2019 Customer Reviews

At first let we express that we are very satisfied with the service this tour agency gave us. Everything worked out better than we expected. The organisation of all excursions was excellent, and we could also bring in our own wishes. The guides were excellent, and spoke very good English, both the own guides from this agency as those who worked mainly for CITC. The meals were good to excellent, and always there was very much food. What we liked most, was the lunch at the local home, where we ate far too much, and the excellent Beijing roast duck. The hotels were better than we expected. The hotels were all with excellent service and facilities. Of the guides we liked most Carol, we met in Xian, and John in Beijing, but the other guides were also nice and friendly, and gave much information. All the coaches were very clean and the drivers were excellent: we would like to greet Charlie in Beijing, who was our favourite driver with his Red Flag. Finally: I would like to recommend this agency to European visitors.

This was my second time to China, but first time to join a group tour. You really made my trip worthwhile. In regard to the meals, on the positive side I cannot make a judgement as to the most memorable meal and would suggest you keep to the current restaurants and services. Although restaurants do change their standards and would suggest that you keep watch on standards. In terms of the poor ones, the Li river cruise meal was of a poor quality but you are aware of this and we were warned. Probably the most important element of the trip was the guides and their professionalism. There were no guides whose attitude was considered lacking and not conscientious. Indeed the majority were thought to go the extra mile and provide advice and services over and above which would be expected. All were punctual and well dressed and presented. No specific guide had any issues with pronunciation or otherwise which adversely affected our holiday. All guides had a very good understanding of the places visited and those of general historic and cultural issues. Cars and drivers were punctual, clean and professionally driven throughout our stay. Drivers were polite and well turned out with water supplied as described. If I had to choose, I would like my appreciation to go to Candy - our guide in Beijing who made our trip very memorable for a variety of reasons. Her manner and attitude were brilliant and her charming smile and attitude need to be recognised. Candy really stands out! Thanks for your hard work overall!

Thank you very much for the Birthday Cake. It was completely unexpected and very enjoyable..

To start with, all the guides were excellent, meeting us, booking us into the hotels and taking us around each area. There was little difference between any of them. If we have to choose then, at Chengdu Jessica had a very easy and friendly personality. At Chongqing Judy was very helpful and very knowledgeable on your later history. But they were all excellent and friendly.

The food was all good. The hotel in Beijing their dining room lacked atmosphere where we sat. It was just a big square room but the food was very good. We found the restaurants on the street more enjoyable and had more of a natural atmosphere. The drivers all good and obliging and the cars kept very clean.

Regarding the trip on the Yangtze cruise overall it was enjoyable and the food was very good and the service in the dining room excellent. The cabins very small. They were kept very clean but we thought that during the day they would have been turned into a seat on one side as that was how the cabin is constructed. We enjoyed sharing the meal with some Japanese tourists & although communicating was difficult we still made friends with them.

Again thank you for a well organised and very enjoyable tour.

Travel China Guide provided a fantastic service and our group thoroughly enjoyed our tour. Their local guides and drivers were outstanding. Their itinerary was well thought-out and offered access to local sights and cultural experiences that we could not have accessed on our own. Travel China also offered great support for making all our other local travel arrangements, which made booking flights and trains much easier, and cheaper. Thanks for such a rewarding experience. I will certainly be recommending your services and will happily use Travel China again.

We have divided the comments according to subject, allowing an easier comparison. See below:

Guildes: In general, the guides were knowledgeable and happy to answer questions. Their level of English was good. There were, however, considerable differences in their approach to the job: Maggie in Beijing could not have done more to be present for us, making us feel that we were the only thing in her life for the three days we were there. She was excellent in every way. Celine in Xian had perfect English and was very knowledgeable, especially in the museums, but with that exception tended to offer information only when asked a direct question. Her long conversations with the driver on journeys to and from attractions were a little inconsiderate. Jesse in Chengdu was pleasant and helpful, devoting time to us and arranging a cake on my birthday. He was flexible enough to fit in a visit to a picture gallery and a massage parlour at our request. Annie in Shanghai was competent and pleasant but it is difficult to pass an opinion on her as was not with us for much of the time.

Hotels: We are sure that tcg has arranged one of the best hotels available in each of the destinations. The Renaissance Shanghai Yu Garden Hotel was excellent, by far the best of the hotels we stayed in. The room, the facilities and the service were first-class.

Restaurants: Our fear prior to departure was that there would be too much food as we are not accustomed to eating lunch and dinner every day and in that we were not wrong. We appreciate that not everyone feels the same but we would have preferred to have had a snack for lunch on those days when dinner was also provided. The meal served in the FangShan Restaurant was excellent - enough food but not too much and absolutely delicious. The setting is also magnificent. The first lunch in Xian was good though we would have preferred not to be in a private room. The dumpling banquet was also very good but involved too much food. The restaurants in Chengdu were of a lower quality than those in Beijing and Xian. We again had a private room for lunch when we would have preferred to be able to observe other people in the main restaurant. The restaurant at which we had dinner in Shanghai was excellent in every way - attractive, with very good food and service.

Shows: The kungfu show in Beijing was excellent. The show in Xian was very enjoyable - an attractive venue with a high quality performance. The acrobatic show in Shanghai was wonderful, a very enjoyable evening.

General: As we look back over the holiday, we are both of the opinion that it was probably the best we have ever enjoyed, thanks in no small measure to your organisation and we will happily recommend it to friends who are contemplating a trip to China. Thank you for making our holiday so memorable.

Thanks for a wonderful vacation. We were very impressed with the assistance and patience they gave us to plan the route which allowed us to evaluate several options. The itinerary was most professionally arranged. All our guides were very prompt, helpful and knowledgeable of the tourist sites we visited and most importantly, about the cities, people, industries and history of their area. We had no problems talking to them as they spoke and understood English very well. The Hotels, meals and vehicles they chose were all of the highest standard. We will certainly recommend Travel China Guide to our friends.

Here is our assesment of the journey:

Hotels: all hotels were very good, except in Shanghai, which was just fair. The very best was the Pan Pacific in Suzhou, where we really enjoyed not only excellent rooms but great location adjacent to a scenic area.
Cars: all cars and drivers were good; cars were roomy for four of us.
Meals: we mostly liked the meals arranged by the agency the best probably being Sichuan lunch in Beijing. It might be a good idea to explain to the western tourists at the very beginning of the tour the arrangement of meals in Chinese style restaurants as being larger dishes to be shared by several people opposite smaller personal portions in western style restaurants. We had to learn by experience.
Guides: we have to congratulate you on excellent choice of guides. All of them were pleasant and concientious people. Language skills:
Beijing "Candy": excellent language skills; excellent guide.
Xian "Lily": the best guide we had. Very good language skills and great knowledge of history. She also helped us with nightly walk in Xian and found very good and cheep local restaurant the first night there.
Guilin "Lee": she was very entusiastic with a lot of good stories to tell. Her English was correct grammatically but we struggled with her accent. We also really appreciated her help with dinner in local restaurant that she helped us to arrange.
Shanghai “Tong”: excellent language skills. We would appreciate more initiative from her to fill time that we had due to cancellation of acrobatic show.

Was very rushed at the sites due to pick up times at various hotels causing at least 60 minutes delay to start the tour. Would recommend that everyone gather in one place for pick up. Maybe meet up in Tiananmen Square to start straight away as early as possible.

Very good companions on tour from around the world and tour guide very knowledgeable. With more time would have liked to stay longer in Forbidden City. Will look to visit whole day next time in Beijing.

Great Wall very impressive, need to be quite fit to go on hard part to the right. GREAT workout! Tobaggan ride down was excellent, could have gone a few times if more time. Highly recommended. Would also benefit if tour guide came up and gave information at the wall.

Would have given 5 star if not rushed and had more time to take in each site and have leisurely coffee mid morning and lunch in the afternoon. Need extra 2-3 hours from start to finish to feel more relaxed.

We have returned home after our wonderful 11 day tour of China. I must admit, having been on another tour some years ago but in a completely different country, I was not expecting to have the very high quality of service your company provided, especially given that the price was very reasonable. To begin with, your guides are absolutely wonderful - their knowledge of China's history and their ability to explain to us - the foreigners - in our own language, made everything crystal clear. (We felt very stupid by comparison - it shames us to have just one language and has spurred us to consider signing up for a course in Mandarin now that we are home.) Secondly, your choice of hotels was perfect, all were excellent. Thirdly, we were so relieved to have help both getting to and from airports, through check-in points. Your van drivers were terrific, all of them. Finally, the meals - well, all we can say about the meals is that the food was excellent, even though for us the portions were gigantic. Wish we could have brought Care packages home with us!
Thank you for giving us just the best experience of your wonderful country and its amazing, brilliant people. We will not hesitate to recommend your company to anyone we know who might be considering a trip to the East.

I had a wonderful time in China! And the tours I had through you helped make it that way. I really appreciate your help so much. The guide I had in Xian was very nice, knowledgable, and spoke English well. She was a bit immature and a little disorganized, but those were small things. The dumpling dinner was great and I enjoyed the lunches I had. Our guide in Beijing was absolutely super! (She said her name was Kitty) She was obviously experienced, mature, and very professional. She was great about getting us places before the biggest crowds hit. She was always very courteous and upbeat, and her English was good. I would recommend her very highly to anyone. I liked her a great deal as a person and respected her professionalism and know-how. The Peking duck was great. I appreciate all the help that you gave me. I sent you so many emails and questions and you were just so helpful and patient. Thanks.