Sorry we did not immediately contact you after our trip to China for a review as you had requested.

I became ill after returning to the U.S.A.. On the return trip, many people were coughing and the inevitable happened. I am feeling much better now.

Let me start by saying, we had a wonderful time throughout the trip. The itinerary of the trip was beautifully laid out and there was never a moment where we had thought, "What the hell is going on?"or " Why are we doing this?". In our opinion, Beijing was the best as far as the driver and the guide were concerned. There are not enough words, nor exactly the correct words to describe the attention, service, attitude and thought that those two people delivered to us. It was a perfect beginning. Their attentivenessand their professional concern for our safety, happiness, wants and needs were beyond what any traveler would be have anticipated. The drivers skills were apparent and his knowledge of the citys roads and conditions enhanced our trip tremendously. To be more specific,he drove the quickest way and sometimes would inform our guide that it was better to go another way or better to eat now and go later, saving us much time. Both of them opened the doors whenever we needed to exit or enter the auto, as well as,giving us several bottles of water without our asking on several occasions. The guide was well versed on the sites we visited, giving us much knowledge of its important as well as informing us on many aspects of the culture, showing a pride of the countrys history, present and future. She was very optimistic about everything in her life in China and seemed to genuinely enjoy her job and expressed hope that she could learn"English" like we spoke the language.

This was observed on several occasions when this writer would converse using American slang and she would quickly wish for me to explain in English what I had meant. There were other actions they did that helped us to enjoy our trip so much more. They are included in the following: On one occasion she informed a gentleman in a very strong tone that we were not the type of people they would be interested in the inferior product he was hawking on the street. It seemed the gentleman had overheard my wife state that she wanted to get a "Hard Rock" shirt and apparently he had one and was very determined to sell it to my wife. Wherever we went she would call ahead and we were always immediately seated and served. The driver would always be at the most convenient place to find us with the interior of the vehicle made to our preferred comfort. On another occasion when we mentioned an interest in obtaining an item or two, she not only went out of her way to accommodate us, it was quite late and obviously a long time past her obligation to us for that day. She had many helpful hints about purchases which made us much more comfortable about buying products in the country. It would have been most pleasant if our journey had continued through to the end with the both of them.

The next city, Chongqing, was very short, the driver was great and the guide spoke well and was very knowledgeable about the sites. One could tell that she had a lot of experience as a guide. We really enjoyed ourselves and visited quite a number of places.

The little place on the hill that informed us about the Yangtze River was a pleasant surprise, not only did we meet the artist and obtain a painting or two, but that was very informative and an extra enjoyable way to learn of what will be happening to the area surrounding the river. That information later enhanced our trip on the boat excursion to Wuhan. We very much enjoyed the view and seating at the restaurant on top of the large hill. The one thing that wasnt perfect was the first vehicle. It was a van and it had bad brakes that began to burn. However during the time we were eating someone deposed of that vehicle and we were again in a nice comfortable black auto.

Getting off the boat in Wuhan, visiting the sites and flying to Shanghai left little time. The situation there however was not as good or pleasant as the previous days had been. The guide was great, knowledgeable and fun and under the conditions. I found her continued enthusiasm very courageous, as four couples , who were suppose to be on individual excursions were lumped together in a "small tour group". This situation was not what anyone had expected, not what he or she had paid for and not exactly what anyone preferred. It had put a slight damper on the trip, but overall we saw what we wanted and enjoyed what we did there.The driver had to be good, because he got us to our sites in a city that had one bridge closed , one bridge open and a lot of construction around the areas we visited.

Finally arriving in Shanghai, we were greeted by our guide and driver in the best vehicle of the trip, a large black Buick. It was very impressive and comfortable, with a large back seat area, which a man of my height (64") enjoyed very much. We had a wonderful time in Shanghai. Here again the driver knew the city and the road conditions well saving us much time out of traffic and at the sites we enjoyed. The guide was a young man, very knowledgeable about the area and its history, as well as the present and hopeful future for the city. He explained many sites and current conditions as we drove to our next place or restaurant.

The places we dined we really enjoyed overall. Some had better food, some had entertainment, and some had a beautiful ambience, while others had a great view. While all the restaurants were different, they all had great and attentive service. In fact every place we visited, whether it was for site seeing, dining or shopping had staff that conducted themselves in a matter that was extremely gratifying to experience. It seemed to us that they enjoyed the transactions and interaction as much us. The accommodations in Beijing and Shanghai were better than expected. The location of the hotel in Beijing was excellent and the building itself showed a statement of dignity and class. There, one could walk the street at night to enjoy snacks from a street vendor, or appreciate art from a local student or go to a local supermarket for some inexpensive food and drink. The hotel in Shanghai, although it was situated next to the stadium, and several blocks from a shopping area, was very impressive, very modern, and a very enjoyable place to stay. The room was situated on the 20th floor, which offered a great view and the hotel interiors ambience made one feel like a V.I.P. If one were to visit Shanghai, I would inform them that staying in any other place would be a disservice to themselves and their vacation.

I would like to end this summation of our experience by stating that rarely do I boast about the integrity and honesty of an itinerary that others had laid out beforen me to experience. I will confess there was not much I would have or could have changed on this trip to make it any better than the experiences we had enjoyed.

Thank you for a very enjoyable and very memorable trip to China.