Dear Maggie and Ruby,

What a pleasure to hear from you both. We had a wonderful time on our trip to China with Tibet, and it was an added joy to have the opportunity to meet you, Maggie, while in Xian. I am wearing my Travel China Guide T-shirt as I write this message. Thank you for taking the time with us and for the gifts. I did a lot of research on many tour companies in the two years we planned our trip, mostly from the U.S., and confess to a little concern dealing only on-line with a company in China I was not familiar with. Your prompt, professional email exchanges quickly put me at ease, and facilitated development of a great itinerary at a price I considered to be an exceptional value.

The trip was wonderful from start to finish. All six of our in-country flights went well with every one departing and arriving on time. Something not usual in the U.S. The choice of hotels in our tour category was also very good. All had fine locations, great facilities, and service. The Grand Hotel in Lijiang, though rated only three stars, had the best location right next to the river and the Old Town, and the best restaurant, also overlooking the river. Our room also overlooked the Old Town and was spectacular at night with all the lights.

I can't say enough about how positive are feelings are about the trip, the wonderful memories, and the new and positive perspective we have on the Peoples Republic of China. The growth and prosperity we observed everywhere we traveled was incredible. The people were met were truly kind, generous, and friendly. We especially enjoyed our chance encounters with primary and secondary school children. They are so full of life and eager to practice their English skills. I was also tremendously impressed with the obvious concern, attention, and corrective actions the Chinese government is placing on its environmental issues.

Here are my comments on some specific topics:

1. Meals:

All of the arranged meals were great, in clean, comfortable surroundings with plenty of healthy food, and no intestinal problems during the entire trip. We covered so much of China and had the opportunity to sample so many different cuisines it would be very difficult to pick one or two as favorites, but I will try. Linda liked a potato dish she discovered at lunch in Shangri-La phonetically pronounced Gian Bei Yang Yu Si that she tried to find at every restaurant after Shangri-La, and a chicken in lemon sauce she particularly liked. I particularly liked a broccoli and garlic vegetable dish found at most restaurants, a chicken dish with peanuts and vegetables, and a crispy pork and vegetable stir fry I had several times. Also, the Beijing Duck Dinner was very nice.

Where we did not have arranged meals, the guides were very helpful in recommending restaurants that proved to be quite good. One in particular in Shangri-La recommended by our Guide Hanna was in the Old Town called "Rose's" nearby the town square. Rose actually served us, and owns two restaurants side by side. She was a superb host, brought us a charcoal brazier to ward off the evening chill, and entertained us with interesting dialog while the meal was being prepared by the chef who is also her boyfriend. We were in Sangri-La during the week long national holiday and the town was filled with thousands of wonderful, happy people, many in traditional attire. We enjoyed traditional dancing in both the Old Town Square and main Plaza in the new town. After dinner at Rose's, the chef and her boyfriend, took the time to actually teach us several of the steps for the dancing we had been observing, and we went out after dinner ready to try our newly learned skills. This unique evening was one of many highlights we will always remember.

2. Guides:

Linda and I can't say enough good things about the majority of guides we had on our trip. Brian in Beijing set the tone and standard of excellence in English ability, pleasing personality, local knowledge, customer service attitude, and promptness. We would rate him as the best guide we had, but not by much. Other guides were better in some areas than Brian, but he was great in all categories.

Lily in Xian and Hanna in Shangri-La were right up there with Brian. I ask many questions, and most of the guides were able to answer every one. Hanna in particular was able to answer many of the questions I had on the history of Buddism and Dali Lamas that I was unable to get in Tibet during our stay there. She was also undaunted by the light rain we encountered while visiting the National Park lakes of Bite and Shudu. We only had Katie in Lijiang and Lisa in Kunming for a short time, and they were both relatively new in the Guide business, but they were right up there with the other top guides in all essential categories. Katie went out of her way on our free day to walk with us to the Black Dragon Pool park, and help us get our tickets. Our last Guide in Shanghai, Mr. Wang, was probably the most experienced in terms of number of years guiding, and the most knowledgeable of his local area. His English was exceptional. He was a fantastic supporter of Shanghai as being a wonderful city, which it is, and he set about proving this to us. He was probably the most assertive Guide we had, and his choice of places to visit on our free day was 100% correct.

Steven in Wuhan was with us only a few hours, we only visited the Hubei Provincial Museum, so it would be unfair to place much emphasis on our rating of him, which I would call adequate.

3. Cars:

All of the cars and drivers were superb. Most of the drivers kept pretty much to themselves, and appeared to have minimal English speaking ability, and talked mostly to the Guides. The notable superior exceptions were Charlie in Beijing and Mr. Wang in Shangri-La and Lijiang who were very friendly and outgoing and included us in their conversations Mr. Wang even went so far as to give us a small gift on departure.


I'm sorry if this message is longer than you expected, but once I got started I couldn't stop. We had a fantastic time, would not hesitate to use Travel China Guide on another trip to China, and would give an unqualified endorsement to our friends to use Travel China Guide in planning their trips to China.

Please feel free to use any of the comments I've written in any way you desire. I will also try and write a few words in the testimonial column of your website.

I've attached a few photos form our China trip for share.

Warm regards,

Jim and Linda