Eileen,

Our China trip was fantastic. The guides were very knowledgeable on the history of China and all of the particular dynasties. We saw more things than we probably would have seen if we traveled alone since the bus drivers knew how to drive in the cities through all of the crazy China traffic. We started every day about 8:30 am and generally went for 12-14 hours non-stop. The small tour group (18 people) worked really well, and I could not imagine going in a larger group. Here are some highpoints:

Cities

Beijing: The Great Wall was awesome, generally the group did not like the Chinese opera (Monkey King was a bit childish, but I appreciate the history of it all) .

Xian: Terra Cotta Warriors were a big highlight for me of the trip, the Theater show in Xian was outstanding.

Shanghai: Wonderful city, great architecture, we wish we had another day there to hang out and go to the nightclubs. Old town was well worth the trip (very local). Acrobatic show was also good and I believe these performers are probably the ones that eventually make it to shows like Cirque de Solei.

Shopping:

I actually thought it was a real good mix of "factory" stores. Although I have heard of other tours forcing people into government run factory tours, I thought this small group tour arranged by TravelChinaGuide really did a nice job and only spent as much time as necessary in the stores/shops. Everyone bought something in one of the stores at some point in time.

Hotels:

Beijing Holiday Inn - One of the best hotels I have ever stayed in and had the best breakfast buffet I have ever had. This hotel is 4 star, not like the US economy Holiday Inns.

Shanghai - Hotel was good, walking distance to Bund which was not as exciting of a nightlife location as I originally thought, but we were able to get great night time photos.

Food: Generally speaking the food was good and it was Chinese (family style) for every lunch and dinner. You have to get good at using chopsticks. The best meals tended to be lunch for some reason and the best meal was a lunch in a Beijing suburb.

We have tons of photos and will need to e-mail a few highlights later.

Thanks again, it was a truly memorable China tour we will remember forever.


Regards,

Tim