Yangtze River Cruise Travel Reviews on Tripadvisor.com

I travelled with a party of 5 to Chengdu, Chongqing and did a 5-day Yangtze River Cruise with China Discovery. My experience with them was great. Our agent, Jack was very attentive to my group’s needs and was flexible at all times when we had to make changes. He offered timely service and kept me updated on unforeseen modifications in our itinerary. For example, when our flight was as cancelled, he quickly made arrangements for us to take a train to our next destination.

The local tour guides in both Chengdu and Chongqing were incredibly knowledgeable and friendly. The drivers drove safely and were polite.

Every part of the trip was amazing, but the highlight was definitely the 3 Gorges Cruise down the Yangtze River. The landscape is too beautiful for words. The crew on board were super friendly and the food was amazing!

The sites we visited during this 10- day trip were: Leshan Giant Buddha, Emei Mountain, the Panda Research Base in Chengdu, a day trip in Chongqing and the river cruise. It was action-packed, yet we went at our own pace, mostly due to the heat. I would highly recommend China Discovery and will use their services again in the future.

Wow, what a great experience it was using China Discovery. Jack helped us plan an unforgettable trip. We stayed in lovely hotels in convenient locations. The drivers were good and drove safely. Our guides were great and very helpfull in giving advice and booking tickets. Their English were very good. The food we ate was tasty and fresh. The whole trip was so easy and hassle free. We can not wait to use them again for our next trip

We did a shortened version of the China Discovery 17 day highlights tour. There was a big group of us with lot's of children so we decided to shorten our trip which was not a problem with China Discovery tours.

Our five families had a superb trip! The incredible sites we visited such as the 'Great wall' and the 'Terracotta warriors' will stay in our memories forever! Our guides took us to some superb restaurants where we really enjoyed the local food. The Peking duck for me was a favourite. I can't speak highly enough of our travel agent Johnson based in Chengdu. He was very patient in answering our many questions and was superb in organising the trip for us. Our local guides were excellent! There knowledge of the places we visited was in-depth and really added to the interest in what we were seeing. I will highly recommend your tour to other teachers at my school and friends and family back in New Zealand.

Working in China, it was challenging to go back to the UK for a holiday because of Covid 19, so I booked a trip through China Discovery (based in Chengdu). This trip took me to Xi'an, Gailin, and the highlight was a cruise down the Three Gorges to the Three Gorges Dam. My point of contact was Rita Jiang, and I was very impressed. At every new place, I was met by a guide who was knowledgeable and helpful. At no point did I feel stressed, especially with all the procedures of different health checks and so on. I found Rita very helpful and flexible to my wishes. She replied very quickly to my messages and was at all times professional. I highly recommend China Discovery and Rita. I will most certainly use her again for my next major trip.

Riley is an amazing agent who helped create a fantastic personalized trip! She responded promptly, gave us several choices, set up extended tours and drivers for us and even helped me rebook a flight at the last minute on her day off! Outstanding customer service!

We cruised the Yangtze from Chongqing to Yinchan on the Victoria Jenna (on Riley's suggestion) and it was a memorable trip with friendly, competent and gracious service throughout. English speaking River guides (Steven and Rebecca) were able to explain all of the details to us. The food was good and the included tours were really good. I highly recommend this cruise if you want to see incredible scenery and enjoy what China has to offer

We had a wonderful time on this 5-Day Yangtze Cruise. Rosalyn, our travel agent, took good care during the selection process, preparation for the trip and always answered minutes. We will book our next trip with China discovery and Rosalyn for sure./p>

Everything was awesome. Wonderful cruise and my last trip with China Discovery, to Huangshan was also breath taking. Leo has been so helpful and has planned perfect little get aways for me on my long weekends.

Stunning Yangtze river... get the extras, the show and the cities we visited were extraordinary Local guides love their cities and gave me tons of reasons to return

We would like to thank our tour operator Ms Wing Zeng, all our drivers and tour guides (Melody in Shanghai, Cherry in Chongqing, Fay in Yichang, Derrick in Zhangjiajie, Vivien in Kunming, Peter in Shangri-La, Ya Lan in Lijiang) from China Discovery/Yangtze River Cruise/Tibet Discovery (based in Chengdu) for our holiday.

In December we had 17 amazing days - a very-well organised and detailed individual tour tailored for us to see and visit everything planned by us. During our we felt very safe and looked after at every stage.

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

The itinerary (Shanghai-Chongqing-3-night Yangtze River Cruise-Zhangjiagie-Kunming-Shangri-La-Lijiang-Shanghai) was perfect but the people implemented it were even better. Our tour operator, the guides, and the drivers were all professionals and worthy of high appreciation for a well-done job. We learned so much thanks to our local tour guides, and we are grateful to them for sharing their knowledge with us. Every place we visited was amazing with interesting history, culture, beautiful scenery and unbelievable landscapes. We enjoyed our relaxing Yangtze River cruise on Victoria Anna with all the activities on board and the arranged shore excursions very much. We really did have a great time.

The tour was our second trip arranged with Ms Wing Zeng, and we are very happy to have chosen China Discovery. If in future we have a chance to visit China again, we'll definitely do it with this company and we highly recommend it to our friends and other travellers.

Just spent a wonderful 7 day journey starting with Terra Cotta warriors in Xian to Panda Bears in Chengdu to a 3 Day Yangtze River cruise on the Century Paragon. The trip was extremely well organized thanks to Wing Zeng at China Discovery who was very helpful and responsive to all of questions throughout the planning process. Strongly recommend private tour guides and drivers all of whom spoke English well (helped tremendously with menu translation) and was very accommodating to our requests. 7 days does not afford the opportunity for an extensive trip throughout China however we strongly recommend China Discovery (especially Wing Zeng) to help coordinate anyone considering even the shortest of trips.

My wife and I have been regular international travellers over the past decade but had not made it to mainland China until last month. A conference nearby presented the ideal opportunity to remedy this with a short Yangtze River Cruise to celebrate a significant birthday for my wife and to satisfy our curiosity about other places in this vast country. We are travellers rather than tourists, so I would like to endorse the travel agency (China Discovery) which helped us with our internal travel arrangements. In the first instance, all we had to do was indicate our intended arrival and departure points and our intended length of stay and our assigned agent Echo Gou cheerfully and efficiently provided us with multiple options. Over a couple of weeks we settled on an itinerary including various sites in Beijing, Xian, Chongqing, Three Gorges Dam, Yichang, Shanghai and Hangzhou over 12 days. Highlight was probably West Lake in Hangzhou. Hotels were all of high standard, local individual guides were well-educated and fluent English speakers and drivers were confident and cheerful. Most travel tween cities was by high speed rail, but when we chose to vary this for convenience once in China to include an internal flight and a private car transfer to an airport in another city, this was expertly arranged by our contact agent Echo in Chengdu at minimal additional cost. This flexibility made what might otherwise have been some difficult aspects of our trip into a smooth and enjoyable experience. I can't fault the professionalism and expertise of China Discovery and our agent, and I recommend others who like to travel independently to consider using such an efficient service at such reasonable cost.

Eleven day private tour from Beijing to Shanghai with Yangtze River Cruise We (Birgit, Petra, Jürgen and Gerd from Germany) had a absolutely wonderful eleven (11) day private tour, scheduled by Chengdu Bamboo Tours Vivian Li, that started with 3 days in Beijing, 3 days Xian, 3 days Yangtze River Cruise, and 2 days in Shanghai. We were met and escorted at each destination by a very capable English speaking tour guide (Beijing = Kai / Xian = Zoe / Chongqing = Diana / Yichang = Fay / Shanghai = Maria) and a driver. This enabled us to get the most out of our time there. We could not have done as much in 11 days on our own. The price was reasonable and the tour was Amazing. We give it 5 stars plus.

P.S. Our tour guide kai needs special mention as he brought his hometown of Beijing closer to us. We felt that being a guide was his passion.

Both my husband and I had a very good holiday in China for a 10 days private tour organised by Mark Shen , the Consultant agent of China Discovery. Mark planned an excellent & efficient trip for us to cruise at Yangtze River and there after to Zhangjiajie and Fenghuang .He reverted promptly to our enquiries .Prior to the tour , he communicated with us many times and was so patient with the changes in itinerary we requested. He also tried to work within the budget we stipulated.

We arrived in Chengdu on a Sunday night and he personally received us at the airport . We were touched by his gesture. The tour guides and the drivers provided through out the trip were good though we are disappointed with Alice the guide from Chongqing. She was reading her messages all the time when guided us on the Chongqing city tour.

Mark was monitoring our schedule through out. He assured us the guides would be good on our subsequent tour in Zhangjiajie after our feedback.

We are very pleased that Mark kept his promise as Carrie , the tour consultant was really good. She speaks excellent English. She is caring ,helpful and insightful. We are very happy with the driver Mr. Du who drove very carefully when it was misty and raining from Zhangjiajie to Fenghuang. The scenery in Zhangjiajie is beautiful and majestic beyond description and it is a place one must visit.

This trip at Zhangjiajie was hectic and schedules were tight . However it was a bliss for us as every little detail had been well planned by Mark meticulously and executed by a very caring Carrie . Kudos to Mark & Carrie who gave us a very memorable holiday.

I would not hesitate to refer Mark Shen ,the consultant agent and Carrie , the tour consultant to my friends . In fact I have passed Mark's contact to my friend who is now in US.

Our heartfelt thanks to Mark and the team from Chengdu , Yichang & Zhangjiajie of China Discovery for giving us a memorable holiday.

Lily ( Singapore)

Booking the tour was a breeze. The travel consultant Mr Mark Shen was prompt and concise in his responses, and the information booklet contained all the essential information. A pleasant experience.

We had a very enjoyable experience on board due to the high level of professionalism and service standard of the crew on Century Glory. Special mention of cruise manager Alan Chen and the lady whose running commentary about the three Gorges shows that she is very knowledgeable. The staff are friendly, ever ready with a greeting and a smile.

The whole tour, from onboarding and disembarkation, and logistics for all land tours, were well organised. It is clear that they are a truly experienced operator, and yet delivery is still with passion.

Given that the vessel was launched only two months ago, the amenities and design are well thought out and modern and furnishings in mint condition. You can’t ask for more.

Truly impressed.

Review For China Discovery

China Discovery is simply superb!

The period prior to departure is a little scary. Although the itinerary is comprehensive, handing over a large amount of money on a promise, is daunting. The application process for a tourist visa is rigorous and final details of flights and train bookings were not available until the last few weeks. That led to a little nervousness at the Chinese Embassy. As it was, visas were issued without the detail. That is my only criticism as the rest of the trip was faultless.

This is a slick operation, the company strives for perfection and they deliver. The itinerary was close-hosted so a guide and driver were on hand at every destination to see us through every aspect of the visit. The ultimate illustration of efficiency was when a guide appeared on the platform on arrival at Xian station and waved my name card through the train window!

A detailed itinerary is issued before travelling. We elected for a few days in Hong Kong before and after the trip. Collected from the hotel, we had little to do for the remaining duration other than enjoy the experience. I booked good hotels and first class rail travel - the bullet train is impressive - which proved worth the additional cost. Whilst it may appear at face value to be an expensive trip, when you consider what is included, the trip is excellent value for money. The only compromise was economy flights, between distant venues. Baggage allowance on internal flights is limited so Business Class may be a consideration, if one wants to take more luggage and, of course, for that extra touch of luxury. Many meals were included allowing us to sample local cuisine.

The trip took in Chengdu to see pandas, Xian for the Terracotta Warriors, a Yangtze cruise and Beijing to see the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace and the Great Wall. At every venue, additional sites were added to round out the experience. I lost track of the number of times I said "Wow!" The itinerary proved to be extensive and varied. The guides were not only efficient, knowledgeable, enthusiastic and friendly but I would add that I met new people, anxious to deliver a unique insight. They became, albeit short term, friends. My thanks and compliments.

I can thoroughly recommend China Discovery. The tour coordinator was exceptional and our every request was delivered. The itinerary was comprehensive and executed flawlessly. Not only did we receive what we had booked but were made to feel like VIPs at every event.

My memories of China will be memorable, largely thanks to a skilled company which delivers excellence. Kudos to the team.

Catherine Liu has arranged my second vacation here in China providing exceptional great service again. She meticulously scheduled drivers and English speaking guides at every location. The guides and drivers were extremely polite and generous. They knew the area and historical subjects very well. Having this kind of service makes the trip all the better without wasting precious vacation time. Our guide took us to all our site in Yichang. We went to a brand new 4 story museum I found very fascinating, and the Sanyou Cave and restaurant is a neat place to visit. You walk a platform on side of cliff to enter the restaurant.

Before going on the Yangtze cruise, we visited the Three Gorge Damn. You actually walk around and and view this enormous undertaking. You can see the locks, a ship elevator, and the huge damn.

The river cruise is my second time in a year. My first time was down river, I went up river this time. The ship staff were all the very same personnel from the Captain, host, directors, and the very nice musical entertainers. Everyone on board are very nice and cater to your convenience. The cabins are spacious and very clean. The meals on board are deliciously prepared. Many choices of excursion and extracurricular activities on the cruise.

When our plane landed in Lijiang, we were greeted by beautiful Simona. She is one of the Naxi people of this region. She spent 5 days touring us around Lijiang. I advise everyone, to see Lijiang and the surrounding areas! What beautiful country and site seeing. Lijiang Ancient Town, the Mufu Palace. Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and view of Blue Moon Valley and lake. The Baishe Village and mural paintings over 1000 years old. A trip to Lugu Lake and seeing the Mosuo people and their homes. Zhamei Monastery and Tiger Leaping Gorge and many other places in between these made this trip worth every cent!

Thank you Catherine Liu, you did another excellent service providing a memorable vacation of a lifetime! Next time I want to see Guilin.

Cordial good wishes and high esteem,

Andy Broff

I wanted to book a Yangtze River Cruise and wanted to find a tour-company to help with the booking of the boat as well as the few days of land- tours before and after the boat trip (Wuhan, Yichang-Chongqing (the boat trip), Chongqing, Chengdu). I found China Discovery through the internet (including Trip Advisor). I don’t think you could do any better in China if you are a discerning traveller with very specific requirements. They pretty much answered to all my needs and last minute changes to my itinerary. Also, they were familiar with international/Western travellers’ typical preferences (e.g. where the clean Western style toilets are!!).

I should clarify that I had already decided on the River cruiseboat - Sanctuary Retreats’ Yangtze Explorer: I understand currently the most expensive out of all the cruises) at the outset. I got an agent at China Discovery called WONDER to help me with all the cruise and land bookings pre and post cruise. Wonder spoke and write perfect English, was extremely responsive and efficient, and also very patient in dealing with all my requirements regarding hotel choices, land tour itinerary, requirements on young-guides, and so on. He also got me a discount for the Yangtze Explorer cruise booking.

What I liked, apart from the professional service of Wonder, was that the tailoring of the tours was good - just make sure you

Thank you to Rita for organising a trip to suit our family of four adults. We travelled from Shanghai to Nanjing and then on to Yichang for a riverboat cruise up the Yangtze River and then flew back to Shanghai. At all times we were met at airports to train stations and delivered efficiently to our accommodation.

We took day trips in Shanghai, Nanjing and Chongqing. They were all great, with knowledgeable local guides and drivers who made each day fun and informative. It was great to have Rita just a phone call away to help when a minor hiccup occurred with a late change to our exit point at Shanghai airport due to recent airport improvements. All was sorted within 5 minutes of our phone call. Well done Rita!

My husband and I are just back from a wonderful holiday in China. We organized this from Ireland with Wendy at China discovery who helped us put together a fantastic itinerary. Beijing was amazing the palaces Xian ancient city Chengdu was a culinary delight. Guilin had to be our favorite place the natural beauty of the Karst mountains along the li river and of course the rice terraces and the old city of Longsheng. The Yangtze River cruise was spectacular especially Wushan. We ended our amazing trip in Shanghai. The personal guides and drivers in each city we’re always there to greet us from our flights or trains. Each day was packed with so many places of interest to see and delicious lunches. We are missing the lovely time we spent in China so much that we plan to return soon to explore more beautiful places China has to offer.

My wife and I recently completed a 22 days’ vacation/excursion in the People’s Republic of China. We arranged this voyage with China Discovery Tour Agency.(May17th-June7th, 2019)

Our journey throughout China included three air flights and four high speed trains.

We visited Beijing, the capital of The People’s Republic of China. Highlights in Beijing, Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, the Great Wall (Mutiny Section), the Sacred Way, wonderful Kungfu Show, and a wonderful dinner of Peiking Roasted Duck at the Iconic Quanjude restaurant. We then traveled 4.5 hours by Fast train to Xian to visit the Terracotta Warriors and Horses excavation site then on to the Ancient City Wall and then in the evening attended a wonderful Tang Palace Dance Show. We then traveled 3 hours by plane to Lhasa, the capital of TIBET. Then from TIBET back to China to the city of Chengdu (2 hours by plane) to visit the Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding and also enjoy the relax atmosphere of the city’s Renmin Park. Then from Chengdu we traveled 1.5 hours by plane to Guilin, the most scenic city in China. We then drove about 2.5 hours to visit one of the most beautiful rice terraces in China…Longji Rice Terrace. What an experience hiking up on the edge of the mountain, including traveling up more than 900 steps in order to arrive at our hotel. Then the next morning more hiking up hill and steps to observe the spectacular view and to get a better understanding of the engineering developed many, many years ago to be able to cultivate rice at that high altitude. Later we visited Huangluo Yao Village and enjoyed a beautiful show by the Village Long Hair People. The following day we traveled back to Guilin and took a very relaxing sightseeing cruise 84 kilometers down the Li River to Yangzhou Town.

That evening we attended an amazing show directed by the world-famous director Mr. Zhang Yimou then the next day we drove back to Guilin and took a fast train (5 hours) to the the city of Chongqing (The largest city in Southwest China) to catch our cruise ship to take a 3 nights 4 days cruise down the Yangtze River, and during the cruise we had 3 shore excursions to visit different historic sites. After our cruise we then went on an all-day tour of the Three Gorge Dam. It is the largest dam in the entire world. After that we traveled by bus to to Yichang and took a fast train the the new city of Shanghai. Shanghai is less than 20 years. In Shanghai we visited the 400 year old Yun Garden, the Shanghai World Financial Center, the Nanjing Road, the famous BUND, Zhujiajiao Water Town, Tianzifang, Suzhou No.1 Silk Factory, and finally we attended an incredible Acrobat Show. Then on June 6thth we traveled back to Beijing by fast train (4.5 hours) and on June 7thth we departed China.

We have traveled to many different places all over the world during the past 21 years and I must say this excursion in China arranged for us by the very efficient, professional, and knowledgeable agent Wendy Dan of China Discovery was truly unbelievable. Simply put, Wendy Dan and all of the drivers and especially our English-speaking guides provided us with services way above our expectations. We indeed experienced a voyage of a lifetime.

During the past 21 years, we have traveled to the Middle East, North Africa, West Africa, Central Africa, East Africa, all over the USA and Canada, many places in Central America and South America, Western Europe, Northern Europe, Egypt and throughout the entire Caribbean and we have been fortunate to have a very good experience in each of those many places. China Discovery organized a 22 days’ tour along with its the very proficient, caring, and knowledgeable service providers (especially our private English-speaking tour guides) which has resulted in my wife and I having to tell the World that this trip compares with the best vacation we experienced in all of our travels during the past 21 years. We are very, very impressed with the overall beauty, safety, cleanliness, orderliness, and history we experienced at all of the places we visited. We are still amazed at the considerable level of development China has achieved during the past 35 years. Yes, put a visit to China, planned by China Discovery, on your bucket list.

Finally, my wife and I would like to express again our sincere thank you very much to Candy-Beijing, Maria-Xian, Dorjee-Lhasa, Kevin-Chengdu, Kennedy-Guilin, Charlie-Chongqing, Yichang- , Terry-Shanghai and Tina-Shanghai for your caring and professional service.

We truly had an amazing trip. Everyday was novel experience.All the cities we visited had exceptional monuments, palaces, Gardens & historical back ground.

Cruise on Yangtze River had its own charm & fun.

Tibet on a high altitude was a unique experience. Hotels & food been yummy

Our tour guides besides being knowledgeable were so friendly & courteous & at the same time had a great sense of humour.

Must admit that the entire credit goes to MS Vivien Li of Chengdu who took the pains to make our trip super duper & most memorable .

Thanks

Hello Jack,

We recently got back from our wonderful 19 days trip to China and wanted to take this time to thank you for preparing such an awesome itinerary for us. It was tailored to the places we wanted to visit Beijing, Xian, Lhasa,Tibet, Chengdu, Guilin, Yanshuo, Li River Cruise, Longji, Chongqing Yangtze River cruise, Yichang, Shanghai.

We enjoyed every single day of our tours to the maximum.

The treatment we received from all of our tour guides and drivers was excellent. We were always greeted on time at the airport or train station by our tour guide who promptly introduced themselves and also the driver. Very nice people always wanting to help and explain all the details about the place visited, their culture and traditions.

Hotels were beautiful, very comfortable and centrally located. Staff always ready to help if needed. We were very surprised with the beautiful gift waiting for us when we got to our hotel in Chengdu. I wished we had more time to go visit you in your office and personally thank you.

The very well planned itinerary was carried out to our expectations, never a missed placed to visit, and when it was time for our next destination, our tour guide had everything under control, from taking our bags to getting our tickets and making sure we were in the right place on time.

The Yangtze River cruise was very relaxing, excellent buffet and staff service. Our activity coordinator Rebecca, was great in keeping the activities going and letting us know which sceneries where coming up and what to look for every time. Nightly entertainment was very good also. The tours very very well organized and we really enjoyed them.

We loved every city visited and experienced different Chinese cuisine every placed we went. The restaurants and food was carefully selected always keeping in mind if we were allergic to any food or liked or disliked any hot spices.

We are very happy and it has been an amazing vacation and a learning experience. Will be happy to recommend your company and specially you Jack for all your help, patience and knowledge. We'll be happy to return to China to experience many other beautiful places we didn't get to see this time around.

Thank you very much for everything you did for us.

Idania and Alberto Mesa

We've just come back from 2 amazing weeks in China booked through China Discovery based in Chengdu, our travel consultant was Johnson. We chose a bespoke tour taking in Beijing, Xi'an, Chengu, then a short river cruise on The Yangtze, followed by a night in Zhangjiajie and finishing off in Shanghai. We had the most amazing time. Johnson organised the trip and was very patient with our infinte changes to the itinerary,

Johnson arranged all the transport within China, hotels, and guides in each of the cities, all guides spoke excellent english, were really well organised and knowlegeable. Ruby (in Chengdu), Kimi (in Xi'an) and Johnson (in Zhangjiajie) were absolutely excellent and made our stay really special. Having a guide cuts down the queueing time considerably as tickets are prebooked for you and they only need to be picked up, in some places there are preferential queues for guided tours.

We travelled mainly by high speed train, which is by far the most convenient way of seeing the country. We were astounded by how efficient, clean and punctual the trains were. We also used the underground system of most of the cities we stayed in, we found them all easy to navigate, modern, clean and punctual.

We had 3 days in Beijing, we stayed at the Park Plaza: excellent breakfast comfortable and clean rooms, excellent location. In Beijing we saw the Forbidden city, the Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace and had a great day on the Great Wall, which is astoundingly impressive, coming down on the tobbogan was great fun. We were supposed to visit the Hutongs and have a go at some calligraphy, but unfortunately due to a mix of Beijing traffic, an early afternoon train to catch and the calligraphy person being called away, we were unable to do this last activity.

The second stop was Xi'an, we stayed at the Grand Mercure on Remnin Square, Less impressive than the other hotels in the square, but comfortable and excellently located. It was built in the Soviet era and had an air of faded grandeur. The Terracotta Warriors were breathtaking and we had a lovely time cycling round the town walls. Xi'an is a really pretty city by night with bustling markets and pretty lights everywhere. We took the opportunity to learn to make dumplings and have lunch with a local family. This was a great experience. It was in one of the super-modern high rise buildings that are ubiquitous, the host was a former guide and it was one of the best meals we had in the holiday. It was more a demonstration of how to fill the dumplings rather than a cookery lesson, but we enjoyed it nevertheless.

Next stop Chengdu, home of the pandas. We stayed in the Dorset Grand, the only way to describe the hotel is WOW! The highlight was the Pandas, we enjoyed Renmin park and the Opera. We mentioned to our guide that we wanted to try the local hotpot so she stayed with us into the evening to help us with ordering and show us how it was done.

The next stop was Chongqing, from here we took a 3 day cruise on the Yangtze on the Century Legend, which was a lot of fun and restful after the busyness of the previous week. Food was ordinary at best. The cruise had group excursions, which made us really grateful that we booked a private tour with China Discovery for most of the holiday (rather than a group tour with a UK based agency) as there was a lot of hanging around waiting for other people. The quality of the guides provided by China Discovery was also much higher. Breathtaking scenary and an amazing feat of politics and engineering.

Second last stop Zhangjiajie, the slow train was incredibly interesting, and it was the first look of small town, rural China we caught. It had a completely different feel from the other places we visited. As we got there we wished we had followed Johnson's advice and stayed an extra day. To sum the place up in one word: spectacular, we saw Tianmen Mountain and the Yellow dragon cave.

Finally a last few days in Shanghai, we stayed at the Sunrise on the Bund, a beautiful hotel, but not really on the bund. We were unlucky that there were night roadworks going on outside our window, but the staff did their best to mitigate their impact. Shanghai does not really need a guide, it is quite westernised and it is easy to navigate. The advantage of having a guide is that you will pack much more into the day. Again, we were grateful to have one of China Discovery's guides for one of the 3 days we spent here. As when we asked the concierge at the hotel for direction for a shopping centre, he arranged for a taxi to take us to a really hard sale place that made us feel quite uncomfortable. During the rest of the holiday only twice we had been taken to places where we felt in some way obliged to buy something, but it was not a hard sell, the trips were listed on the itinerary and we could have said we did not want to go there.

Overall it was a great holiday and we have been so impressed by the organisation and value for money provided by China Discovery and Johnson that we are planning to do a tour of Southern China in the next couple of years.

This is my first ever review for a travel agency! I needed a quick solution for a week long getaway with my 7 year old boy during his March holidays and after doing some research on the net, I decided to go with China Discovery. My son is very keen to visit the terracotta warriors in Xian and I thought why not start from Chengdu to see the giant pandas ( what else?) and hop over to Emei Shan and Leshan and then travel to Xian to see the famous terracotta warriors and mausoleum.

Vivian who coordinated the trip was extremely efficient and responsive. Everything went smoothly throughout the trip. For the trips in Chengdu and surrounding areas, Ruby was the guide. We were really impressed by her patience, altitude and her care. She brought us to some really great local restaurants that's not the usual ones catering to tourists.

Over in Xian we had Gin as the guide and I must say she's very knowledgeable and well versed in ancient Chinese history. All in all, I would definitely use this agency again for my next guided trip to China. Cheers.

My husband and I were very, very pleased with the arrangements our online consultant Wing Zeng with China Discovery Yangtze River Cruise Tibet Discovery put together for us which was a 14 day trip. We flew into Beijing, experienced the Great Wall, the imperial palace, Xian, to see the Terra cotta warriors, cities in between, we cruised along the Li River and a 3 days cruise down the Yangtze River. Our trip ended in Shanghai. Yes, we too were a bit uncomfortable making arrangements online with such a distance away but Ms Wing put our minds at ease. Our experience was beyond our expectations starting with our tour sites and hotels. We were able to experience transportation that we don’t have in our area like the bullet train and subway. Our Guides, Mr Jean, Ms Alice, Ms Vivian, Ms Fay, and Zack were all fabulous at what the do. We would definitely book with this company again.

We booked the 6-Day Shanghai Yangtze Cruise with China Discovery and had a blast! I was very nervous about booking everything online, but Yanny He, our travel consultant, was excellent! All my fears and concerns were handled and I was assured that guides would be there to pick us up and drop us off for the entire trip. It was like clockwork! The cruise was excellent---the ship well appointed (Century Sun), the included excursions wonderful, the lectures and entertainment on board outstanding, the crew delightful, and the scenery mind-blowing. Our days in Shanghai were chilly but lots of fun & our guide gave us some excellent suggestions beyond the tour. All in all I highly recommend China Discovery. Yanny He (my online consultant) was patient, knowledgeable in all aspects of the trip, and very organized---as were all the guides throughout the trip. If you love China or are curious about it, take this trip!

We booked our trip with Yanny He. Yanny was excellent with communication throughout the whole process. She is amazing and I would recommend her to anyone that wants to book a tour in China. Our tour started in Guangzhou, a train to Guilin, boat to Yangshuo, flight to Xi'an, flight to Chongqing for a three-day Yangtze river cruise to Yinchang and then a flight to Beijing. Every step of the way our guides were extremely knowledgeable and helpful. Everything ran like clockwork which is not always possible in China! A guide was waiting for us at each station or airport and took us to the next check in at the end of each leg.

The places themselves were definitely worth visiting. I told Yanny the cities that we wanted to visit and she created the itinerary for us and it was perfect. We travelled during Chinese New Year which can pose some problems but overall was a great time to travel. The city walls of Xi'an were all lit up during the festival and cities such as Guangzhou and Beijing were much quieter than normal. It was a bit cold on the top deck of the boat during our cruise but the scenery was amazing.

I'm from England, in April 2018, I was looking for a tour of China and as most people do, looked at many differnt companies. I sent off ideas of where I wanted to go and the types of things that interested me. I came accross China discovery and to be honest, the reviews on this site were mixed. Some very good, some very bad. As I read on, it appeared that there were 2 companies running with the same name, this one in Chengdu, China and one in America. Reading through it seemed that it was the one in America that was getting the bad press.

I was also concerned about sending money to a company in Asia, anayway I did & needent have worried. Johnson Wang arranged everything, answered all questions etc, changed and rechanged my schedule and phoned me during the trip to check all was ok. Thanks Johnson.

I started in Beijing,went to the forbidden city. in all of these places,trains, planes, visitor sites, expect to que and have your bags etc searched and scanned along with visa and passports etc. You really need a full day to get round the forbidden city and visit the musems. I didn't want a trip that took me to the great wall and said there you go, pop up and be back in 30 minutes so told them I wanted to be out in the country so got them to arrange a 3hr walk on the wall at Jinshanling, quieter than closer options but out in the mountains & lovely. be warned, it is very steep up and down in places. This done, back to Beijing then more sights the next day before the bullet train to Xian.When you gou get off the train and go up the steps, make sure you know whether to turn right or left, big staiton.

All the guides, drivers were waiting for me on time at every location and spoke good english. Johnny was the guide here in Xian and very pleasant and informitive. As with most, I came to see the terracottas and wasn't dissapointed but be aware the 3rd chamber with the horse and carrage was heaving when I went, not comfortable, they need to limit numbers a bit. Hang Wang Tomb is a must and worth the drive out there.Shanxi museum also worth a look but give yourself a good 4 hrs +. I had 6 internnal flights in all, these are flexible in there timings and can and do change so expect that, if they don't, all the better but be prepared to be flexible.Next, Hotel Universal at Guilin with riverside room - good. Guides name was Dixon, again very friendy and informitive. From here I took a boat down the Lee river, about 50 miles of snaking river to Yangsou. Lovely little place, good hotel (new century) nice park to walk left side beyond car park. Also the water show - well worth the visit, outdoors, on river,at night, can get cold (or wet) so go prepared. About 3oo mostly locals involved alongside quality singers and good use of lighting. Next back to Guilin and flight to Kunming (Stone forest area but do go to the Ethnic Younan show, (minority tribes) not cheap but a wow) Dali -best for me + N hotel a wow, Guide here was Alice and probably the best. lovely woman, good knowledge and way with people. Lots of options here. Next flew to Chongching for 3 nights on Yangtze cruise, again, lovely views along the way. some of their optional trips on the cruise wern't so good but they are optional. You do notice the smog but it got clearer into my trip. Don't expect many locals anywhere, restaurants etc to speak english so use an app to translate menus etc. Also, the shops wouldn't accept western credit cards whilst I was there, this may change but check first. Food varies from province to province.

All in all I had an excellent trip, well looked after by guides and Johnny.