Hi Vivien,

Very nice trip. Thanks.

Ashley

Hello Echo,

I just arrived back in Wenzhou. I wanted to say thank you for all your help. I greatly appreciate all you did for me. Thank you.

Toby

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

Thanks Leo for organising this trip. We had good time;

Huangshan: we loved the place but felt sad that this was not the right season for it.. So while booking you can just inform us on the same.. I had checked the weather before going, I knew it was raining but I thought it like shenyang rain.. Light.. Not that heavy.. So if possible just give an info on that to people..

Driver and vehicle: good

Guide: very good

Hangzhou: good place.

Driver: very rude. Not even accommodating a small requirement of stopping at a supermarket.

Guide:Very good.

Shanghai and around: good

Driver: Kind and helpful.

Guide: very friendly, helpful and good.. Appreciate that she helped us for booking food online..

Guides were supportive at all places.. Thank you!! But again a feedback for your company: Try being little flexible when you are doing a customized trip. Customized trip is not just booking hotels or car. Clients need more flexibility in terms of everything when we know we are paying more than just for the trip expense

Hi Tracy,

We are back comfortably. Thankyou for organising the nice trip.

Hello Ms. Wang

Thank you for your support.

Trips were very good.

Especially thanks for guide Jack. He was very good preparatem and helpfull.

Kind remide
Bralewski Dariusz

Hi Riley,

Thank you! The Great Wall was phenomenal.

Hi Wang,

All were perfect, thank you so much for your help. Hotel and staff were great and friendly. Room was great and service in club lounge perfect (afternoon tea, snack, breakfast,...)

Flowers and cake were prepared very well with fruits, wine, and also decoration. Was a great weekend, thank again.

Hi Wonder

I hope things are returning to normal for you and that the impact in your business of covid-19 has not been too depressing. Please forgive my tardy response, for which there is no excuse!

I flew from Shanghai to Saigon just 3 days before the flights were banned and managed to spend a great 4 weeks travelling through Cambodia and Thailand as well as re-entering Vietnam in Hanoi and touring back to Saigon for a week returning to UK on 22 February, where I completed 2 weeks of self isolation with my wife. As you will know we have been locked down for 9 weeks now so life is very different to how it was before I left for China back on 12 January! I have inserted my answers to your questions below and hope they are helpful to you.

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

Wonder Wang, at China Discovery, was very helpful and responsive to my questions and needs and I felt supported and safe in a strange land, especially during a period of uncertainty when I lost key documentation and needed to ensure its replacement before I left China, and also during a time when many around us were conscious of the emerging coved 19 pandemic (Mid to late January 2020).

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

Very attentive and knowledgeable. Maybe it’s my age (67) but at times I found understanding their English a challenge but they were all patient with me and would repeat their explanations when I asked them to. 

3. Would you like to recommend our company?

 I have no hesitation in recommending China Discovery to anyone looking for a bespoke trip to the land of Wonder that is China.

Thanks again for all you did for me during the China leg of my trip. I had a wonderful time.

Take great care and best wishes

Simon

Thanks Mike;

Our hearts go out to the people of China. We sincerely hope that the situation in China, and the rest of the world gets back to normal soon.

We sent a package of N95 masks to one our tour guides several weeks ago, as a small token to show our appreciation for her efforts while we were in China, and to show our concern for the well-being of her family.

Thanks very much for sending the information and suggestions about dealing with the virus. We are starting to experience many of the same problems that the Chinese people faced when the virus first started to spread, and your suggestions will be most helpful.

Best Wishes,

Rick

Dear Wing,

We have been wondering how the wonderful people we met are getting through this crisis. We are glad to hear that you are well. We hope that you and your family and friends can stay healthy.  

We are well and are living near our son and his family who can help us. My sister in California said that no one is allowed out of the house except for food shopping or something necessary in order to live. Last week 3.3 million people applied for unemployment benefits in our country. So many businesses are closed.  

We hope to travel again and will contact you when it is again possible to see other countries.

Sincerely,

Deborah and Steve

Dear Wing!

We are very glad that everything is OK with you and hope all your colleagues and families are healthy!

Thank you so much for your kind attention and very useful information, which will be shared with our relatives and friends. 

We are OK but at the moment we are in self-isolation at home because of the quarantine measures and looking forward to coming back to normal life.

Keep safe and healthy.

Have a nice day,

Elmira and Nick

Dear Wing Zeng,

Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness in providing the very useful information on Covid-19. It is greatly appreciated.

All our family are well and in good spirits despite the unprecedented times we are living in. We are now in lockdown in Ireland until at least Sunday 12th April. It is difficult but we hope it will save lives and contain the virus.

We also hope there will be a medical breakthrough soon to eradicate the virus.

Thank you again for all your kindness.

Take care and stay safe and well.

Regards,

John

Hello Vivien,

Thank you very much for your warm wishes and for sending this information. It is an interesting read and it does very much agree with the advice we are getting here in the UK. Yes, we are well but as we are in the early stages of the pandemic here in UK it remains a worrying time.

Of course, we have also been watching the situation in China and are pleased that things seem to be moving back towards normal. Our daughter Stephanie who works in Fuzhou was at home in the UK for a month following the outbreak and the closure of public schools in China after the New Year celebrations. She intended visiting for just one week but while she was home the outbreak spread around China and so she remained here. Her school have started teaching on-line and she has been able to do that.

Hearing that the situation was starting to get better in China, she was anxious to return and so she left home on the 15th of March. Unfortunately, she arrived in Haikou, en-route from Hong Kong to Fuzhou, and was caught by the 14-day quarantine for passengers arriving in China that started last Monday. She is now one week into her enforced stay before she will be allowed to fly to Fuzhou. However, although obviously a bit lonely, she is well and quite comfortable in the hotel, and is able to continue her on-line teaching. She is due to continue her travel next Tuesday, 31 March, and is now looking forward to re-joining her colleagues. And it does seem that she left here just in time as we are now starting a period of lockdown.

We do still have flights booked for a future visit to China in May but we have not made any plans yet because we do not know if we will be able to travel. If we can travel then we will contact you nearer the time to help with bookings – no doubt it has been a very quiet time for you recently.

It is a very difficult time for everybody. We are doing our best to heed the advice, as no doubt you have done. Thank you again for your message and we send you our very best wishes for the future.

Sincerely,

Chris & Jude

Hi Vivien,

Many thanks for your email, kind wishes and guidance documentation.

I will read with interest and forward to my family.  

I hope you and your family were not affected with COVID19 and it is good to note that it appears to be coming under control in China. 

Here in the UK our figures are gaining momentum and we have just moved into the “stay at home” phase with guidelines and key restrictions.

On a positive, we have very fond memories of our time in China last year and are so pleased we were able to visit.  We wish you and our tour guides all the best, continue to keep safe.

Kind regards 

Carol and Bill

Hi Vivien,

Thank you for your kind letter. I hope that you and your family are well. 

I can imagine how difficult it is for travel industry to go through this crisis. 

How long Wuhan has been under the lockdown? Are there any effective medication against the virus? 

We are now in a total lockdown. We’ll see how the UK will be effected by that. It is difficult for everyone. 

Stay well and healthy.

Best wishes, 

Nana

Dear Wing,

So sweet of you to get in touch. It's a very difficult time for everyone. I'm glad you are returning to some normality in China. We are so lucky to have taken and enjoyed our trip last year.

Wishing you continued good health and luck for the coming year.

Kind regards

Tamesha

Dear Wing Zeng,

Great to hear from you.

Thank you so much for the lovely e-mail and the attached document on the prevention of coronavirus. It is greatly appreciated.

We are delighted to hear that the epidemic in China is over and life is slowly resuming to normal. We wish you the very best of luck and success in the future.

Italy today now has more deaths than China.

In Ireland the situation is very serious and there is a partial shutdown at present (schools, universities, crèches, pubs, restaurants, shops, hotels etc.) and other people are advised to work from home. It is likely further restrictions will be put in place during the coming days. A full lockdown of the entire country is a possibility.

We are confined to home at present and have advised our sons and grandchildren not to visit us for the foreseeable future. We are able to get out for a walk weather permitting but don’t interface with any people.

The current situation is expected to continue for a number of months.

We take each day as it comes and there is no doubt this situation will end. The question is when.

I do hope that there will be a breakthrough soon to eradicate the virus.

I’m the meantime we are following all the key guidelines issued by the Health Authorities.

We hope to be able to get back to Shanghai

as soon as possible and we are very disappointed we won’t be there as planned on 29th March to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary.

As soon as normality resumes when the virus is eliminated I will contact you to rearrange our trip to Shanghai.

Thank you again for your kindness.

Best regards,

John and Catherine

Hi Echo,

First my wife and i are very concerned about you & family plus our guides and their families due to the coronavirus.

We had a fantastic time in China just a few months ago.

1. Our travel arrangements were PERFECT! It was an affordable vacation yet for only a few dollars over base cost we were able to upgrade to Hainan airlines and 1st class high speed trains,

Plus our hotels (when the front desk is an actual luxury desk you sit at checking in - you relax and know your stay will be so nice!)

We were met on time by friendly staff in each city.

Our local tour guides were great! Each different but good. 

We have recommended your tour company many times as we discuss our trip and show our pictures. Everything went very smoothly. As we exchanged emails our perfect vacation developed so easily. 

Improvements? Not many. The tour locations, transportation, lunches, drivers & guides etc... were great!

2 things- our guide in Shanghai wanted to tell us so much. She was worried about the time too much. For her, the other guides, and the travellers - please send a simple intro guide lesson for us fo read and take with.  So many dynasties, rivers, canals, rocks, pagodas etc...to learn. 

Also, the shopping stops were very nice and also affordable. 

But, if wasn't until our last morning that i discovered a souvenir shop. To buy tshirts, key chains, refrigerator magnets, etc..  This is an important part of travel as the "themed" location shops dont carry items forg all the friends and family back home.

Also in Xian we had expected fo visit the ancient mosque along with the muslim street.

Thank you for a wonderful trip.

Hallo Lily,

Last year, with my cousin Roberto Bergoglio and his wife Anita Maletto, I had with 'China Discovery' a nice holiday in China.
We remember well the beauty of the country and the kindness of our guides. 

We are now very sorry for the bad news from China and we hope that all of you is well. 

We are sure that these difficult moments will soon be over.

Cheer up!

Franca Bergoglio

Hi Wendy,

If I get a chance I will put something on Tripadvisor but I can give you the responses to your questions.

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

Yes very happy with the contact we received and the booking of tours.

2. How was your tour? Are you satisfied with the tour we arranged for you?

I was very happy with the tour. I think in Shanghai the hotel was in a poor location and didn’t have the services the other hotels had. If I had known I would have paid extra for a better/ better location hotel.

Hi Vivien,

Arrived in Yangon!  We had a great trip in China.  Thanks for everything!!!

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 Wendy,

Thank you Wendy so much for organizing our wonderful trip to China you made every thing fun and easy. All the arrangements worked out perfectly without a problem. We had a fantastic time and enjoyed all the sights and sounds and attractions. We really appreciated our tour guides they were exceptional and the drivers and pre-organized tickets made the trip easy. Could you pass on a special thanks to Anne, Alison, Tina and Eric who made our family feel very welcome and gave our trip a warm and personal touch.

Thanking you Jenny and family :-):-):-)

Hi Mike,

I am writing to thank you and your staff for arranging a wonderful vacation for my family in China. We really enjoyed our time in China learning about your country.

Each of your tour guides and drivers were friendly, knowledgeable and very professional. They treated us like we were part of the family.

Thanks again, and Happy New Year.

Rick Valek

Hi Jack,

Sorry to the late reply. Sandy supposed to send you the feedback and I didn't know she still hasn't done yet. Or she will send you in a few days.

That's a great tour. For such short time, I can see both Huangshan and Zhangjiajie. The tour guide at both area is great, friendly and knowledgeable. Hotel is good. Only one thing that the meal included in our tour was not that great, a lot of vegetable but not enough meat. We love meat and most people live in US love to eat meat.

Next time you can have some suggestions that we stay one more day to explore a little bit of Shanghai even though we all have been travel to Shanghai. Every night we went back to shanghai so late. We only can go to the bund to take picture and then come back to sleep.

Lastly, we are very appreciate your arrangement, we can see what we want to see. Thanks a lot. I definitely will recommend you and your company to my family and friend.

Toni

Dear Lily,

Happy new year!

Hopefully this whole year will see you & your entire family in blessings and happiness! 

Kindly find here attached our evaluation form of the trip.

Many thanks again and hope to keep in touch with you!

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

* Yes. Lily was very quick to respond all my inquiries by e-mail or WeChat. She was flexible, accommodating, and informative too. We had quite a lot of requests and changes on our itinerary, and she managed to give us best services. On our last day there, she even came to see us and sent us off at the airport :)

2. How do you comment your tour arrangements? 

* We enjoyed the arrangements in general. Our activities stick to the planned itineraries.

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

* Yes, sure.

4.  Your general opinion on us?

* We enjoyed your services overall. No major complaints whatsoever. The guides were patient too. Shout out to Mrs. Tutu who accompanied us until late night! :)

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

* Maybe you could try adding more variations for the meal menu. On our last days we found ourselves bored with the same menu servings. In Chengdu we also requested for a Japanese dinner recommendation but in the end we didn’t manage to get any (there was one Japanese restaurant near our hotel but it was too small to accommodate the 17 of us).

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?

 * Sure. You may use our group photo pictures (if you have none, Lily can ask me on WeChat).

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

* No problem. They may contact me on patricetan@outlook.com

Warm regards,

Patrice

Hi Lyn

Thank you for helping us with the tour. We really enjoyed it and would recommend you highly.

Wonder

Thank you for the Christmas greetings. Thanks for your help. We had a very unforgettable experience during our stay there. Warm regards.

Emilie

Hi Leo!

My apologies for taking such a long time in getting back to you. We had a wonderful experience, and I have told my friends back here in the US to take the tour the way we did if they ever decide to go to China.  I think the only helpful note to possibly relay to future tourists is to have Apple Pay set up.  It is not too used here in the US, so I do not have it set up and a lot of the local places only took Apple Pay.

Otherwise, the tour stops were great, we really enjoyed all of our guides - I want to be friends with all of them!

Please let me know if you have anyone that needs to reach out to me that is considering the trip. I would be happy to share my positive experience.

Thank you,

Molly

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.

Wing - 

Thank you very much for the emails and I apologize for the delay. First off let me say that we have traveled to over 30 countries with our children and this trip was among the best organized we have experienced.  The people were extremely welcoming throughout China and it all started with us working with you at China Discovery.  We knew that November is not the ideal month to travel due to the colder weather but that did not detract us from a wonderful vacation.  Here are some additional answers for you below:

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

Your services were exceptional! I appreciate your prompt responses to our questions and you were always willing to help. Since I have returned from China, I have already spoken with someone who is interested in touring China next year and I have strongly recommended that they ask for you: Wing Zeng at China Discovery for support. 

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

That is difficult to say. All tour guides we experienced spoke English very well and we enjoyed their company. Typically the tour guide is vital to the success of the vacation and we liked all them all which made everything great - Special thanks to our guide in Yichang who found an incredible restaurant on the way to the Yichang restaurant / The food we had was wonderful.

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

Without a doubt! I will always recommend China Discovery and recommend they specifically ask for Wing Zeng. 

Please send this to the leaders of your company.  Thanks again and let me know if you have any further questions. 

Rob

Hello Riley, 

Thanks for reaching out, I can certainly share some feedback with you.

Transportation Services: Overall transportation services were good quality, the size, type of vehicle and driver were good and that's the kind of service I was expecting. Really appreciate your fast response when we needed to arrange transportation services from one day to another. Having you as a WeChat contact made the difference. The most important thing was that every single time the driver and vehicle was on time and with a printed sign with my name on it. I appreciate you having my flight information and taking care of times, arrival information etc. This worry-free experience is very important to me. The only not so positive thing to share was maybe not related to you or the driver but the two times we were picked up at the airport we had a long walk to reach the vehicle. When you are traveling with large group of people, many kids and a lot of lugagge this is difficult.

Tour in Shanghai: I have nothing but positive things to say about the guide. Her knowledge about the places we visited were amazing she had a vast amount of information to share, every single detail about the places we visited she mastered the details and we as a tourist value this a lot. I appreciate that you understood my VIP request travel to the river. When we get there we had a special place on the boat that made the difference. My people were pleased with this. Please recognize the work the guide did that day, working with a large group of latin american people including kids is difficult I admit but she was so kind and professional that I admire her. Even when we were in the bus driving to our destination she was sharing so many facts about Shanghai that we gladly received.

Happy to share this feedback to you and I hope you find it useful

Manuel Torres

Hi Rita,

Good morning. We reached our home safely. All thanks to you and your team for organising such a wonderful trip. Starting from planning, implementing, and executing it. We dint face any problem anywhere while traveling or while inter changing the between stations. I would like to thank each one of you for taking care of us. I would like to highlight few things which made me speechless. 

Security: 

In the entire trip we didn't face any problem. Either with baggages or any other property. Everything was secured. 

Comfortablity: 

Spacious cars were provided all over the trip and we were very much comfortable. 

Special Thanks: 

To you and team for organising . 

And Mis. Tina and driver at Beijing and Mr. Johnny and his Driver at Xian, were very truthful and treated us like a family. Such a wonderful experience with them made our Journey to China remarkable. 

We would like to Visit China again in near future to other places Visiting Yiwu market. 

Best Attraction out 5 which we felt the Best 

1. Zhangjiajie

2. Xian

3. Beijing 

4. Shanghai

We went to optional activities in Beijing, Xian, Zhangjiajie, and Gulin. The best activity was at Xian. We loved the performance the most. 

Once Again

Thank you soo much. 

Harika

Dear Echo,

Thanks for your email. Anne's knee has now recovered and she has been able to resume her visits to the gym this week.

I have paid the outstanding bill for the Shanghai airport transfer in $USD via PayPal

Thanks once again for all your assistance in setting up our trip and then helping us with the transport variations whilst in China.

It was a pleasure doing business with you and China Discovery

Best wishes

Russell & Anne

Hi Johnson,

Hope this email find you well. 

My family and I have returned to Sydney after 6 weeks of travelling! I want to thank you for arranging our 25 days China tour which we have really enjoyed. The itinerary was good although a bit tiring! 

China was amazing and your service in organizing and trouble shooting while we were there was greatly appreciated.

On reflection, we realized the highlights during our tours were the cities where we had a good guide and driver.

FYI the guides in SuZhou (Sarah), Guilin (Summer), Kunming (Jessie) and Lijiang ( Susan) and Chengdu (Jane) were all amazing. Their English and knowledge were very good. They made these cities/ places come alive for us.

Alan in Hangzhou took us to the best restaurant and ordered the best lunch we had in 25 days. Again a memorable city for us

On the flip side, Dali which was a beautiful city but we did not enjoy mostly because our guide ( Shirley) does not speak English well. We could not understand her narrative or explanation most of the time. The guide in Wuhan ( Jennifer) was very unhelpful, was on her phone most of the time unless we asked her questions. For e.g. The highlight of Wuhan to us was the yellow crane tower but she did not even bother to walk up with us  ( and gave us 20 min to go up and come down) As we all could not read Chinese , it made all the beautiful artworks, poems and historical significance a complete loss to us! At the Eastlake, again a beautiful area she rushed us in and out because she said we did not have enough time but we ended finishing the day around 4 ! As you know she also ignore us during lunch so I had to send you the complaint myself! So Wuhan to use was the least enjoyable day.

For your reference, I think you have to ensure the guides you provide to any group you organize speak good English and are experience and helpful.

Overall, I think it was a great tour and your service is excellent from start to finish. I will certainly recommend you to my friends and hope to organize a Silk Road tour with you  in the near future !

Thanks again

Regards

Sharon

Hi Wendy,

We have just returned home today from our month away and, rather belatedly, I wanted to thank you so much for the lovely scarf and gifts you sent us to Chengdu.

Our Chinese trip was absolutely perfect and we loved it.  For your information I will give comments on the guides:

Chengdu – Yijia

What a lovely girl, a pleasure to be around, incredibly innovative and helpful, beyond the calls of her job. She helped us get SIM cards for our phones, told us about the Opera near our hotel, even joined us for the panda workday.  Am not sure about how much knowledge she has but it was certainly enough for us.

Chengdu – Shani

First whole day in Chengdu.  She was very nice and knew her history.  Very informative about the Temples.

Xian – Vivien

We didn’t get off to a good start with her unfortunately as, although the driver was waiting for us at the station, she had been delayed with other clients and was 45 minutes late.  After our initial anger and seeing how upset she was we all settled down and I have to say she was incredibly knowledgeable and most informative. The next day, when we went to the Terracotta Warriors I don’t think we could have been with a better guide.  She was excellent.

Guilin & Yangshou – Lona

What a pleasure this guide was and so informative.  She certainly knows her history of the sites she took us to.  Very dedicated and we thoroughly enjoyed being with her.  I think she was the absolute best.

Shanghai – Tracy (I think)

A different caliber entirely.  Arrived late but with lots of excuses and no apology!  She was fine when we got going but her English wasn’t up to that of the others, nor was her knowledge I think.

Beijing - Kai

Probably the most well informed of all the guides we had, and a charming person.  He was most caring and happy to share his knowledge of all the sites as well as impart information about life in general in China.

Pick-ups were all excellent, with good and careful drivers. All in all we had a wonderful time in China and thank you so much for arranging it all so well for us.

We will certainly recommend you to our friends and if you need us to give recommendations to future clients, we shall be happy to do.

All the Best,

Candy & Laurie

Dear Lyn Wang,

Just wanted to let you know how much we enjoyed the Tour you scheduled for us. It was really great having the tour guides and drivers at each location to make sure we were on schedule and were able to get to the next location on time. We could not have done nearly as much of the tour on our own.

Each of the four (4) tour guides was very helpful and fully knew their area. Sherry in Chongqing and Bailey in Shanghai were outstanding.

I took many pictures so it will be a few days before I can edit and load them on my computer. When I do, I will send you some of the highlights.

It was a great trip and we certainly will recommend your Company and specifically Lyn Wang to anyone we know that plans on going to China.

Thanks again for a Job Well Done.

Bet wishes, 

Joseph

Hi Wendy 

Apologies for the late reply been busy in the office.

1. Was your travel consultant of our company fast enough to answer your E-mail and patient enough to answer your questions? YES We appreciated your assistance and updates

2. How was your tour? Are you satisfied with the tour we arranged for you? YES we were looked after both by Kiki and Eric 

Kiki helped Dylan in the yellow Mountains to overcome his tiredness and helped him achieve the extra walk into the valley 

Eric looked after us and when Dylan left his stuffed Koala in Beijing arranged for the hotel to courier it to Shanghai and arrived within 24 hours 

3. Do you have any suggestions on improving our services? Not really 

Regards,

With Our Kind Tour Guides

Dear Lyn,

Delighted to see your email. Yes, we are both fine and I must say that our China trip worked out extremely well thanks to you. Right from the word go, you have been so helpful and prompt in all your responses. Your advice was great and the choice of places to visit was just right. We do appreciate your help mid-way in getting our room in Novotel, Beijing, changed. All our tour guides – Yoyo in Beijing, Fiona in Hangzhou and Melody in Shanghai were very polite, friendly, helpful and flexible. So were the drivers too. Please covey our heartfelt thanks to all of them. Our thanks are also due to Mark who picked us up when we landed in Shanghai and Tina who was there to pick us up, help us with ticketing and drop us off twice at the Shanghai Railway Station. The weather was good throughout and everything went exactly as planned. Without doubt, we will recommend you and China Discovery to our friends. In fact, we have done so to many already.

Many thanks again and warm regards from both of us,

Lyn Wang,

Thank you for your email. We have enjoyed this trip tremendously. We want to give a special thank you to Sheri in Chongqing. We thought she went beyond her duties to insure we were well taken care of. All guides were very informative and helpful but we thought she went beyond her duties to insure we were well taken care of. Also Bailey in Shanghai was excellent. We really liked Shanghai. 

Aside from experiencing language barriers which was difficult for us at times, we had a good experience. I’m sure Mr Weichman will send you a followup once we arrive at home. 

Thank you,

Superlative team and organization

Review of China Discovery

Our group of 7 toured 3 weeks across China from Shanghai to Tibet. It was to be the trip of a lifetime, and it was. In my due process to search for the best itinerary and TA for us, I found Leo Li of China Discovery. Compared to other top in-China TAs, CD and Leo Li gave me everything I wanted including the best price for the desired itinerary. None of us were strangers to China. I was born there and had been there 5 times since, while the others had toured the capital cities but never the remote regions of Hunan, Sichuan, Yunnan, and Tibet.

We were always prompted met with a guide as soon as we left the airport security area; we were transported in clean mini-vans with plenty of bottled water. It was always door-to-door everytime. We would be dropped off at one end and after the tour, the mini-van would be waiting for us at the other end -- no backtracking. Nothing was ever stolen or missing in the secured vans. The many guides we met were always courteous and spoke varying degrees of fluency but always well-informed. One even held my wife's hand as she walked slowly on icy pathways in Huanglong National Park.

Their pricing was reasonable -- better than if I booked myself. We stayed in not only elegant country inns, but also at Pullman, Sofitel, Shangri-la, and Grand Hyatt.

I have nothing but praise for Leo and his team. He is easily accessible 24/7. That is really necessary in China. His English is flawless, his personality infectious. We met him in Chengdu. Ask for Leo Li.

Date of experience: October 2019

Dear Lily,

We have now returned to Australia after the holiday you organised for us in The Guilin and Hunan areas and are happy to provide some feedback on the service you offered.

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

Lily was efficient and polite and always got back to us within 24 hours of our contacting her.  She was very patient, particularly when the first trip we planned had to have major changes made due to our personal circumstances.

2. How do you comment your tour arrangements? 

The tour was everything we expected.Timing was excellent and the attractions we visited were beautiful. Your country has spectacular scenery.

Some things are worth mentioning:

• The Guilin Park Hotel, while comfortable, was not really 4-star. The bathroom was very old, with mouldy wall tiles.  We would not recommend this hotel to others, although the location was perfect and the exterior and foyer looked beautiful.  The restaurant was uninviting, and the bar was not operating at all.

• The One Art Hotel in Ping’An was superb, and the family operating the business were very friendly and welcoming. This hotel is highly recommended.
• If we had our time over again we would have liked 2 nights in YangShou.  It was a lovely town and small enough for us to wander at our leisure
• The bike ride along the Yulong River and then to Moon Hill and The Banyan Tree was great fun
• There were long car trips involved in our visit to Fengshuan.  Perhaps we could have made a return trip from Zhangziajie by train and then flown from Zhangjiajie to Shanghai.
• Steven was an excellent guide and he provided advice as to where we should eat for our evening meals. He also suggested things for us to eat.
• Kevin was good, but perhaps not as helpful as Steven. He tended to rush us past things we wanted to see and we often had to ask him to slow down. 
• It was difficult for us to order from restaurants in the Zhangziajie area.  There was very little English spoken – and I had not downloaded a translation service to my phone before I left.  I was not able to access this once I was in China as access to Google was blocked

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

We certainly are. This is the second time we have used your service and have no complaints whatsoever.  It is an excellent service and Lily is a pleasure to deal with.  We only wish we could have met her personally to thank her.

 4. Your general opinion on us?

5 star!  Well done

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

2 suggestions: 

Perhaps you could advise future customers to download translation app before they arrive.

Your guides could have with them a simple menu in Chinese/English that customers could refer to when in a non-English speaking restaurant. 

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?

See attached photos

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

Yes, of course.

Thank you once again for a wonderful itinerary,

Warm regards,

Lovely Villages and Beautiful River in Hunan and Guilin

Hi, Jack, that what I want to put on Trip Advisor, please read and let me know if it is something you expected.  Also if you can advise me what was that place in Xi’an I am writing about I will put it there.

10 days semi-private tour

10 days tour with the group of 6 friends was totally amazing, it was perfect combination of physical activity, information to process and just moments to enjoy.  Out of all included and optional activities I want to highlight just two special moments in Xi’an and show on the Li River in Yangshuo.

Whith basically all-time rain our visit to Xi’an was bright, interesting and full of surprises thanks to our wonderful guide Timo.  It started late in the evening when we arrived in the city and was taken to…I don’t remember name of that place, but it was a long street filled with lights, decoration, different activities, lots of people, some in traditional cloths and etc.  And the next day, after seeing the Terracotta warriors, City wall and other place of interests there was another surprise for us. One person in our group had a birthday and what he got as a gift from our tour company was creative, unique and above our best dreams (don’t want to go into details in case somebody else wants to celebrate birthday in Xi’an).  The only thing I regret about is we did not tip our wonderful guide enough. Tip recommendation was at the very end of our confirmation letter and none of us bothered to read it to the end until the mid of the tour.  We used our best judgment, and as it turned out it was not that good, he deserved much better. 

And show in Yanhshuo – I have no words to describe it, have never seen anything like that before, definitely worth seeing it even under the rain (theater does not have a roof).

So many great picture, so much great moments to remember!

Hi Lyn,

Please ignore this mail. We’d a great time with Caroline today, yesterday we just had some misunderstanding. 

She was very nice with us, considering that we wanted to change the program in Shanghai.

She made her best to satisfy our needs, and we’d a wonderful time togheter.

I want to thank you because our trip was wonderful in China!

Everything worked perfectly, and we sastified all our desires.

Unfortunately we didn’t receive your present in Chengdu.

We’ll prepare a wonderful review for China Discovery and your job.

Thank you so much for everything!

Best

Wing,

We had a great time in China. Thanks for such a culture packed itinerary 

Below is the evaluation sheet from the confirmation letter

There is one thing in shanghai I need to bring up. I paid 720 rmb each for our Disneyland tickets. It turns out the shanghai tour guide bought 1 regular (standard) and 1 senior (selected) ticket for us. The senior ticket is 200 rmb cheaper than the regular ticket. Should I get a refund? I found that out at the entrance when the ticket checker keep checking my birthday on the passport and not my daughter’s. I asked her why and she said I have a senior ticket.   Please let me know

1. Is your travel consultant of our company fast enough to answer your E-mail and patient enough to answer your questions? Excellent. Ms Zeng responded to all my requests in a timely manner during the planning phase and during our trip

2. How do you comment your tour arrangements? It was more than expected. The trip to Chengdu introduce us to Chinese culture that we were not aware of. We are still talking about the face changing performance we attended. 

3. Are you willing to recommend our service to your people who also have an interest to visit China? Absolutely. I have been telling my co-workers about the private tour we had.

4.  Your general opinion on us? Very responsive and very familiar with the Chengdu area.

5. Do you have any suggestions on improving our services? better tour guides in Shanghai. however Ms Zeng was able to re-mediate the situation

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? I am sending a few pictures of the pandas. A baby, an older one eating lunch and the forgotten red panda. These are pandas that we actually saw

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

Thank you China Discovery for an excellent tour

If we decide to visit other areas in China we will definitely engage your service again.

Giant Panda and Red Panda

Dear Wing Zeng,

We have just returned to Ireland after an INCREDIBLE trip to Beijing, Xian and Shanghai. The tour guides and drivers were SUPERB and gave us a fantastic experience for the duration of our time in China. We will always treasure the great memories from this UNFORGETTABLE trip. China is such a beautiful and vibrant country. It was our pleasure to experience such a fantastic time in your wonderful country.

Thank you so very very much for all your great help and organisation in arranging an unforgettable trip for us.

It is GREATLY appreciated.

Regards,

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 Wendy,

I hope you had a good National Week.

When we said goodbye to our guide Gila we thought we had lost our feedback form. However when we unpacked in Shanghai we found it. So I have attached photos of our feedback. I will try and also post it.

We had a brilliant time in Chengdu. Gila was a wonderful tour guide so please thank her for her hard work. After Chengdu we went to Xi’an and Shanghai and are now in Beijing. We are really enjoying time in China - it’s an amazing country.

Many thanks,

Hi Lily,

Back in India and I wanted to thank you for all the arrangements and tour planning you have done.

I have enjoyed every bit of the tour, guides and car drivers were all good and helpful. Must say Shanghai has been the best interms of everything. The hotel, their service, city and the experience everything was the best.

Beijing was also good and pleasant. It would have been more fun if the hotel people were more customer oriented. I had to struggle with room and air conditioning of the room everyday. I would suggest you choose another hotel for other customers.

But overall, I loved the trip and have lovely memories of all the places visited. Will plan next visit again through you.

Thanks again and much appreciate your efforts.

Regards,

Dear Johnson,

We are safely home, settled into our normal life and it is with great pleasure that we respond to your request for feedback.

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

I can not recommend Johnson Wang highly enough. He was incredibly prompt and patient with my numerous emails, and super helpful in allaying concerns or accommodating specific requests. 

2.    How do you comment your tour arrangements?

From my initial enquiry, until completion of our tour 12 months later, Johnson ensured that every detail of our tour was thoroughly met. The tour arrangements exceeded our expectations!

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

There are multiple tour companies and travel agents offering very cheap packages for China tours, but we are so pleased we chose to contact China Discovery and negotiate a package that met the travel needs of each of us, and that made our experience in China feel exceedingly VIP compared to the travel stories we have heard from our friends who chose the cheaper deals. We would only recommend your services, as every detail from the communication, guides, drivers, itinerary and special touches are what made our tour so incredible!

4.  Your general opinion on us?

Admittedly we had some reservations about creating, booking and paying for the tour entirely online, as there are too many stories about dodgy agents and fraudulent companies, but China Discovery (& particularly Johnson Wang) were exceptional to deal with, reassuring and very trustworthy. I give them a 100% recommendation!

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

The recommendations for optional activities was appreciated, but as the expectation between Western and Chinese culture is so different, I think a suggestion of dress code for each activity would be a good idea. 

For example, in Western or European culture the dress code for an Opera is formal, but in China it is casual, so we felt a bit silly when we dressed up very formally but then had to walk 30minutes to the venue and everyone else was wearing casual clothes.

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?

Of course.

Our China Trip in Beijing, Xian, Shanghai

Hello Catherine,

First let me apologize for the length of time getting back to you.  As soon as we returned home on September 17, following our twenty-two day cruise from Shanghai to Sydney, my wife had to go to the doctor with a strained hip muscle.  I stopped all my activities for almost a week to help her as she could barely walk.  Then on the 26th we had to fly Phoenix, Arizona to attend a "Celebration of Life" memorial service for Myrna's brother-in-law who died while we were gone. We didn't return until the 29th.

Finally I am able to respond to your request for information about our China Discovery Tour.  Here are our comments:

1. You, Catherine Liu, our Travel Consultant, were excellent in answering our E-mails and definitely patient enough to answer our questions. We were very pleased with all you did to make our time in China a wonderful experience.

2.  Our tour arrangements were very good although we were under the impression that the same people would be on our tours each day.  Picking up different people at different stops each day took more time from touring than we expected.  

3.  We definitely are willing to recommend your service to people who are interested in visiting China.  We have already been doing so.

4.  Our opinion of your service is very good. The explanation of our China Discover Tour we received before booking was very thorough.  Our hotels were excellent. Our tours were very informative.  The guides were very good.  The people that met us and/or helped us at the airports and train stations were very helpful. Without their help we would have had a great deal of trouble.

Our only problem was when we arrived in Beijing from Los Angeles.  We were not met upon arrival and had to call to find out what to do.  Evidently the person who was to greet us, and take us to the hotel, went to the wrong exit gate.  He did find us after receiving a call from your office.

Our tours were generally very good although we did not get to stop at Tian'anmen Square and our long walk through the Forbidden City was in the rain.  We were able to avoid a 1-2 hour wait in line at the museum in Shanghai because of our age.  The others in the group were quite unhappy to have to wait in line so long. 

We were disappointed in the 2nd class seating on the Bullet Train ride from Beijing to XiAn.  It was extremely crowded.  We had to store our large bags in the next compartment and put our smaller bags between our legs for the entire trip.  Out suggestion would be to book 1st Class or higher tickets rather than 2nd Class train tickets.

Highlights of our China Discovery Tour were our visits to The Great Wall, the Terra Cotta Warriors, XiAn and the Pudong and Bund areas of Shanghai. 

5.  A suggestion would be to include a dinner at a Hot Pot restaurant.  We did this on our own in XiAn with the help of our guide.  It was a great experience. Also, unless you can get immediate entrance into the museum in Shanghai, you should eliminate this stop.

6. You can use our comments.   As to photos, we have not separated them as yet but will email some at a later date.  I have yet to start on my article but will notify you when it is published on-line....probably not for a few months.

7. You can have potential customers contact me at 501-922-1101 or by email at Chuck@TheTravelingGuy.com.

Catherine, again I apologize for the delay in getting this information to you.

Regards,

Hi Vivi

We just want to thank you so very much for organising our trip. We are now back in Shanghai all safe and sound.

Everything went so well. We really didn’t understand the Beijing busyness but honestly the trip was a success and we have you to thank. We hope you have an amazing golden week and we look forward to keeping in touch for future trips. Thanks again.

Dear Ashley

We arrived home in one piece - thank you!

Yes, we had a wonderful time in China - thank you for the effort that you put into making our tour excellent.  I have sent you a few photographs by a separate email and I give you permission to put these and my evaluation on your website, provided my email address is not included.

1.  Our travel consultant was very quick in replying to everyone of our emails. An email sent one day would be replied to the next.  Given the 7 hour time difference - we were delighted with this aspect of the service. Every question I asked was immediately answered to our satisfaction and we were left in absolutely no doubt that all our requirements would be met. 

2.  All our tour guides were excellent.  They were informative and knowledgeable and easy to get on with.  We would particularly like to mention that Candy (Beijing), Timo (Xi’an) and Smiley (Guilin) were exceptional.  However, all our guides looked after us very well.  After I fell over badly (in Xi’an) Timo and Smiley went out of their way to ensure that I was able to get about easily, offering support where necessary.

3.  I would absolutely recommend your company to anyone.  The service we received from the date of our first enquiry was exceptional.  I cannot recommend China Discovery highly enough.

Thank you Ashley, for arranging everything so thoroughly - David and I really appreciated your efforts.  As stated in my email attaching the photographs - I give you permission to include my evaluation - but would appreciate it if you ensure that my email address is not published.  Should anyone wish to contact us to ask any further questions, please could you ask them to direct any enquiry through you and you could then forward their query to me.  

Best wishes

Hello Mr Li

we really enjoyed our tour in China. Hotels in Beijing New World Bejiing Hotel, Sofitel in Xi'an, Sofitel in Chengdu and Grand Meridien in Shanghai were super (meet our expectations).

As for the train it has change a lot in 20 years and you were right it was alright and efficient

Our guides were Sally in Bejiing, Iris in Pingyao,Crystal in Xi'an, Kevin in Chengdu and Caroline in Shanghai. The four first one asked us to complete a form for evaluation of their services we gave them back the form with our comments, we really like them and what we saw

We liked the visit of the hutongs in Beijing, the forbidden city, the summer palace, the temple of Heaven, the great wall and the Ming tombs. Crystal in Xi'an took us on a place between the bell tower and the drum tower it was really a good spot for pictures; when we went to The Terra cotta museum it was raining heavily but she help us find good shoes cover

Chengdu also meet our expectations, the Panda research base, the Jilin street,etc

As we told Iris in Pingyao the bathroom in the hotel was dirty and the food were not good but Iris and the driver were very nice. We liked Pingyao

As for Shanghai heavy rain and smog made it impossible to visit as planned, we were told that Yu garden was under renovation.

We would be pleased to recommend China Discovery

Best regards

Good Morning Lily

Thank you for your email on Tuesday.

Yes, we are back safe and sound in our own country after spending a most exciting time in yours.

We wish to make the following acknowledgments:

• Your contribution to the itinerary and to the attention to detail was flawless. You are the best!
• The Invitation Letter from Karen Wang was a work of art and I could see by the expression on her face that the China Embassy official was impressed. I had no difficulty with our visas.
• Every schedule with tour guides and drivers was met and we did not have one anxious moment. We would like to mention in particular the cheerful, non-English speaking driver who took us to the Zhangjiajie airport for the flight back to Shanghai. His service was especially noteworthy. We are very grateful to all our guides and drivers.
• All the hotels were excellent - better than expected.

Thank you again, personally. Without you, and your excellent service the thing would not have happened.

With our best regards

Don and Shirley.

Sorry Lily I made a little mistake...

That non-English speaking driver who who deserves special mention was the one who drove us from the Bullet Train at Chongquin  to the cruise ship.

He made sure that our bags were secure on board and saw us safely installed on the ship before he said good-bye to us. Top marks to him!.

Best

Hi Vivien

Here we are!

I definitely want to tell you about our holiday but we are a bit busy in Hong Kong at the moment. Will contact you again soon. Thanks so much for organising it.

Our China Trip in Chengdu, Suzhou, Guilin, Shanghai

Jack,

Below is a copy of a review I have submitted to Trip Advisor - my wife and I had a fantastic time in China and your company delivered everything promised at a great price, and the guides were fantastic.

I'm a meticulous vacation planner and while the pre-planned packages available from various tour companies were good, none specifically met what my wife and wanted to do on vacation. I did some research on where to go and what to see and we originally were going to do 12-13 days to include some trips into the rural areas to see some scenery, etc. We ended up limiting the trip to the three big cities and received bids from multiple tour companies based in China. China Discovery stood out in the quality and completeness of their responses and had the most competitive pricing. The reviews on Trip Advisor were also very positive and helpful. 

We ended up booking 8 days in China with visits to Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing. We had a list of everything we wanted to see and China Discovery made it happen -- an advantage of booking a private tour is that you can go and see what you alone want to do. (We booked our own air travel to and from China using miles earned on an airline)

In Hong Kong I was not able to find a private guide -- they are all group tours. The buses are designed for around 30 people and we had 10 in our group one day on a Lantau Island tour (fantastic) and just the two of us the next day (Victoria's Peak, Aberdeen Fishing Village/Stanley Market -- avoid it, just find a way to go to Victoria's Peak). 

In mainland China private tours are the only way to go. Why? You are only as fast as the slowest people in your group. And when it was just the three of us (us plus guide/driver) we were much more nimble at getting through crowds and we were in a car or minivan, not a bus, for driving around. The tour company gets the tickets for everywhere you are going so you don't have to wait in line. And we were able to customize portions -- like no Shanghai Museum, but add Tongli water town and a night cruise in Shanghai. Add high-speed train instead of plane between Shanghai and Beijing ... with first class tickets. 

I read reviews of the hotels they had chosen to put us up at and all got good to great reviews -- and they lived up to expectations. Note: you can ask for different hotels if you want higher quality or different location -- a China four-star is Western three-star, etc. The Regal Oriental Hotel in Hong Kong was 2 1/2-3 star compared to the other two hotels. Food was average -- I had to teach the cook how to do Over Easy Eggs. The Yangtze Boutique Shanghai was fantastic -- huge room and great service -- 4-4.5 stars! Beijing hotel was the Ramada Park Plaza Wangfujing that was also great ... 4 stars. Food was great at both Shanghai and Beijing hotels. Breakfast at the hotels was included every day and lunch on most days which was in local Chinese restaurants. Extra expenses were tips for our guides and drivers, dinner, snacks, souvenirs, taxis -- we ended up spending much less than anticipated in this regard.

We had different guides each day in Hong Kong because they were group tours, then a guide + driver for the Shanghai area and guide + driver for the Beijing area. All of them spoke English well and were able to answer questions that we had. They were all very knowledgable about the subjects of each tour and even got into nitty gritty details. We were VERY impressed. At meals we would talk about all sorts of things -- especially about how we all lived and family, things like that. The guides had no problem taking photos of us with our phones and never hurried us along if we wanted to take additional photos or video. 

We happened to encounter an annual holiday when we were in Shanghai -- with millions of people pouring into the city to celebrate -- and then rehearsals for a 70th anniversary of the PRC parade and celebration in Beijing shut some roads and attractions. Both could have really thrown a monkey wrench into our plans, but the guides were adept at rearranging the schedule to our advantage to avoid crowds and juggle going to sights that were open.

What did we see? Each line is what we did in a day
Hong Kong -- Lantau Island tour (4 sights to see) .... rating A
Hong Kong -- HK Island tour ... rating C (avoid as Aberdeen Fishing Village doesn't exist, Stanley Market is OK if you want to shop for clothes, artwork and souvenirs, and you are forced to do a Jewelry Factory Tour that is really a way to try and get you to buy some jewelry, only Victoria's Peak was good on that tour)
Shanghai -- Yu Garden, the Bund, Nanjing Road (shopping), World Financial Center (100th floor observatory), nighttime cruise ... rating A
Shanghai -- Tongli Water Town (has canals like Venice) ... rating B (very touristy, but still interesting)
Beijing -- The Mutianyu Great Wall, the Ming Tombs ... rating A
Beijing -- Hutong Tour/Rickshaw Ride, Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven ... rating A
Beijing -- Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City ... rating A (the Square is kind of meh, but the Forbidden City more than made up for it)

One piece of advice save the Forbidden City for last ... it is so impressive it may make other sights seem much less interesting. 

Everything China Discovery promised, they delivered at a reasonable price.

Dear Lyn

We would like to thank you for arranging such a wonderful tour of China.

We commend you for having taken great pains to arrange such a magnificent tour, by providing all the comforts and needs in a foreign country.

The tour was memorable in quite a few aspects. Sight seeing and the services of the guides were superb.

The accommodation was first class except for the Sheraton in Guilin.

The food was exceptional. We were very much worried about the availability of vegetarian food, but whole group was totally gratified with selection of restaurants by the guides.

Regarding the tour guides we would like to single out three exceptional ones. Yo yo in Beijing, Wady in Xian and Maria in Shanghai. All three were very informative, friendly, fluent in english and took care of all our needs in superb manner. We wish we had an opportunity to meet with you in Chengdu and express our gratitude to you in person for arranging this wonderful tour. We will definitely recommend you and your company to all our friends.

Thanking you

Sincerely 

Beijing, Shanghai, Xian, Guilin...

Aloha Echo,

We had a wonderful time on our tour through the four cities in China.  All of our tour guides were excellent each with their own special talent.  Our first guide, Forest in Beijing was extra attentive and flexible working around our special circumstances, traveling with my “special needs” granddaughter.  He was also extremely knowledgeable about Beijing and the attractions that were included in our tour.  His assistance at the train station also made our transfer to XiAn less stressful.  Waldner in XiAn was full of humor.  Unfortunately, my son was pickpocketed at the Terracotta Warriors Museum and his cell phone was stolen.  That caused a period of negative emotions during our stay in XiAn.  Waldner also assisted us at the train station to make the transfer less stressful.  Gila in Chengdu really went out of her way to allow us an authentic “taste” of Chengdu.  Gila also helped us check in at the airport for our flight to Shanghai.  Nanette in Shanghai was also very helpful when we got a late start to the airport.  She assisted us through baggage check to see us off in good time to make it to our flight.

The tour guides’ assistance were also valuable because of the minimal English that is spoken or understood throughout our travels through China.  I was quite surprised that even in the hotels that were booked for us, the staff’s ability to communicate in English was very limited.

The hotels that were included in our tour were very nice.  The location of the hotels in Beijing and Chengdu were exactly what I like with dining and shopping immediately surrounding the hotel.  The location of the Xian hotel felt a bit less comfortable. 

I would definitely recommend China Discovery to my friends and family if they are planning to visit China.

Thank you very much!

Hi Vivien,

Sorry for the delay.  You are right, I got back from vacation and was very busy at work.  I also took time to sort through the many photos that I took while on vacation so I could include some in the response to you.

I will send you separate emails for each tour guide and photos so that you can see what photos go together.

We really enjoyed our tour of China with your company.  The hotel accommodations were quite good and met our needs.  The vehicles that we rode around in were very nice and comfortable rides.  The food that we ate at the hotels and restaurants was all very tasty and enjoyable.  We feel that with your tour we saw the best things to see in each of the sites and saw the most of what could be seen in China with only 1 week’s time.  We even got to do some things that were of special interest to us like getting a family massage and seeing some shows.  The bullet trains were also fast and efficient to get us from place to place.  The tour guides all spoke very good English and were knowledgeable.  Our private tour was very well planned out and everything was taken care for us so we only needed to enjoy our vacation.  Thank you so much for your help in planning our trip.  This was a trip of a lifetime for us and we will all remember the good time that you helped us to enjoy.

Beijing

Forrest was very attentive to our needs and was efficient in getting us to the places that we were to visit and made sure that we got priority access and did not need to wait in line.  He picked us up early and on time for our visit to The Great Wall and made sure we had plenty of water to drink.  When it was hot out at Tienanmen Square, he bought us all ice popsicles to cool down which we appreciated.  He also gave us the most relevant information about each site that we visited.  We wanted to go to a Chinese Herbal Medicine shop and he found one for us.  He also acted calmly and quickly when the vehicle we were in was involved in a minor traffic accident.  Forrest quickly called us a cab so that we could get to our last destination before leaving so that we did not miss the rickshaw ride. 

Xi'an

Vivian was a warm and engaging tour guide that like to tell us about the places that we were visiting.  She was also very accommodating in answering our questions and paying attention to our specific needs.  She made us feel comfortable as we visited the different sites in Xian.  On the second day we all wanted to get a massage and she made a special effort to look up a local place where the whole family could get a massage together and she took us there which we really enjoyed and appreciated.  We also got to go see a Chinese dinner and theater show.  Vivian arranged for the driver to pick us up and take us back to the hotel after it was done.  We enjoyed her company and conversation as she led us to the various attractions that we saw.

Shanghai

Laura was a very experienced tour guide and she gave us a lot of detailed information to all of the sites that we visited.  She also changed the schedule around while we were in Shanghai to maximize the amount of time that we had at each place and to avoid the crowds.  She was very accommodating and knew the best places to get family photos.  On the last day before we left, she found us a good restaurant to have lunch at.  Our son was going to college at NYU Shanghai which was the purpose of our trip to drop him off.  Laura arranged transportation for us to get to the campus for Move-In Day, and the same driver picked us up after we were done to drive us to the airport.  We really appreciated Laura’s attention and suggestions, including taking us to see a Chinese acrobat show.

Dear Tracy,

Of course I Will write the positive review on Tripadvisor!

It was also a pleasure for us to travel with your Company and discover the Great Country that China is.

All the guides were very helpful and nice, especially Shanna from Chengdu and also Jennifer (Shanghai) and Amanda (Yichang).

It is a pity that we couldn´t do the excursion to Macau but…maybe next time. As you know, we did an additional excursion on Tuesday morning visiting Luntau Island. We needed to pay additional 3240 HKD to Cecile and push her a little bit to visit all the venues but it was finally good decision.

Best regards from Spain!

Hi Mike,

Here are my answers below.

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

Mike was excellent with communications through out the whole process of deciding and finally accepting the proposed tour. He was very good with the questions we asked and provided excellent and thorough information at all times. Very quick at answering our questions.

2. How do you comment your tour arrangements?

Tour arrangements were excellent. Everything was as expected from the confirmation letter. Guides were there to meet us at the correct places and times. Drivers were fantastic to cope with the amount of traffic on the roads. Hotels were top class and in areas that were easily accessible to what we wanted to do at nights or in spare time. Flights and trains were very good. The service that the guides provided was excellent. All guides communicated clearly and were easily understood and they understood our questions. Their knowledge of subjects on the tour and on China was outstanding and they were willing and able to give us a personal view of China as well. Drivers were very safe and provided us with safe transport where ever we went.

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

Would have no hesitation in recommending your service to any body who is contemplating a visit or visits to China. Your service is outstanding.

4. Your general opinion on us?

Very professional, easy to communicate with, exceptional guides and drivers, travel consultant provided us with first class service. Booking a service online sometimes comes with thoughts of what if things go wrong or do not work as easily as they should, especially with a language barrier. However, we had no worries with your service as it was very professional even down to communication with us and the guides when something needed changed. We were fully informed.

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

From a personal point of view, we would suggest that train rides are all booked with first class seats as the added costs would not be great in the overall cost. We believe that most Western travels would appreciate the little bit extra comfort and room. With your guide evaluations, you could easily email forms prior to tour starting so that we can fill them in and return email at completion of each segment of the tour. Sometimes getting the form just before you finish with the guide does not give you much time to fully think about the feedback especially if it was only for transfers from train/ plane to next boat.

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?

We have no problem with you using our comments or images if they suit your needs.

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

We would be happy to offer our advice if needed.

China Travel in Beijing, Xian, and Guilin

Hi Leo,

Thanks for your email. We had a great trip in China and thank you for meeting us in Chengdu!

Of the various guides, the best guides were Laura (in Shanghai) and Smiley (in Guilin / Yangshuo). They both chose excellent restaurant, great ambiance, very good selection of food and also gave us choices. They both made us fell very much at home. I would highly recommend them. Smiley’s English was excellent and very much fun to talk to. She even made an effort to take us to clean rest rooms as she knew my wife was very particular on rest room cleanliness.

Eban in Chengdu was good as well, but it was a short meeting with him. 

Willy was fine in Xian and was helpful during the trip. His English was excellent! One area of opportunity for him is to become a better listener. He has great communication but sometimes does t listen. 

Lily in Beijing is an excellent person, but her English can be improved. Many a times we could not understand what she was saying and we had to keep asking her to repeat. She was very good with the kids. She gave us local Beijing candies (very kind of her) and the kids loved it. Also on the food in Beijing, I wish it was as good as other places. The quality of food was not great compared to the food we got in Shanghai/ Guilin/Chengdu which was great! Also the restaurant ambience was not very good. But lily was great. May be this is an area for improvement for Beijing section. Better selection of restaurants. 

Overall an excellent and memorable trip

Also thank you for taking the time to meet with us and for the great time we had chatting with you! Also thanks for the gift. 

Thanks

Good Morning Lily,

Just wanted to let you know that we are on our way to the high speed train station in Changsha to catch our train to Shanghai now and it appears we are back on track to catch our international flight to Tokyo ! Thank you so much for all you have done to help. One question for you. Am I correct that you have arranged an English speaking guide to pick us up at the train station in Shanghai to take us to the airport for about 10:00pm? Please confirm and if so, let me know the name and number for the guide. And since we will have about 2 hrs and 30 minutes between, would it be possible to do a short drive tour to see Jinmao Tower or the Bund before going to the airport? Please let me know if this is a possibility to arrange. Many thanks! Jen

Hi Lily, sorry I missed your call. I was at the ticket counter getting our train tickets and all is good. Thank you for the info on Shanghai and I understand completely. We will meet the driver at the South Exit - that is perfect! Thank you again for all your help and I will update you when we arrive in Shanghai! Have a great day!

Hi Lily, we have arrived in Shanghai, met our driver and are now on our way to the Pudong Airport!

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

Hi Wonder,

I will email you some of our pictures when I get back to US, so I don't have to use too much data in China.

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

Yes, most definitely. Mr. Wonder Wang is very responsive and patient. He even answered my questions at night time China time. He is extremely helpful, even helped us extended our hotel in Shanghai. I highly recommend Mr. Wonder Wang.

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

All of our tour guides were very good, especially Smiley in Guilin. She was very friendly, knowledgeable and flexible. She went above and beyond her duty. I recommend her highly. Bailey in Shanghai was also very friendly and knowledgeable. Even after her duty was completed, she wanted to help us looking for a taxi. 

3.     Would you like to recommend our company?

Most definitely. 

Thank you for all your help, Wonder.

You are very helpful.

Hi Wendy,

Thanks for your email.  We arrived back in the Netherlands last week, immediately back to work so quite busy. Need another holidays.  :-)

Kindly find our reply to your questions below.

I have given our review on Tripadvisor and will recommend your company to our friends and family.

To give you some feedback on the hotels we stayed in this trip:

- Novotel Peace Beijing - Great location, very comfortable with connecting rooms, great service, great choices for breakfast, acceptable good quality

- Novotel SCPG Xian - Great location, very comfortable with connecting rooms, great service, great choices for breakfast, acceptable good quality

- Somerset Chongqing - Location ok, very comfortable, great service (change our room promptly due to broken aircon), limited choices for breakfast, acceptable ok quality

- Santo Domingo Wulingyuan - Great location, very comfortable, limited choices for breakfast, quality is not good at all.

- Sunrise on the Bund Shanghai - Location can be better, very comfortable but no connecting rooms, great choices for breakfast and acceptable good quality

Hope the above helps.

Thank you again for the great service and memorable trip.

Best regards

Hi Vivien,

I am writing to thank you for our wonderful trip to china. All the guides and drivers were great and taught us a lot. Our hotels were in good positions with our favourites being sunrise on the bund in shanghai and the Tianyuankui hotel in Pingyao. The others were a little dated and a bit too much alike. Thanks again for a great trip.

Hello Ms Lyn

We are enjoying the tour. Everything here is so big and beautiful. 

Our colegue is ok.

We didn't recipte any money except for the lunch from Ms Amanda.

Now we are in Pudong Airport. 

Thanks 

Hi Tracy,
The trip was incredible! I will definitely recommend China Discovery for traveling adventures in China.
Here are our guide rankings in order.
1. Dolma - Lhasa

2. Judy - Zhangjiajie

3. April - Shanghai

4. Kelly - Xi'an

5. Randy - Beijing

Thanks again for your help during this adventure, greatly appreciated, Tracy! 

Best regards,

Hi Lyn

BIG THANKS for your support and coordination in making our China Trip wonderful. Just returned this morning covering all written in the plan across three cities. The guides were wonderful - supportive, accommodative and knowledgeable and the plan well paced.  Share our thanks and regards to all three - Helen, Kelly and Fergie.

Travel was very smooth and done seamlessly.  

Sure would recommend you and China Discovery anyone trying to visit China.

Best Regards

Dear Johnson, 

Please see my feedback under each question.

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

Yes. My travel consultant Mr. Johnson Wang was courteous, responsive, and fast to answer all our questions. We totally relied on him for everything. He informed us on any last minute changes, how to get Chinese currency economically, and provided documents required for Chineses visa and trip itinerary accurately. 

2.    How do you comment your tour arrangements?

The tour was tailored to meet our needs. The four of us had specific departure and return dates. We couldn’t find any China tours in the USA to fit our needs, China Discovery was able to assemble a private tour for us. We had a van, a driver, and a local tour guide in every city. Our schedule was flexible. We didn’t spent any time at unwanted gift shops. We were able to fully enjoy Beijing, Xi’an, Shanghai, the beautiful scenery, and interesting history of each site we visited. 

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

Absolutely. We will be happy to recommend China Discovery to our friends, neighbors, and relatives. 

4.  Your general opinion on us?

China Discovery was there to provide excellent services. They were able to solve any issues quickly. We were relaxed and happy during our trip. 

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

The tour guides were excellent. If they can improve their English speaking skills a little bit more, it would be even better. Our first guide had excellent knowledge in history, but he speaks a little too slow. The second guide had excellent English speaking skills, but his voice was low. It’s hard to hear him well when we sat at the back row of the moving van. 

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 use my comments on your services.

Hi Catherine,

Below is my Feedback.

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

Yes.

2.    How do you comment your tour arrangements?

Excellent throughout. The itinerary was perfect and the guides went out of their way to look after us. I really liked how they helped with photographs of me and Joe.

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

Yes.

4.    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.

Traveling Beijing & Shanghai

Hello Ashley,

Sorry for the late response. This tour is very well organized, very good hotels, Guides were pleasant, helpful and spoke very good English. The driver on the Wulong trip was excellent. The river cruise on the Yangtze River, the Wulong tour and Shanghai tour were very interesting. Also, Ashley did an outstanding job, thanks Ashley. We really enjoyed the trip. A great experience. We would travel with this tour Co. again.

Hi Vivien,

The trip to China was amazing!  We all had a great time and my kids still talk about it daily and say they wish they were back in China. The tours went perfectly as planned, tour guides were waiting for us as promised at each airport / train station and each morning before each days activities.  The drivers were reliable and courteous.  

The Zhangjiajie portion of the tour was a favorite. I don't think we could have navigated that area on our own without China Discovery.  Our tour guide, Lily, was wonderful and my 6 year old son really enjoyed her.  In fact, they held hands during many of long hikes.  The driver was great as well as my other son was sick one day and the driver had no problem driving him and his father back to the hotel (half hour away) after lunch, while the rest of us enjoyed the afternoon's activities.

We enjoyed the Terra Cotta Warriors in Xian. Tour guide Waldner was very knowledgeable with perfect English.  

In Beijing, the highlight was definitely the Great Wall.  We choose to go in the afternoon as tour guide Eric gave us the option and said the afternoon would be less busy. He was absolutely correct and we felt like we had the Wall all to ourselves as to our surprise and delight there was hardly anyone there.  Eric was funny, knowledgeable and accommodating.

Thank you Vivien for arranging the tour for us. I appreciate all your help and prompt replies. It was such an easy process to book the tour.  Once I get some of the pictures from my family, I will send some your way.

OK perfect Vivien,

Please see attached some of the best pictures we took during the tour,

also I have already posted the review on Trip advisor.

Best regards

Great Wall, Tian'anmen Square, and Forbidden City

Travelling Shanghai, Xi'an, and Zhangjiajie

Hi Wendy,

My deepest apologise for my late reply. We have just been very busy since returning to Australia.

Firstly, yes we received the refund. Thank you, much appreciated.

To answer your questions;

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

 Yes, very much so. Wendy was very prompt in replying to our questions, even while in China through WeChat. 

2.       How was your tour? Are you satisfied with the tour we arranged for you?

The tour was excellent. Everything we dreamt it would be and more. All of our guides were exceptional and made the visits to each location enjoyable and memorable.

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

Some places we would have liked to have stayed longer and/or maybe had a free day to look around on our own once we knew what was there. Maybe suggest some free days. This would have been good in Beijing, Xian and Shanghai. We had an extra day in Beijing although if we had our time again we would have had that on Day 3 and explored the Hutong area more. In Xian, we would have liked to explore in the centre of the old city more (maybe have hotel closer to centre). In Shanghai we could have walked around the French concession and Bund area for a whole day.

Knowing about a good online map service would have been good when exploring on your own. In Australia we use Google Maps and you cannot get lost. Not having that available in China, I was not sure what was a good online Map service.

We absolutely loved our tour and all our guides. Wendy, you organised a great tour and we would definitely recommend you and your services to our friends and family.

The Great Wall was definitely our highlight, especially as it has been a childhood dream. So happy we went to Jinshanling section. Absolutely glorious day!!!

I have included a couple of photos that you can use. I will also get onto Trip Advisor and add a review.

Thank you so much for organising this fantastic holiday. We look forward to coming back someday.

Best regards,

In Front of the Bird's Nest

Brook and Andie Walking on the Great Wall

Hi Rita

Please see our feedback

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

Yes and thank you for accommodating our several changes.

2.   How do you comment your tour arrangements?

My family had a good holiday in Shanghai and Huanghan. Your transports were comfortable and punctual. Mark and Alex at Shanghai were helpful too. And Sophia at Huangshan was exceptionally caring and friendly giving us good recommendations for restaurants and massage. Sophia had some of our pictures and yes you can use them.

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

Certainly

Thank you very much for the good service and  leaving us a wonderful memories of our holidays.

Regards

Hi Lily,

I found it needed resetting for some reason, I don’t know why. But it works now. 

Too many problems with modern technology!! Lol!!

I was disappointed that the aviation and a railroad museum are both closed. 

However, Kai took us to the aviation museum at the University you mentioned and it was very interesting. We enjoyed it very much, thank you. 

Xi’an-Kimi and driver were excellent-again, as all your guides and drivers, including Kai and Mr. Young. 

I have completed surveys on all so far, but could only rate them “5+”, on your scale-lol!

I do have one problem, because we did not realize this. 

In Shanghai, we thought Terry and driver were taking us to the airport the next day. Thus we did not have much money to give them a proper tip that night, and did not see an ATM after realizing this. I am sorry for this as they were excellent and we had a good time with both. 

Is there a way to correct this at this point? 

I at least want them to know we are sorry for this error on our part. Especially with the perfect service they both provided. 

Time for rest tonight. 

Thank you for keeping in contact with us directly and through Kai today. 

Sincerely,

Dear Johnson:

I am writing to sincerely thank you for organising such a wonderful trip to China for my wife, Robyn, and I.

We returned from our trip a couple of weeks ago and we both have wonderful memories of your beautiful country and we feel so privileged to have had the opportunity to see the wide and diverse aspects of China from the towering cities, the scenic rivers to the small villages and farms. We were so impressed at the friendliness of people and their willingness to help us even though we couldn’t speak any Chinese.

The tour was comprehensive and it included all the key sights that were on our “to do” list and we thank you for collating such a wonderful tour.  We found all the arrangements from hotels, planes, sights and bullet trains to be organised so well that it was a seamless operation and we had no problems at all.

All the Hotels in which we stayed were excellent and more than met our expectations. The locations of the Hotels were very good and quite central to main roads and sights; they all were very comfortable and the breakfasts provided were, once again, very good.

The lunches provided as part of the tour were also very good and we always had plenty to eat and the service in these restaurants was excellent.

The transport – planes and bullet trains – were very comfortable and easy to navigate especially with the assistance of our Guides.  We were thankful that we upgraded to First Class on the bullet trains as our luggage was no longer a problem. The vehicle transport in each city was excellent.  The vehicles were generally quite new, roomy, very clean and comfortable.  All the Drivers were excellent and very skilled in driving and they often assisted my wife in getting in and out of the vehicle and with our luggage and this was greatly appreciated.  We also appreciated the access to bottled water which was always available.

We would like to make a special mention and thank you to all of our Guides.  We remember each and everyone of them – Mary and Becky in Hong Kong; Summer in Guilin and Yangshuo; Tina and Melody in Shanghai; Nancy in Yichang; David in Chongqing; Vivian in X’ian and lastly Lindsay in Beijing.  To each and every one of them we wish to say ‘thank you’ for making our trip to China so wonderful.  Without our Guides we would not have had all the information and history about the cities and the sights – they all have a comprehensive knowledge of their area and they were able to present this to us.  Their command of English was excellent and they were always ready to answer the many questions we had.  We are also very grateful for their attentiveness to my wife’s special needs and we know that without their help my wife would not have been able to enjoy the sights and the trip.  Each Guide we had would go out of their way to ensure that our holiday was special and one we would remember.

And lastly, many thanks to you, Johnson, for the excellent service you provided in organising our tour of China.  From our very first contact with you by email, we found that you were very responsive to all our queries and issues.  There was never any delays in responding to our emails and your answers were always comprehensive and covered all the issues.  Your organisation of the tour was excellent and we felt very confident in dealing with you via the emails. You and your company provided an excellent service in arranging our visit to China and we would not hesitate to recommend the China Discovery Tour Company to our family and friends when they are planning their China trip. We would also be happy if you wish to share this email with your future customers or on your website.

Once again, many thanks for all of your hard work in ensuring that our trip to China was wonderful and it will be remembered for many years.

Regards

Hi Wonder,

Thanks for your Christmas greeting .and thanks for your organization of our trip to China in October.

We had a wonderful time and were very impressed as everything went very smoothly and our guides were very helpful and informative. We found China to be an exciting and forward moving country. Both the cities and country side are interesting and there are so many highlights that we enjoyed on our trip. The time we spent on the cruise was very restful and enjoyable, we loved cycling on the old city wall in Xian, visiting the "Avatar Mountains" and the favourite city was Shanghai with the Bund and the lovely water village that we visited there.

The tour was extremely well organized and we were met and transferred by very reliable guides in each destination.I would recommend your company to anyone

wishing to have a personalised more independent tour of China. Thank you very much

Kind regards,

Hi Ashley,

You asked for some feedback about the services your company provided for us in China. Before mentioning detailed feedback, I have to say that you gave us a fantastic holiday. Also, you should know that my wife and I are independent travellers who like to do things for ourselves as far as possible and so are perhaps not typical Western tourists.

However, we appreciated that China is very different from Europe and so in the time available to us we would have not been able to see so much and get an understanding of modern- day China without the services of your guides.

For us it was great to know that when we arrived somewhere new there would always be one of your guides waiting for us. It was also good to have you as our guardian angel on WeChat in case anything went wrong such as our delayed flight from Jiayugan to Xi’an. I don’t know how often flights are delayed by nearly 4 hours but this wasn’t really a problem for us because you were able to assure us that our guide, Waldner would be waiting for us.

Your guides provided us with a great service. Lindsay gave us a great introduction to Beijing, Daniel told us so much about Tibetan culture and gave us an unforgettable visit to the Tibetan museum in Xining. Jessica was so enthusiastic and was a pleasure to be with. Waldner told us much about modern China, David did a great job of showing us Chongqing even though the weather was not so good

After we got off the cruise ship Amanda gave us a very pleasant afternoon in Yichang where there wasn’t much to see. She was right to suggest that we might not have got our train if we had gone to the Sanyou caves and so arranged an interesting visit to the Yichang museum instead. We were particularly impressed by Jennifer’s knowledge of Wuhan especially the stories she told us which brought the Yellow Crane Pagoda to life.

After a four-hour train ride to Shanghai it was good to meet Tina who was also helpful in accompanying us to the Airport on the Maglev train.

We were also impressed with the programme that you organised for us. Generally speaking, it was everything that we wanted although there were some items not on your programme that we did see / would have liked to have seen. These were:

1. In Beijing we would have liked to have seen the National Museum of China and go up the tower next to the Olympic Park.

2. In Xining Daniel showed us the Tibetan Culture Museum with it fantastic 620-metre-long prayer scroll. This incredible scroll should be part of any itinerary you offer in Xining.

3. In my free time in Shanghai I went up the Shanghai Tower which was a much better experience than the Shanghai financial tower we went up as part of our tour. This was not just because it was higher but because, unlike the Financial Centre Tower, the Shanghai Tower had an excellent exhibition of how it was built with many photos of old Shanghai.

4. We were sorry not see the Urban Planning Exhibition in Shanghai which was closed on the Monday when it was planned we should visit it.

We are perhaps different from most tourists in that shopping is not our priority. For this reason, some of the shopping experiences that were arranged for us did not add much to our holiday. We do not like the idea of factories and museums that were in fact just tourist shops. In some case such as the Silk Workshop and Tea Museum we had a very interesting explanation of the process but at other places such as the Pearl Museum and Terracotta Warrior workshop we had only a few minutes explanation before being taken to the shop.

Although it’s only a small thing another thing that spoilt things for us was that at some of the restaurants only a small amount of beer was served, perhaps three mouthfuls, yet at other places were given a full bottle.

However, the above are only small points and I must stress that your company has given us a fantastic experience of China that we could not have experienced in any other way.

As well as learning of China’s history the holiday you arranged for us has given us a good understanding of China’s present for which we are very grateful.

With best wishes and thanks again for all your assistance.

Hi Lily,

We have had a great tour with wonderful helpful informative guides. Our last guide Lindsey in Beijing was absolutely brilliant. Really nice to be with, “ like family” many people have been asking about tours so we will be recommending them to you.

I will send some comments later, example, Shanghai railway station “do not go up on arrival” follow exit sign do not take transfer. Many thanks!

David

Hi Tracy

Just want to thank you very much for organizing such a wonderful holiday for us.  Everything went according to plan and our guides were all excellent. A special thank you to Laura in Shanghai who ensured that we got a connecting flight to Hong Kong when our original flight was delayed. The highlights, of course, were the pandas followed by the terracotta warriors. The weather was great with only one day of rain in Chengdu. We will certainly recommend your company to our friends and relatives and hope that we may return to China one day.

Kindest regards and with grateful thanks,

David and Hellen

Hi Vivien,

All has gone very well - thanks to you and your colleagues. I'm in Zhujiajiao today and looking around some parts of Shanghai. 

Regards!

Allen

Hi Jack,

I thoroughly enjoyed the tour. Guilin, Yangshuo and Zhangjiajie are world class tourist attractions. The scenery is spectacular. I was amazed I did not see more foreign tourists. I think it is because most people I have spoken to overseas have not heard of these places or realise how good these places are.

Guilin, Yangshuo and Zhangjiajie town centres are nice. They are a pleasant change from the crowded, polluted, concrete jungles of Shanghai and Schenzen.

The tour guides were very good. I especially liked Smiley. She tried very hard to make sure I was happy. She did well to change my itinerary after my flight was changed. The optional night boat cruise in Guilin and night show in Yangshuo recommended by Smiley were very good .

My only disappointments were:

- spending so much time travelling from Guilin to Zhangjiajie after my original flight was cancelled

- not being able to go out with the cormorant fishermen

- not being able to see the staircase through the hole in the hill in Zhangjiajie (because it was too far away and I had to leave for airport)

- having mist and low cloud obscuring the view when I went on the worlds longest cable car to the mountain with the glass walking platform (you can't control the weather)

Overall, I was very happy with the trip. If I had to do it again,  I would allow more time. I think you need at least 3 days in Zhangjiajie.

You did well to organise the trip at such short notice Jack.

I am sure you would get many more tourists if you advertised these areas overseas.

Best regards

Tony

Hello Wing Zeng,

I have to say sorry that I answer you so late. But sadly I got sick directly after arriving in Shanghai.

Thank you very much for your nice present which Kevin gave to us. I feel really sorry that the hotel does not give your nice present to us and that we are not at our room when you arrive at the hotel.

I was really happy with the whole trip and the organization around operating by you. Thank you very much for this organization. For us it was not the last visit in Chengdu. We hope that we can come back soon.

Hope to meet you one day,

All the best for you!

Best regards,

Jana

Hi Ian!!!

Everything was going perfectly. I are going to write a large mail with our comments about all the trip when we arrive home. We saw wonderful places!!!! Than you very much again for all your effort, help end advice all the time!!!

Greetings from Shanghai!!!!

Hello, Ian,

We enjoyed a great tour of Mainland China and of Hong Kong. I thought you did an excellent job of making our tour arrangements and assigning tour guides. 

For me and my children, our trip highlights were climbing the Great Wall, cycling the ancient walls in Xi'an, sharing lunch with Angela and her family, visiting the Panda Research center, rafting on the Hongkou River, cycling through the Yangshuo villages, visiting the Urban Planning Museum in Shanghai and walking on the Bund.

I was very pleased with the quality of guides and drivers you selected. The children adored Mr. Jong (Beijing driver). He has a very warm and funny personality, and he was so accommodating, taking us to and from the Kung Fu Theater and out to the Olympic Village at night. Bruce in Xian is a truly exceptional guide. If you can give me the names of the owners of China Discovery, I would like to write them a letter regarding Bruce. Penny in Chengdu really did a great job for us at the Panda Research Center and also the rafting trip. My youngest Natalie just loved Candace in Guilin.  At the Guilin airport Natalie looked sadly at me and said, "Mom, I'm really going to miss Candace." Since she's been home, Natalie has mentioned Candace several times . . . .she made a tremendous impression on Natalie, and the rest of us enjoyed her very much, too.

Tim and Frank were very capable guides, too. Tim has peaked my interest in future travel to Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan. Frank is very knowledgeable about Shanghai and accommodating. I appreciated that Candace was able to attend the Impressions show with my daughters and me.  Without her there to explain each of the seven impressions, we would not have understood the beauty unfolding before our eyes.

I have tasked my middle child Lauren (14) with putting together a Shutter fly book.  She's just settling into school, so it may be a week or two before she starts.  Once she has selected her favorites photos from among nearly 800 we took on the trip, I will ask her to pick out her top ten favorites from mainland China and send them to you.  We'll add a brief explanation to each photo.

Ian, we enjoyed a marvelous trip. Our travel went incredibly smoothly, and I thank you and all the guides and drivers for ensuring a smooth, safe, and hassle free trip.

I am sure to return to China, but I intend to wait for the rapid (bullet) train to reach more destinations. I am incredibly impressed with the train service from Beijing to Luoyang and to Xian.  I look forward to the day when I can travel to all my destinations via the rapid train. 

I have given your name and email address to several friends contemplating trips to China. I will continue to refer you when the opportunity presents.

Best wishes, Ian.

Jeanne

Hi,

The trip was brilliant. I will write a glowing recommendation on tripadvisor. And answer your questions below later on.

Ray

Comments on TripAdvisor by Ray:

"My family (3 children ages 19, 18, 14) and wife wanted to visited China so after searching the internet we found this company China Discovery (Chengdu). Who put a proposal together for a 10 day (12 nights with flights from and to London).

At first when I got the responses back I was a bit dubious due to the need to pay via paypal, bank transfer or western Union. I couldn't have been further from the truth. I booked a trip that would take me around Beijing, Xian, Shanghai and Hong Kong. Two plane journey's, 1 bullet train journey, daily private car (large people carrier), etc. with all events, hotel and Lunch paid.

I would say I have contacted Rita about 100 times!! including several changes during the holiday itself (e.g. I wanted to cut down on the amount of temples I had seen, etc) and all answered promptly.

All my guides (we had one per city) spoke very good English and had great knowledge about the various locations we visited. We had Lisa, Lee, Laura and Matthew.

The holiday was totally flexible e.g. we were tired on some days and just requested that we started later on certain days or we wanted to change the section of the wall we visit, or cut out another museum, etc, etc. We were in complete control of the itinerary.

What can I say. I rate this 10 out of 5!!!! By far the best travel agency we have been with, value was brilliant as you can suggest changes for better or more economical alternatives.

Last don't believe what people say about China (if bad) as the place was clean, people dressed immaculately, food was great, people were the friendliest we have met on a holiday. We must have had photos with 50 plus people!!

I may sound like Im working for the company... I do not. This holiday cost me lots (with 5 adults) so I would definitely complain if anything was wrong. If I go back to China (as this was an epic journey in itself) I will 100% choose China Discovery again."

Hello Jack

I m still in shanghai now. Thank u for your tour arrangement while we were at beijing.

Everythings were good and Ms. lily is a nice tour guide. I will comment at Trip advisor when i m back to indonesia.

Caroline

Hi Laura!

We got home 4 days ago, and I am still on such a high, this holiday in China was magnificent!

A big, big thank you to you for organizing such a wonderful trip. We experienced a little bit of everything, the old and the new, the lovely antique villages near Huangshan City, magnificent historical treasures like the Terracotta Warriors and the Great Wall, the futuristic Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai, the high speed train to Xian. The beautiful scenery at Huangshan Mountain, it was fairly cold - just the right weather to climb all those steps! I loved the vibrant Muslim area in Xian, and Wuzhen was wonderful - I got the indigo dyed fabric that I was looking for.

The boat cruise by Century Sun on the Yangtze River was so nice, the gorges are magnificent, and we stayed up after midnight to watch the ship going through the locks.  The personnel on the ship are very efficient, the cabin was comfortable and the shore excursions were very interesting. Guilin - just like the pictures you see - amazingly beautiful.

The guides are unbelievably good, always on time, always friendly and helpful, speaking really good English.  It amazed me how good their planning was, every day they took us to so many different places, and always managed to get us to the station/airport on time - even did the check-in too!  They made it so easy for us.  The drivers were equally good, patiently driving in the hectic traffic, never did we feel that a driver was taking risks.

I am already recommending you and your company to friends who are asking about our trip. You are very welcome to give my email address to other customers. 

We would love to visit China again, I know we have seen only a small part of China. And I shall definitely contact you straight away to organize it all.  Xie xie ni!

Best regards

Peter & Chrisella

Dear Tiger,

We had a memorable experience as you promised. A detailed letter with photos I will send you shortly.

After the long holidays I have to catch up with a lot of pending work and hence the delay.

Special thanks to the guides especially who took us around in Shaolin trip and shanghai. Also at Beijing.

Thanks a lot to you and also calling us at every station and enquiring about our well being.

Regards.

Venugopal

Hi Wonder,

It will be my pleasure to give you my feedback once I settle down in USA.

It's been a wonderful vacation, we had feasted  our eyes with so many beautiful sceneries, and learned so much especially from the Shanghai & Beijing guides.

Thank you for everything you did to give us this unforgettable experience.

When I am ready for my next China visit, you are the person I will be contacting, and no doubt I will be referring you to my family & friends.

Sincerely,

Rosy

Dear Olivia,

I’m glad to tell you everything was fine after all. I’m very satisfied with your attention about my demands and care about the trip and if everything it was OK during the tour.

Behind everything and most important has the  China Discovery honesty. And since wasn´t possible do all the itinerary, the company return immediately to me the money. I´m very happy with that company and in the future I will love to visit Tibet, travel using train to Beijing or Shanghai and for sure I will keep with me your contact and the company name.

Below I will give the responses to your inquiry.

Also, I want to mentioned how much I appreciated the excellent guide in Xian, she was fantastic, she do everything possible to complete all the itinerary, she´s a PEARL (gold), very competent. Also a word to the driver in Xian, very secure driver and had do everything it was possible to arrive early or at time at the places in a terrific/confusion traffic cars. In conclusion keep working with you that driver and that lady guide they are FIVE STARS, very flexible persons.

About GUILIN, the guide, she´s exceptional in the same level of the XIAN guide, also a FIVE STARS guide.

I am sure to recommend your service to any friends who want to visit China.

Regards,

Julio Silva

Hi Wonder,

In Shanghai:
"I want to thank you for arranging a very good guide & driver in Shanghai. Both Rocky & Siao Ma are very efficient & caring, Rocky is very knowledgeable and very well verse about our Chinese history, very impressive. I highly recommend both of them."

In Huangshan:
"We had a wonderful time in Huangshan, we were brave to climb that mountain, even my husband did it, slowly, but we did it.  The Huangshan guide was excellent, the hotel you booked us was beautiful and people there were very friendly. Love the food too, especially bamboo shoot."

In Chengdu:

"What a pleasure to finally met you!! Meeting you was the highlight of my visit to China!! And thank you for taking us to dinner and given us such wonderful experience! The food was so tasty, the ambience was wonderful, my husband liked it very much! But the best part of all was having it with you! We enjoyed it enormously! This is such a memorable journey, and you helped made it happened Thank you for being so detail oriented; it is incredible for you being so young yet so thorough!

Yesterday we saw the Big Buddha at Ling Yun Mt, the weather was perfect and no crowd. We did not go down the stairs to the foot of the Buddha cause it really is too high and steep. Later we went to the Ebony Museum, what an amazing & massive collection! In the evening we went to see a show, it was the 4th show we saw,  one in Shanghai, one in Huangshan, one in Yangshou, and the best one here on Sichuan. It was almost 10:30 pm my time we got back to the hotel.

And this morning we had to wake up early for our 8 o'clock journey to Mt.Emei. We climbed the steeped & very wet steps, it was a little hard today because it was so cloudy and cold and the air is so thin on top! We did not walk down the mountain, instead, we rode the Sedan Chair! What an experience! We loved it. Those guys are so strong and fast!! "

Thank you.

Rosy

(The following photos are shared by Rosy)

Rosy and his family visited Chengdu in March

Rosy and his family visited Fenghuang Ancient Town

Rosy and his family visited Tulou in Nanjing County, Fujian

Rosy and his family visited Tulou in Li River, Guilin

Hi Olivia,

I just wanted to let you know that I tried to submit a review to TripAdvisor but they did not approve it - I'm not sure exactly why. If you read my review below it is not really any different than any of your other outstanding reviews on TripAdvisor.  Please advise.

My review - 

"We had a wonderful time travelling on a 2 week tour of China.  We worked with Olivia for over a week planning and customizing our 13 day tour.  China Discovery handles all of the logistics of travelling throughout China - including domestic flights, airport transfers, hotel accommodations, and of course our awesome tour guides and drivers.

They really make it easy for first time travelers to China as we didn't speak any Mandarin or Cantonese (Hong Kong).  Their guides really make a difference as they not only pick you up from the airport, but they also help check you into your hotel and also into your next flight when they drop you off.  The guides and drivers were extremely professional and were always on time and courteous, even when a couple of our flights were delayed by 2-3 hour.

Our tour began in Hong Kong with an extra day in Macau and then continued on to Shanghai, Guilin, Xian, and Beijing.  Hong Kong and Shanghai gave us a glimpse of the city life in the bustling Chinese metropolis.  Guilin was definitely a favorite spot as the majesty of the Li River scenery made us awe struck for the entire 4 hour cruise.  The city of Guilin is beautiful and definitely understand why it's one of the most popular domestic tourist destinations in China.  Xian was amazing - so much history yet so much city and population growth.  You've got to see the Terracotta Warriors of course but don't miss out on the Muslim quarter.  Its chaotic bliss in the Muslim quarter as you're surrounded tuk tuk scooters and awesome street food.  Beijing was magnificent as we spent the Lunar New Year there and was fortunate to see it snow in the Forbidden City.  It was certainly an amazing and memorable time to be there.

This tour was just an appetizer and with a 10 year visa, I definitely plan on coming back and plan another tour with China Discovery.  I highly recommend them!"

- Dave

Hi Jack,

Thank you for providing wonderful service!!!!

Thank you for making our changes quickly and efficiently!! Due to the north east weather and personal circumstances!

Thank you for the wonderful guides and drivers you have provided!!

You are amazing at your job and really care about your guests!

I said a prayer for you and your family and all your guides and drivers and your company at the Buddha Temple. Wishing you all a Happy, Healthy, prosperous life. 

I can't wait to write my reviews when I return to the United States. You and everyone at your company have gone above and beyond to make this the best family vacation.  We have traveled the world and you and all of your staff by far have been the best. I would recommend your services to anyone.

Mike and Autumn in Shanghai, Mr Wong and Jenny in Xian and Mr Wong and Lily in Beijing were all the best. The drivers were safe and amazing in the traffic and the guides did not recite memorized scripts but knew the history about every site and could answer all our questions with great knowledge. The hotels were clean and the staff was nice and all of their breakfasts were fabulous. I loved how lunch was included on the tours and how great the restaurants were. I really appreciate the guides suggestions on food choices. We were never disappointed.

You may use my comments and name if you wish for publicity.

With Sincere Thanks,

Barbara and Monica Vandehei

Connecticut, USA

Hi Isabel,

Happy New Year to You!

The trip was wonderful, we had a great time thanks to all your arrangements :) All the hotels were comfortable and in good locations. The food was generally good with a wide choice  of both western and Chinese choices for breakfast.  The room sizes even with the extra bed for Jessica were also fine. All the tour guides were very good.  I think Evelyn was our favorite, her english was excellent and she had a relaxed manner and was flexible about finding things we wanted to do.

I think my favorite parts of the trip where:

- The rafting trip from Jiuxian, that was so much fun and I would highly recommend it.

- Riding bicycles on the city wall in Xi'an

- Pingyao

- the Great Wall, we were so lucky with the weather, the skies were clear blue and we could see forever, plus as it was the day before the big holiday there was hardly anyone on the wall.

- the acrobats in Shanghai.

It was all wonderful really but those were especially enjoyable.

We did not anticipate how important the New Year holiday was and just how many Chinese people would be out touring during the week of the holiday. Or that restaurants would book up or even close over the holiday. However that was only a problem in Beijing and Shanghai.

We would definitely recommend your travel company to others wanting to visit China. The arrangement were excellent and I really appreciated the way you worked with me as we set up the itinerary. All the information you gave me along the way was helpful and accurate and everything went very well.

Thank you again, and I hope this rather long report on our trip answers all your questions.

Anna McHale

Hi Selina!

Greetings from snowy Idaho Falls!

We got about 20 cm of snow on Christmas, and everything is beautiful. 

We did not check our email while we were in China, so I did not know you had tried to contact us while we were there. Our trip was wonderful! Vivian, Linda, Jenny, and Candy all did an excellent job of taking care of us and answering our many questions. Each of these guides had a unique and pleasant personality. We thought of each of them as a good friend by the time we moved on to our next destination. I felt like Vivian in Shanghai was the "rock star" of the guides, while Craig felt that way about Linda in Guilin. Candy was exceptional in her attentiveness to all 3 of us. Jenny got us a free upgrade to an incredible room in our hotel in Xian. As far as accommodations go, they were also excellent. The food was excellent at all locations. We really enjoyed the variety of unique things to try.

Selina, it has been a great pleasure to work with you. You are an exceptional travel agent. All parts of our trip went very smoothly and everything was on time. All the concerns I had about visiting a country like China, where the culture is so different and so few people speak our language, disappeared when we arrived at the airport and met Vivian. Our guides really looked out for us and made us feel comfortable. I will miss our daily exchange of emails.  You really put together a great trip for us. Thank you.

Have a great 2015!

Karl

Hi Ian,

Thank you for organizing our trip in China; this was a great experience and we enjoyed the trip very much. My overall impression of the services provided is excellent. We had no issues with hotel reservations, flights, guides, etc. 

All our guides, especially those who we had a chance to spend more time with (Guilin, Chengdu, Lijiang, Zhangjiajie) were great. Always very accommodating, punctual and attentive. The drivers were good. The hotels in the big cities (Chengdu, Chongqing, Shanghai) were excellent.

Chongqing - Dazu Rock Carvings were a great suggestion. It was a little far, but well worth the trip.The Yangtze River Cruise accommodations, cruise and tours were great. The only letdown was that we passed one of the gorges in complete darkness so could not see anything at all. I am still glad I chose this cruise and got to see the Three Lesser Gorges. Also, on the cruise we paid extra to dine at a smaller dining room and based on what we heard from other travelers, this was a good option. The tours in Chengdu were great. We did not get to see the sunrise on Mt Emei, but the night we got there, it was crystal clear and no people. It was one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. Lijiang tours were great. I highly suggest Tiger Leaping Gorge for those that want a more active vacation - it's beautiful and peaceful. In Zhangjiajie we were able to visit Tianzi Mountain and Huangshi Village on the same day. We had enough time, but I suspect it was because we did not have to wait in long lines anywhere.

I also appreciate your prompt e-mails and your answers to all my questions during the entire time you were planning this trip and I appreciate you checking in with us a couple of times during our trip. It's been a pleasure working with you and I look forward using your services again some day when we visit China. I hope you find my comments useful. Please let me know if you would like me to go into more detail about any part of my trip.

Thank you and take care,

Zane

Dear Rita,

This is what I wrote on TripAdvisor. "I am only addressing the organizing of a customized tour of the Hunan province of China.

I totally lucked out as I found the most astonishingly responsive, capable and so nice travel agent I have ever had the pleasure to deal with. Rita Jiang of China Discovery out of Chengdu. I sent out the same email to 3 companies who arrange custom tours to China.

I wrote them where I had been on my previous 2 trips to China, my age and my physical condition - which is excellent. I wrote I wanted to travel alone seeing the great sight of Hunan and listed a number of places I wanted included and that I wanted to spend approximately 17-19 days on this tour.

The very next day I got a fully described day by day itinerary along with hotels, type of transportation and guides and the complete price for this 15 day trip. Rita made suggestions as to what other sights I might want to include to bring the trip up to 19 days. I looked up all the places she described on line as well as the 5 star hotels she included.

I wrote back that evening asking how much I would save staying in 4 star hotels, and information on including the places she recommended seeing outside of Hunan. Next day again got all the details including travel arrangements getting there. Next I asked her to arrange my domestic and international air as well. Again the next day an email from Rita with the Domestic flights & their costs. She urged me to get my own International flights she said I'd do better with the price than she could arrange.

I then asked she detail the length of getting from one sight to the next for each day. Again next day all info furnished. When I saw that the train travel involved in seeing those sights outside of Hunan were 14 & another 21 hours long and they involved sharing a 4 person sleeping compartment, I wrote back saying I would skip those sights and just go to Shanghai & stay there for 3 days. Would she please inform me what the new price would be. The only time I did not hear the next day is over a weekend. Her responses were unfailingly complete very friendly and I am looking forward to the trip of a lifetime.

Re the other 2 companies I had sent the original email request - one wrote back about 4 days later and said they were trying to get information from their Chinese vendor. Never heard from them again. The other sent me a totally incomplete itinerary about a week after I sent out my request. It came without no hotels, no prices or info on transportation etc. I wrote back saying I found their response was inadequate. They said I needed to supply more details.

As I said I feel I completely lucked out. My next post will be to let you know if the trip measures up to the marvelous agent who has put it all together."

Judy,

We thank you for arranging a perfect trip to China. We enjoyed our stay in Beijing, Xian, and Shanghai.

My wife, Jaya, and I send our great thanks to Yo Yo for showing us all the places in Beijing and great help in during our stay, Jenny for showing in Xian, and Frank in Shanghai Thank you.

Regards,
Bashem Coorg

Hey Laura,

We all enjoyed our trip very much. The arrangements for guides, places to visit and travel within China went very smoothly. The highlight of the trip was our visit to the Longsheng rice terraces outside of Guilin: beautiful scenery!

Our guides, Sophia (Beijing), Ivan (Xi'an), Qian (Guilin) and Laura (Shanghai) all did wonderful jobs for us. The visits to the silk, jade, tea and terra cotta pottery shops were fine with us.

Thank you for your help in arranging this once-in-a-lifetime trip for our family.

Kathy Nicoll