Testimonial

Dear Sunny,

We had an enormous amount of correspondence before the definitive route was organised – in part because of the closure of the borders of Tibet, just before my departure. Your suggestions and my requests for Plan B were all brought together in record time – but we shall leave that for another trip – as the borders were re-opened in time.

Your help with visa issues was invaluable and the fact that you were always available at the end of the phone line was very reassuring.

The guides throughout were excellent, but there should be a special mention of our guide in Tibet and also the driver, who were both delightful. The guide was knowledgeable, but never intrusive and was also fun! The driver, even after driving for hours – was alert and managed to make us feel safe on the mountain roads – which for someone with serious vertigo - is quite an achievement.

The hotels, from the 4 star “luxury” of Xi’an to the tipical Tibetan hotel in Lhasa, were all comfortable and offered good service.

There wasn´t a single problem with plane and rail tickets – or with entrance tickets. The guide in Lanzhou had even added an extra to our programme as the train to Lhasa was running late.

I can whole-heartedly recommend the services of China Highlights – from the moment that you have a vague idea about a holiday in China until the time that you ascend the plane steps en route home.

Regards,
Yvonne

Ms Wang,

We are back from our visit to your country and could have not been treated better. 

The guides you hired did an outstanding job making our stay pleasant. Nancy-Kim was outstanding in every aspect, probably the best I have ever had! Use her every chance you get!  Howard in Xi'an did a nice job but did not have the experience that Nancy has. He will get better with every tour and has a great attitude.

Thank You again for a wonderful experience.

Sincerely,

Ralph Omann

Dear Delia,

Thanks for being such a nice person and my best guide all the way in China.

You have a friend in Spain!

Emeishan and JiuZhaiGou (Sichuan), Lake Namtso (Tibet) were the most memorable attraction you visited; both of the tour guides for Yangtze River and Tibet did a great job; hotels were comfortable and very convinient. I enjoyed my three days staying at Sunshine Crise in Yangtzi River, and Leshan Budha definetly attonished me!!

I highly recomend China Highlights as your Tour operator in China. Transfers were punctual and Ms. Delia Xie did an outstanding job. She took care of me during my for weeks stay in China in the best possible way.

i'd like to recommend some not -to-be-missed attractionsto those who are coming to China. I was Chilling out on the Backbone Dragon Terraces in Longshen, Riding bycicle around Yangshuo, Spending the night in a Budhist Monastery to wake up with the monks chanting, Experience the kharma inside Jokhang Temple in Lasha, Trying the best spicy Hot Pot in the megaurbe of Chongqing, Learning about the Three Gorges Dam Project all along The Yangtzi River curse...

Delia!! I lost most of my pictures in China :-(

Dear Delia,

A China highlight was a great internet shopping experience, it was a high qulity tour and you've been very responsive, knowledgable.
The Great Wall was the most memorable attraction I visited, and our guide Eileen did a great job - she was smart and knowledgeable, and very well organized. The Sunworld Beijing was up to standard and the stay was satisfactory. The location was terrific.

Overall the tour was very smooth, and very well organized - we were very impressed by the job that China Highlights did. We will absolutely recommend China highlights to our friends or colleagues, and in fact, we have already recommended. In particular Delia did a great job of being responsive, and giving us lots of confidence about the upcoming trip. Here follow up was superb.

You should add 1 evening without a guide to explore the lake area with all the bars and restaurants around the Qian Hai - Hou Hai lake area.  We did that and had a great time.

When we get organized we may share some pictures with you!

Sarat

Hi Michael,

We think that the great wall section & the terracotta warriors in Xian are the most memorable attractions we visited. 
Our tour guide Ying Li at Xian was probably the easiest to interact with. Maybe the experience she has in this field is providing that advantage. All hotels / meals were fine. The only challenge was the limited breakfast (hot) menu at Hans Royal Palace in Beijing.

The shows in Beijing were good. The cycling we did on the city wall in Xian was most enjoyable

I highly recommend the two shows in Beijing(acrobatics & Kungfu) to people who will visit China. Also, the hutong in Beijing (close to our hotel) that has shops with curios & restaurants for its entire length is not to be missed. Similarly the Xintiandi area & another part in the French concession in Shanghai (missing the name now) which has several small pedestrian only lanes lined with boutiques, curio shops, art shops & restaurants is an area not to be missed. The dumpling specialty restaurants in Xian was also excellent – the food & service both.

Finally, thanks to Michael for helping to put up the itinerary & useful suggestions on places to see / things to do. His inputs were valuable & his responses always prompt.

Regards

Gurumurthy

Hi Grace,

We think sailing through the 3 gorges was the most memorable attraction.      

Fendu guide was the most outstanding tour guide. He can crack jokes to keep foreign guests interested. All meals aboard V. Katarina is good. Yichang meal also very good. I think for many foreign tourist, language us a major factor and guides who can 'connect' immediately is a big wow factor. I will surely recommend your company to our friends or colleagues

Kwan

Dear Grace,

Sorry to take so long to reply to this email. We have been extremely busy since getting back home.

We loved the Great Wall of China - which we had almost all to ourselves.  We climbed all the way to the highest point there. We all enjoyed Linda who was our tour guide for Beijing.  She was the most personable and had a big task trying to keep us all not just together, but all happy.

As to the hotels, for the most part, all were up to standard except Hangzhou which was had construction going on next door and it was a long walk to West Lake...we still didn't reach it yet. We liked the Bund because it was well appointed and the bathrooms and rooms were huge. It was also a short walk to the main shopping street - Nanjing Road. 

Just some notes. Try to avoid the summer when it's overwhelmingly hot and humid everywhere.  Don't miss the Li River Cruise and the dumpling dinner and Tang Show in Xian!!

Thank you! You all arranged a birthday cake for our brother. Overall, we had a great time.  We will absolutely recommend your company to our friends or colleagues.

 I will attach the pictures we took at your office in another email.  Thanks again for all your assistance.  We had a super great time with China Highlights.

Christine

Hi Rebecca,

We enjoyed meeting you in person during our tour. We also wanted to let you know that the final stops on the tour were as well done as the first part. We enjoyed our experiences in Shanghai and Nanjing. The guides were excellent. We will definitely recommend your company to others as well as using it ourselves for any future China trips.

Best Regards,
Jim & Lynda

Hi Karen,

we had a fantastic time! 

You know, the most highlights of our trip is Horse Riding Festival, I think it would have been better to spend 2 days in Lhasa to acclimate to the lack of oxygen, then have gone to the Naqu races. I wish we had arranged for 2 full days at the races. So much to see! We didn't have time to walk around with the people, and they were so beautiful and friendly. I will investigate and think out my next trip more thoroughly. Tibet should have been done first and for a longer stay, then mainland China. Our guide in Tibet,we called her Pon, was the most wonderful person I have ever met. She and our driver were fantastic!!!!! I would have them again any time. All the places we visited were breathtaking in beauty. Also, we did not climb up the mountain to see the Leshan Buddha, and when on the boat and saw where the people had to climb I was so glad we were on the boat instead. A wise choice by our guide. The food was very good in all the places we ate, and always much more then we could ever have eaten was offered. A fantastic vacation we will never forget. I thank all your guides and drivers. They were all truly wonderful. If you have any future clients who want an honest voice about your company, feel free to give my e-mail address to them. I would recommend your company highly. 

Thanks again!

Sincerely yours,

Jane

Dear Michael,

Thank you for your post.  I was very impressed with how much the Chinese culture values evaluations.  Honest and constructive evaluation is a good tool toward improvement.

Almost all of the guides had their strengths, however Lou Wan Ji (my best guess at spelling) in Xi'an was spectacular.  He carefully listened to us and helped us plan activities that matched our interests.  We really enjoyed the stop at the Huaqing Hot Springs for a mineral water foot soak and learning the stories of the private lives of the ancient emperors. Mr. Lou was a fantastic storyteller, with a really great sense of drama and timing.

The guide in Yichang was wonderful.  I don't remember her name, but she was extremely helpful and thoughtful.  We came in later than expected and only had time for one stop on the itinerary. The guide listened to what we were interested in and gave us some suggestions.  She really took care of us around dinner and listened to what we needed.  When we arrived at the cruise boat, she took care of everything perfectly.

Chun Jia in Beijing was very good.  We liked her a lot.  She and the driver (Mr. Jiang) ate lunch with us the first day and that was very nice, since we had a chance to talk more informally.  I'm wondering if perhaps it makes sense to ask clients if they'd prefer to eat alone or with the guides or some meals with and some not.  Chun Jia also provided quite a lot of very helpful information for our free days. 

After being with 7 different guides (including Lucy the first day), my impression is that almost all of the guides are friendly, speak English, and know history. The river guides on the Yangze cruise seemed more experienced and able to handle situations calmly and cheerfully.

All of the hotels were superb, far above our expectations. Thank you. The value was exceptional.  We particularly appreciated the central locations of the hotels in Shanghai, Xi'an, and Beijing in that we could walk around very interesting neighborhoods in the evenings.

One of the best things about China Highlights is the individualized tours, that clients are not with a big group forced to move along to set places at set times. That is why we chose China Highlights.  I'm wondering if it might make sense to individualize a little more - that is, to find out a little more about clients.  Some clients might enjoy more food oriented tours (with different kinds of meals), we like gardens, some people might like museums, some more active (like bicycling).

I think in 2009 China is much easier and comfortable to visit than its reputation from books and magazines.  The English signage is excellent, and the people are extremely friendly and helpful.  The museums are modern and many of them are more sophisticated in presentation than the best museums in Europe or the United States. 

Taxis are super cheap and with just a little advice from the guides or the hotel concierge, it's easy to go out in the evenings and have a good time.  The sights are extraordinary, some of them are truly world wonders.  Shanghai and Beijing are as modern as San Francisco or New York, and there is no lack of amenities.  The dollar is strong, and the value is impressive. Almost every stop on the itinerary was first rate.  I'm so glad we had a chance to visit Hangzhou, which we would not have visited without the eclipse.  I think that Lingyin Temple was one of the highlights of the trip.  I'm also a fan of green tea, so the visit to the tea plantation was a lot of fun.

I was very impressed with the beautiful gardens and temples throughout the trip: the White Emperor's garden, the Temple of Heaven, the Yu yuan gardens and the Forbidden City gardens were incredible, each one exceptional in its own way. 

For just plain fun, the bicycle ride on the Xi'an city walls was a highlight.

Best,
 
Jane Litman