at the Gezhouba dam he actually pretended to go to a closed window and pay 10 yuan each!). So for the extra 2.5 hours in Yichang, he made about 160 yuan, which is pretty exorbitant.

The airport contact in Xi'an, says that he is friend with Christy. He offered us tours around Xi'an, and seemed more honest, but his prices were always very high. After negotiation, we went with him for only one day, to the Terra-Cotta Warriors and Hua Shan. He was nice, but did not provide much useful information about any of the sites, and tended to lead us into situations where we felt pressured to buy overpriced items or sit down to a low quality overpriced meal that he had "pre-arranged" through friends. This is exactly the type of thing I try to avoid when travelling in China.

Again, you have done a great job of arranging travel for us, and I appreciate your expertise and professionalism. The trip so far has indeed been one of the most memorable of my life. I know that travelling anywhere presents its own unique problems, and China is certainly no exception. This email is not intended as criticism of your company at all, just as feedback about the impression that we have received thus far in our travel.

Yours Truly,
-John Graham, Feb 2002, recently live in Shanghai, China