Dear Cynthia,

We were quite satisfied with our China tour from Travel China Guide. At the beginning of the tour in Chongqing, our guide, whose name we have forgotten, met us at the airport, and did a very nice job of showing us around to the Stillwell museum and the zoo. He even accommodated our request by taking us to the zoo on the monorail. Chongqing is an impressive city, and the pandas in the zoo are also wonderful..

The dinner in Chongqing at the Holiday Inn was spectacular. There was an amazing variety of really excellent dishes, beautifully presented. That banquet was a perfect way to begin our travels.

On our boat, the Princess Elaine, our accommodations were comfortable, and the staff worked hard to make our trip a success. Meals on the boat seemed carefully planned. We had many dishes to choose from, and all of them were appetizing and tasty. Each buffet was beautifully decorated by a wonderfully talented chef; a treat to see as well as to eat. We were delighted to have so much opportunity to perfect our skills at using chopsticks. We also liked the entertainment provided by the talented young people working on the boat. And we enjoyed the demonstrations and displays of arts and crafts.

The guide on the boat, Helen, who addressed the English-speaking passengers, does a really terrific job. She is knowledgeable about the sights to be seen from the boat, and about the history and customs of people living along the river. Helen is energetic, well organized, and extremely cheerful. She seems to enjoy her job, and she makes her audience enjoy their tour. Her contribution to everyone's enjoyment of the trip down the Yangtze is enormous.

The excursions to Fengdu and to take the pea pod boats on the Shennong Stream added a lot to our trip. Our guides for these trips were quite good, but the sights that we saw were so impressive that they overshadowed what the guides could tell us. We would have found it helpful to have one or two sheets explaining the temples and their significance before we got to Fengdu. The Taoist temple is especially complicated with its paintings, statues, and displays, and it would have been nice to have read in a little detail about what we were to see.

In Wuhan, we enjoyed our guide Steven (we think that was his name). He was cheerful and funny, and kept us entertained. We thought the Provincial museum, and the musical performance on the replicas of ancient instruments were quite wonderful. We also liked the bonsai garden, and very much appreciated Steven's help in getting us checked in at the airport. He went out of his way to be helpful.

We are quite willing to have you list our names and address on your website.

Jane and John Kearns