14-Day Three Gorges with classic China Tour

My husband, Brian, and I had a fantastic trip in Beijing.Our tour guide Jack made the trip one of the most memorable experiences we've had on any trip. We loved each every itinerary item and Jack always made sure we were entertained, comfortable, and first and foremost learning the most out of each landmark visit. Below I answer some of your questions as well as attach a few pictures we loved and wanted to share.

The Great Wall was by far the most breathtaking portion of our itinerary.The history and the grandiose feeling when walking the Great Wall was something we will never forget.

Everyone's friendliness impressed us most during our free time.

Beijing was even better than we imagined.The city is full of a rich cultural pride and we honored to have had the opportunity to visit sites and locations that the country and the culture was built upon.

Your company will be at the top of our list for recommendations.I do have to add that both our driver and our guide treated us like family. They constantly made sure we were comfortable and really paid attention to what we needed.The very first day we met Jack, we realized we left our camera on the plane during our flight from Hong Kong to Beijing.Jack went out of his way to go get the camera from the airport - that's going completely above and beyond his duties but he did it anyway. It was amazing, and we are truly thankful to him. You've hired wonderful talent!

thank you for making our trip around Beijing one of the most memorable.Many thanks to Jack!

Marianna and Brian

I really enjoyed all of the shore excursions on the trip, but I think the Shibaozhai Red pagoda was my favorite. Our guide was exceptionally good. Her English was excellent and she provided lots of information on the town as well as the Pagoda's history. The Pagoda and the views from it were really beautiful.

The Captain's Welcome Cocktail Party was nice, but at only 1/2 an hour, too short! I almost missed it completely. I was a little late and by the time I arrived, it was already almost over.

As for the facility on the cruise ship.I didn't have a lot of free time as I went on all the additional shore excursions. The only facilities I used were the bar and decks to take in the views.

we recommend furture customers to go on all the additional shore excursions, they are definitely worth it!!!

I recommend China Highlights absolutely on all accounts (value for money, trustworthiness, dependability flexibility and problem solving).

Trina

Dennis,

We enjoyed the cruise very much. The staff was very friendly and helpful and the food was very, very good. We also enjoyed the lectures/demonstrations and the evening entertainment. 

Our only suggestion would be to book transportation from the dock to the airport in Yichang ahead of time. We did not have transportation arranged and although we were able to get a taxi, it would have been much easier if we had booked something earlier....less stress for us. Getting to the dock in Changqing was no problem.

Thank you again for all your help. We really appreciate it.

Regards,

Marie

Dear Candy,

The tour itinerary was very good. By traveling later in the day or evening we had good use of daytime. In the autumn going north to south is the correct direction.

Xian for the history of ancient China and the Forbidden City for the vastness of palaces built by various emperors.

Jue Zhang in Nanjing is our favorite tour guide, although others were truly excellent. David in Beijing, Jane in Chengdu and Jen in Guillin. All these guides were flexible and added to our experience. Jue is mature, excellent in English due to 1? years in USA and was especially caring for us.Drivers were fine and the buses comfortable and reliable.

All hotels were 5 star and great. We especially liked Pan Pacific in Suzhou for the gardens and Radisson in Shanghai for the location.

We did lots of shopping and all stops except the terracotta shop between Xian and the warrior site can be recommended.

Our group very much liked the farm visit arranged by our guide near Dazu. It gave a good impression of the peasant life and we visited a lovely 3 generation family.

Absolutely, we would recommend China Highlights and the people we dealt with, especially you, Candy.

In addition to your standard itinerary offerings we feel the Westlake show in Hangzhou and the mask changing shows we saw in Beijing and Chengdu were very worthwhile to see.

We were all over 65 (actually our ages ranged from 67 to 75). For us the care of your guides was important and appreciated.

They can contact me by email at ghs@crpindustries.com

Sincerely,

George

Hi Grace,

Our trip was truly amazing. Every aspect of China Highlights work was exceptional…the planning with Grace, the travel arrangements, and each of our guides. We couldn't have asked for a better experience.

The itinerary was excellent. The cities we visited were perfect for our first visit to China. The Yangtze cruise was amazing and the visit to Guilin gave us a different insight than the larger cities. All of the attractions we visited were most worthwhile. That is hard to say which place is the most memorable attraction. The Great Wall and the Terra Cotta Warriors were probably the most remarkable. I think our best dinner was in Xian and the dumpling house that was on China Highlights recommendations Defachang? It was a great experience and very reasonably priced.

All of our guides were outstanding so it is hard to name one that is best.One of the best parts of our experience was the chance to get to know our guides. They each brought their own insights and we really enjoyed getting to know each one. I was very impressed with the knowledge of each of them. The continuous exchange of information about our two cultures was incredibly interesting. This kind of interchange could only happen on a private tour.

The drivers provided comfortable experience. All the hotels were excellent. The Sofitel in Xian was probably the most luxurious. The Sheraton in Guilin probably was the least…but still very nice. Most importantly, all the hotels were well located in the city they were in. We appreciated this in the evenings when we were able to just walk to go to dinner. We did a little shopping not too much. The best advice is to negotiate everything!

We will recommend your company and send some photos to Grace.

Holly

Dear Cindy,

I have been out of the office for the last 2 weekends. I will fax the survey. I will send you many pictures and comments from our VERY SATISFIED GROUP over the next few says.

First of all, I must commend you,the tour guides and all of the other personnel at China Highlights. The group and I thoroughly enjoyed the entire China tour. Cindy, you were there with me by phone daily to make sure things were moving smoothly. You were absolutely outstanding.Words cannot express my gratitude for having such a kind and understanding person as you directing the tour from start to finish. From day 1 last year, when I began putting the tour together, your travel expertise helped me plan this exciting and enjoyable trip. Look forward to hearing from me as well as other members of the tour as time goes by. Again, Cindy. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.

Robert

Hi, Grace,

The terracotta soldiers is the most memorable attraction for Leigh, summer palace for Lynne, and beautiful Yangtze river for both, especially the day trip through the lesser gorges. Hutong visit is a Wow for us. As per the guides, Emily in Beijing and Sarah in Shanghai are both comfortable and informative. They speak excellent English. Adjusted pace of tour to meet our needs (HOT). Escort through the tickets counters, most guides had knowledge beyond the standard info - obvious by good answers to off the all questions. All guides were very personable. Very nice to see that smiling face when we got off the plane - no matter how late we were! Our favorite driver was Mr Liu in Beijing. He provides a safe, comfortable experience for us. All accommodations are outstanding.

For the suggestions for our future customers, uuuh yeah :o) for those who may not be as enthusiastic about shopping as we are, perhaps you could highlight the shopping specifically on the itinerary. The Chinese selling technique after the interesting demos on silk making, cloisonne, etc, may catch some by surprise. (not us, don't worry!) You might consider a 'shopping list' approach to itinerary building - for example do you want to bike the wall in Xi'an, or ride around it in a golf cart?' etc. It’s a wonderful trip but July is not the best time due to heat and humidity. Bring or buy a hand held fan! Be prepared for late flights.

We would recommend you to our friends or colleagues.

Thanks,

Lynne