One Week China Itineraries

This travel agent planned our 3 week trip to explore China for our party of four.  We started in Beijing and walked on the Great Wall, learned much about Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, went to Xian for the Terracotta Warriors, to Chengdu for the Pandas, Hangzhou and Tunxi, then a hike up the Huangshan Mountain; Shanghai and the Shanghai Tower, Guilin for the amazing countryside and rice terraces, Shenzhen to visit our nephew and Hong Kong as the finale.  Transportation, guides, accommodations were wonderful and effortless for us.   In a land of millions of people and many tourists, the guides slid through the crowds and found places to explore that were not as crowded as others.

Our travel company helped us coordinate visas, travel insurance, and provided tipping and shopping guidance.  Any small concern (and they were minimal) were met with a smile and addressed.  They even sent a replacement van up Longji Mountain.

I would highly recommend the travel company for your China tour.

TRIP OF A LIFETIME! We're typically do-it-yourself travelers. Overall we enjoyed our times when we were on our own more than when we were with a guide. However, we did enjoy having the driver and guide for the Great Wall (Mutianyu) and the Terra Cotta Warriors in Xi'an. Plus our guide en route from Guilin to Yangshuo arranged the amazing sunset raft trip down the Li River. Having someone meet us and return us to the airports was extremely helpful, and at the train station, it was almost essential! We chose 4-star hotels in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong and 5-star hotels in Xi'an and Yangshuo (although the one booked for us in Yangshuo was at most a 3-star). We opted to eat meals on our own and had no trouble in any locale even though we spoke NO Chinese. Shanghai and Hong Kong were very easy to navigate on our own, and we loved that! More than anything we wanted to see how the people lived, and we felt we were able to do that better when we were on our own. The way we structured our trip, we were able to have plenty of time on our own while utilizing the guide services only where they were truly needed.

Overall the China travel agency delivered what was asked. Our hotels met our expectations except for the 3 nights in Yangshuo (as noted above). Prior to departure we did ask that the one in Shanghai be changed as they had us staying in Pudong originally. Most of the transfers/guide services were as expected. Our guide in Xi'an (David Xu) was exceptional; however, we rated our guide in Beijing (Michele) a 4 on a 10-point scale. We did not book any of the recommended "extras" and found that was best. We could book these locally when we arrived depending on weather, timing, etc.

Very well planned trip and we liked the guides in each city.  Our guide in Beijing was our favorite and we really enjoyed the guide in Xi'an too.   There was always someone waiting for us at each destination and the transportation/drivers also did a good job.  We got to see everything we had hoped to - the Great Wall, the Terra Cotta Warriors, the high speed train, rickshaw ride, Forbidden City, CIty Wall in Xi'an, the skyline in Shanghai, Peking duck meal in Beijing (we actually had 2), the floating restaurant in Hong Kong, the harbor in Hong Kong and more.  We also got to experience pandas in Hong Kong at the amusement park on our free day, the Chinese calligraphy class, dancing with people in the French Park in Shanghai, and the meeting with the Cricket Master in Beijing was an unexpected trip highlight.   

The head of the tour company also gave us a very nice personalized gift of a stamp in Chinese of each of our names - the same stamps artists and collectors put on the art in China.  We also had our guide help us buy a full sized Terra Cotta Warrior for our garden that is going to be shipped in September.   

The guides gave us great information on the life of Chinese citizens as well.  The hotels were great  in that they were very upscale and well located for our day to day adventures.   I loved having a free day in each city as well - made the pacing of the trip better than in the past where we never had a down day that allowed us to sleep in a little and experience the city on our own terms.   

I was very very happy with the service overall.

Our travel agency arranged for hotels, tour guides, meals and transportation along with a detailed itinerary in Xian and Beijing (and partially in Hong Kong). This was our first time using a "distant" travel agency, one which we did not know other than what we read in TripAdvisor. It was also the first time we put down a large sum of money in advance (I'd rather pay 1/2 up front and the remainder upon completion). We were nervous we'd be taken. But it turned out all right. The hotels were top notch, very comfortable, and we couldn't have asked for better in this department. Plus the morning hotel buffet breakfasts were unbelievably lavish and varied. Our teenage kids really enjoyed them. The private tour guides were quite good - we had 2 - 1 in Xian and 1 in Beijing - and both spoke English very well. Both met us promptly upon arrival and, for the most part, were on-time and kept us moving. As for their explanations of sites, both guides were quite good, although I have to say they were not as detailed as I had hoped, but I tend to be a detail oriented person. The drivers were also good, and it was a huge load off of us to not have to worry about how to get from point A to point B. It was also a learning experience to see how crazy driving in China is! We are sure glad we didn't have to drive! All the meals outside the hotels (the lunches and dinners) were also very good. We went to local restaurants that had a great variety of wonderfully tasty food. I wonder now, in hindsight, if we didn't have someone (my husband) who could read and speak Chinese, if we would have had a more tough time of it. I seem to remember a lot of Chinese everywhere, and not so much English, but perhaps there were enough pictures/photos in the menus that we would have been able to order ok. The only down side to the food was that we had way too much of it where ever we went and I'm sure we paid a premium for all that food - I wish we could have got a discount for not so much! As far as the main event - the sites - we hit all the major spots (Tianamen, Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Great Wall, Xian Pagoda, TerraCotta Warriors, etc), plus, thanks to customizing with the our travel company's gal, we did a few "smaller" teen-friendly things like take a calligraphy lesson, take a TaiChi lesson, take a table tennis lesson, see a shadow puppet show, go to street malls and bargain for junk, etc. There was only 1 stop in our itinerary which was a total waste of time/money (the tea house where they put together a medley of acts - food was terrible and the acts were so-so), but otherwise we went to over a dozen other spots/highlights/activities that were all very good. Also, 1 experience (a motorcycle tour of old Beijing) had to be cancelled due to storms, and we were given some money back, which was good (although I wonder if they gave us the whole amount). Overall, I say it was a good choice to go with this travel agency. It was professionally managed, we followed the itinerary as promised, the guides and drivers where reliable/trustworthy/pleasant, the hotels and restaurants were all good, and everything was pretty much taken care of. Sure, it was expensive, but it was a once in a lifetime experience we will remember forever. 

Great trip! Guides / drivers were flexible as we made changes on the trip to skip some shows and instead go to antique / art markets. Since this was our first trip with a fully pre-planned itinerary, we didn't do as much research prior to the trip as we should have to locate markets, though these changes were mostly handled without problems. Guides handled our need for vegetarian food without a hassle, we had clean air-conditioned vehicles (including our travel company happily changing one that we requested to have changed after a pick-up vehicle that smelled of smoke), and guides that were interested in us and what they had to teach us. Yangshuo guide was a bit difficult to understand at times, but very pleasant and happy to be with us. Our agent checked in whenever there was an issue (i.e., hotel setting in Chengdu was under unanticipated construction - the area around the hotel was completely torn apart by renovation, which our travel company was unaware of; however, they offered to move us. We ultimately decided to stay because the hotel itself was great, and the area intriguing). Guides should give a 5-10 minute warning to clients that destinations are nearby - until our last guide we didn't have this and often didn't realize we were about to disembark until the car stopped suddenly and we had to scramble to get our belongings together. The itinerary should indicate approximate travel times during each day from one location to another - a couple times we got in the car in the morning to find out we were in for a 1-3 hour car ride to our destination, which we could not tell from the itinerary. On a future trip we would ask for lunch to be sometime between 1-3pm, vs. at 12 which was too early for us. For the Beijing hotel, the travel company should choose a hotel other than the hotel we stayed in, since there's nothing of interest to see / do / walk through in the evenings unless travelers are into mall shopping. We prefer to be within walking distance of sites / night markets / art districts / museums, etc. Overall, we had a wonderful experience and would use this company again.