Oct 12,2009

Dear Tina and colleagues at TCG,

Thanks for asking for our comments. The tour arranged for us by TCG was a most memorable trip, and we are generally very pleased. We would certainly like to travel with you again, and we will also recommend the TCG to others, you may place the following comment on your web site:

"We have experienced the great landscapes, fascinating history, modern cities, as well as the countryside and the people and good food of China on a most memorable trip arranged by the TCG. Thanks to the hard work of very qualified and friendly and informative guides we were able to jump between several locations and assimilate a variety of impressions in relatively short time, though still enjoying the trip as a vacation with leisure time. Take notice that we found the trip to Guilin and its beautiful surroundings particularly worthwhile"

I include a few pictures in a separate mail, please feel free to publish those you find useful.
1. Sunrise on the Yangtze river seen from our cabin.
2. The two of us on cruise down the Li River to Yangshuo near Guilin
3. The two of us in front of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda in Xian
4. The two of us in the Great Wall

We enjoyed the Chinese food every time we got it, strong taste and healthy, much better than most Western food. Jens liked the vegetables most, particularly the Lotus roots and beans with chili (Sichuan). Bente loved the dumplings. There was always more than enough food.

All guides were very caring, energetic and flexible. On our request they several times arranged events not planned. Particularly the guides in Chongqing, Guilin and Xian did much better in English than we were expecting. All guides were very informative and with more knowledge than we could assimilate.
We were generally very satisfied with the drivers and cars.

All the best
Jens Peter Andersen and Bente Vilsen

Oct 8,2009

Dear tourist Lu/Eileen Wang,

Meals:

The meals in the Crowne Plaza in Beijing, Sheraton Lhasa, and the Sheraton Xian were very good. On our own we found a great dumpling restaurant in Yangshou called the Mier Restaurant. The other restaurants were O.K. but the hotel restaurant, the hotel service as well as the hotel itself, in Yangshou was the worst. We did not care for the food on the Yangtze River Cruise at all.

Guides:

All the guides were good, but the very best were Rose in Beijing and Ruth in Xian. They were not only punctual, knowledgeable, accommodating, enthusiastic, English impeccable, but also they were a delight to be with.

Cars:

The vehicles were clean and the drivers always on time and very skilled at maneuvering around the cities with ease.

We enjoyed the Sound and Light Show in Yangshou the best, probably because it did not seem to be as tourist oriented as the Beijing Opera, the Tang Dynasty show and the Portman acrobatic show.

We especially enjoyed the Giant Panda Base in Chengdu. They are doing great work there for the pandas, they have acres to roam free in and the Base is having great results with breeding the pandas which will hopefully allow some of the pandas to be released into the wild in the future.

As I am a photographer, I published our time in China, which you can access by going on the internet to: Patricia Toftoy and then going to the Blurb bookstore, (you can click on any of my books, Through my Eyes- China, etc.) where you can see my book on China as well as others. The book is called Through my Eyes - China, it is 160 pages and shows China in all its glory from the mountain tops to the Li and Yangtze rivers. It is a good way for other travelers to see what you showed us through your well thought out itinerary. Hope you enjoy seeing the photos and I look forward to your comments.

Best wishes,

Patty and Chuck Toftoy