Dear Eileen and Nancy

Our magical trip to China

Thank you to everyone who made our first trip to China so memorable. Following the quality of service from you when booking the trip we should have known that the Company's commitment to quality would continue throughout our journey in China. And so it did.

A little apprehensive about a change from group to individual tour we arrived in Beijing to be met by Nancy, our guide, who gave us such a warm welcome that our fears were allayed. It turned out to be the best decision, having our own guide and driver allowed more flexibility in the itinerary and we were able to talk about many differences in our cultures whilst travelling from site to site as well as being given knowledgeable tours of the various attractions we visited. Our guides in Xian, Emma and Shanghai, Carole, were equally as charming and courteous to our every need.

The sightseeing seemed relentless and the pace fast but there was so much to see and we were loathe to miss anything. Still it would have been nice to ¡°potter¡± or to sit in the quiet solitude of the gardens of the Great Mosque, perhaps next time!

The Great Wall was Tim's outright winner he loved the immensity of the engineering feat although I doubt he would have liked to have built it. For me, I loved the parks and gardens where the Chinese congregate to exercise, play music, sing and play games. We were invited to have a go at a "bat and ball" exercise with a couple in the Temple of Heaven park. It looked so easy but it wasn't.

For pure spectacle the Terracotta Warriors were stunning and the work involved in the restoration awesome. We met the farmer who was one of the original people to find the first fragments of pottery. Is that not history in the making!

We watched the actors put on their make up at the Peking Opera in Beijing, before sitting at very good seats in the theatre and sharing "birthday cake" with a couple from Sweden. In Xian we saw the Tang Dynasty Show and imagine our surprise at being taken to see the Shanghai Acrobatic Show at the Portman which was not listed on our itinerary. Whilst this was a stunningly skilful performance which made you hold your breath my favourite was the Tang Dynasty Show, the colours, the dance, the music, the way the silk of the costumes moved like liquid, quite spectacular.

Tang Dynasty Show - what a cape!

Our hotels in Beijing and Xian were lovely with comfortable rooms, good service and excellent food. We felt the Pacific Luck in Shanghai let the tour down, it was being refurbished and whilst the room was comfortable the service and breakfast was disappointing and the view from the window, well there wasn't one. I would advise an upgrade to a better hotel if possible. However we made up for this disappointment by have the most amazing massage at the Hotels massage parlour. I went for the foot massage, much needed after all that walking.

Overall our trip was excellent and I would not hesitate to recommend your Company to anyone looking to have a small taste of China but I would have to warn them that one trip may not be enough and not be surprised if they start looking at the travel planner again with Travel China Guide.

Kind regards and thank you again

Maureen & Tim Inwards, UK