Testimonial

Dear Elaine, Thanks for arranging our China trip. Our guides were all helpful and fun to be with. I enjoyed the trip overall and was satisfied with the arrangements. The guides were good and accommodating. It was a pleasure to our guides' personal lives and each city's economics, demographics, etc. Beijing: Crystal was accommodating and answered all my questions including personal ones with ease, openness, and humor. She has a good sense of humor and was laughing as hard as I was during the trip. A fun guide in Beijing is a must. Otherwise it could be boring for somebody who has a little Chinese history background but do not really enjoy historical sites like I am. Except for the last day, as we have to go to the airport, she did not hurry us around which I appreciate as this is one of the main reasons that I went on a private tour. I want to take my time to enjoy the sites, make some comments, ask questions, and take some pictures. It is difficult to completely enjoy the site, if I will be constantly looking at my watch. Crystal made our Beijing trip really enjoyable. Yangtze Cruise: We started on the wrong foot due to our fault but ended up really enjoying it. The rooms were clean and the massages were excellent. The scenic view is breathtaking. I wish the weather was not so hot otherwise I would be on the deck all day. Chongqing to Guilin: David Lao, our transfer guide, was honest and professional. I have never met somebody who is so enamored with his city and was so fervent in recommending it to us to explore next time. I might come back to see, if he is right. After all, it is the biggest city in terms of population – 32 million and growing fast. I enjoyed learning all about Chinese beds. I would like to meet David again if I come back to Chongqing. Guilin: Mark Yang, our guide, was very informative and his recommendation of the acrobat and ballet show was excellent. He gave us the best seat and I enjoyed the ballet very much. We also watched the musical and lighting show in Yangshuo if I understand Mandarin, I would have enjoyed it but, unfortunately, I do not. Shanghai: Jennifer Liu, our guide was very professional. I felt the most warmth from her. We have only a one day tour in Shanghai and a free day. She scheduled my free day and the scheduling was excellent. She knows Shanghai very well and how much time I will need at each location. She also gave us a souvenir on our last day which was a pleasant surprise and really a nice touch. I wish that we have more time in Shanghai with her. I will be glad to reccomend China Highlights and you to anybody. Thanks, Sincerely, Elsa Paches (Yang)

Dear Morgen, First of all it was so nice to be able to meet you in Guilin and thank you, personally, for planning such a wonderful holiday for me, I shall never forget it. I kept a daily journal of my trip so I have that to look at in the years to come. I have been a bit slow in getting my photographs organised. Ian, my son, has downloaded them for me on to my computer but needs to show me how to select and print off the ones I want. When he has done that I will send you some. To answer your questions: The best thing: The best thing about my trip was the people I met, it was so nice to be able to talk about life in China with all my guides and through them to learn about your country and people. A very close second was the beautiful scenery and places of historic interest. Your staff: All the staff of China Highlights couldn't have been more helpful wherever I went and when there was something I wanted to do especially, if it was not on the itinery it was arranged for me without any problem. Attractions: Because I was so well looked after by my guides and drivers for every part of my journey I really can't say that there was anything that I was concerned about, I always felt completely safe, even in the major cities, and found the people so friendly everywhere I went. If there was one thing that remains highlighted in my memory it is the musical show "Impressions" which I went to see when I was in Yangshuo. This was not on my itinery but suggested by Rebecca, my guide. I am so glad that I went, it was absolutely beautiful, the setting on the water, the music and lighting, with the mountains as a backdrop, quite unforgettable and a 'must' for any tourist in that area. Food:I also enjoyed the food and would recommend it to others to try the regional variations in the places they visit or on the Yangtse cruise, where there was a different menu each evening. Guides:Finally, I must say that although every one of your staff I had contact with was kind and helpful I must mention Lemon in Shanghai and Rebecca in Guilin as being exceptional, both are a credit to your company, and to the Chinese people. Alastair wishes me to tell you that he was pleased at the way you were able to fit him into my itinery when he was free from the University each weekend.It was good for him to be able to visit the major sites with me, particularly the Great Wall and the Terracotta Warriors, even if it meant having to catch early morning flights each saturday. Margaret

Hi Karen! We had a SUPER vacation in China with China Highlights. We will admit to a little anxiety - arriving in Beijing having only known your company from our visits to your website. Our anxieties turned to pure enjoyment as we were met at each airport by very friendly and knowledgeable guides and drivers. We could not have asked for a better two week visit to China! Thanks again! We hope to return to China in the near future, and look forward to working with China Highlights again! (We have recommended China Highlights to many friends as well!)

Dear Candy, Greeting from the States. I wish to thank you for all your assistant in making my stay China a most delightful short twenty days. I must say in hindsight that I should have continued my trip with your company, China Highlights. It was a most enjoyable trip with everything taken care of by your company people. The region that I enjoyed the most is Inner Mongolia. It was more exotic and different that the usual places in China. Here my excellent guide, Susie, took me to visit the grassland and the desert where I got to ride a horse and a camel and drove an ATV vehicle in the desert with my guide. I also slept in a Mongolian Yurt and watch a delightful musical production by the local people in the open air almost just outside my door steps that night. Where else could I have done all this in such a short period of time and space. The second choice on my list of places is Pingyao where I stayed in the delightful guest house with the traditional wooden structure of Qing dynasty but with all the modern facilities. This hotel has a beautiful courtyard and great atmosphere and I slept in a traditional kang bed. They even had a mean looking rooster "guarding" the place. My wonderful guide took me to an excellent local place to dine and afterwards we attended fabulous productions of exotic music and dances with colorful costumes which illustrates the spirits and tradition of the local people. I also had a chance to wander around in this wonderful town and sample the local food from the traditional food stands and I even had a nice conversation with a retired teacher. This place lived up to the UNESCO designation of a World Heritage site unlike the ancient Dayan Town in Lijiang which also is a World Heritage site that I recently went with my family. Dayan Town was badly damaged by an earthquake in 1996, has being restored architecturally and in recent years, the tourist industry in Lijiang has developed rapidly, and has brought improvements to the quality of life of the local residents as I was told. Again thank you for all your help in arranging a wonderful trip for me. It is one which I will not soon forget. Next time I come to China may I call on you for assistant again? Should you come to the States, please come as see me and I will show you my neck of the woods. Eddie

Hi Candy, It was nice to meet you in Guilin. We are in Hong Kong at the moment and enjoying the big city atmosphere. First we like to mention how very helpful you have been to us. We originally had booked the "Tibet Tour" when we were still in New Zealand in January 2007. Unfortunately I got a cold and a bad sinusitis and we had to cancel that trip. You were very kind and let us know that we had not lost our deposit but we could use the money for another trip. This is a courtesy we had not expected and were very pleasantly surprised. Our deposit was available to us for 18 months. We then asked you to prepare a trip for us that included Chengdu, Chongqing and on to Guilin.( 19 days) We had booked several day trips and guided tours. The guides were great! Always on time, extremely friendly and they all moulded the tours around our needs. Chengdu is an exeptional place. Apart from the usual tourist attractions, which are fantastic,(Leshan Buddha, Salt Museum,Dinosaur Museum, Rock Carvings and Grottoes) we spent every night at the city square. An experience that was wonderful. The square is brand new and, apart from the gorgeous landscaping, features several large fountains which, co-ordinated with music, display a rather grand show. The lighting and different types of street lamps are full of imagination and have a glorious effect. No tourist should mis this. Chongqing is a lot more than people realise. Most tourists spend only a few hours here and then board the ships that go down the Yangtze River, Three Gorges and the damn. However, there is also the place where the two rivers merge and at night here is a wonderful light show. We went to the Three Gorges Museum. This has to be the most interestingly organised museum we have ever seen. From historic facts to techinical information - it is all there. Our guide showed us through the old city. A stark contrast to all the grand skyscrapers around us. One night we went to a performance of the "Changing Faces". This was not on guides list but she made sure we had the right tickets and even met us at the theatre. A ride on the Mono Rail is also a must. It is cheap and we could see most of this amazing city - old and new. We went on by plane to Guilin. This city was our biggest surprise. Of course, we had expected the spectacular landscape we all have seen in magazines and on television. Well, the landscape was even more beautiful than we had imagined. Our guide was lovely, knowledgeable and very well organised. She took us around several of the cities many parks, one park is more fascinating than the the other. We went to the famous "Red Flute Caves". A spectacular display of Mother Nature enhanced by terrific lighting for the pleasure of the tourists. She took us to the famous Rice Terraces. When she told us we would be climbing around 900 steps to a panoramic look-out we wondered if our feet would last. Well, as it turned out, we were so busy admiring the most amazing terraces, the distant hills and the overall fairytale landscape that we forgot all about our feet. Apart from being so pleasantly surpised by the outstanding beauty of Guilin and the surrounding area, we were blown away by the city after the sun had set. Guilin not only has the most magnificant parks but at night all this turns into sheer magic. The lighting throughout the city is work of art. Unlike Hong Kong where we greatly enjoy the lights on and from the skyscrapers, Guilin lights up its trees, flowers, pagodas, numerous bridges, the beautiful rivers, the lakes the boats..........a pure pleasure to watch and admire. We sat on one of the many benches along the waters edge and were enchanted by the display. We were lucky enough to be able to stay for 9 days in this gorgeous place. We feel we could have stayed longer. Candy at China Highlights did an excellent job with the organisation of our time in China. She provided all information and her advice was invaluable. She always answered our emails immediatlely which we feel is very important when dealing over the internet. Between February and August 2008 we will be back in China. We will be working for 4 months and we will be asking Candy from China Highlights to arrange our 4 week holiday for us. With kind regards Marianne and Reinhold Jung New Zealand

Dear Eva,

Thanks again for your incredible help for our family taylor made tour to China. Everything works as planned. It was just excellent. I didn't find anything to claim about the service. I would like to confess since this was the first time that I choose ChinaHighlights and I knew about you through internet, I was very worried about what is going to happen in China. If any future customer reads my testimonial, and is now deciding if arrange or not a trip with Chinahighlights, I strongly encourage to choose them without any doubt instead of a local agency in your country (the price surely will be more expensive outside China).

The best thing: The patience and good care you had, specially during the planning stage of my trip. So many questions I did and so many immediate, clear, and friendly answers I always receive.

Dear Sunny, My wife Sujata and I arrived in Hong Kong last night from Beijing. We'd like to say thank you to you, our four guides, and everyone else involved for making our trip such a great one. As you may have noted from the evaluation forms, we had an absolutely wonderful time right through the ten days of our journey, at every location we visited. We will cherish these memories forever. Second, Sujata and I would specially like to commend our guide in Dunhuang and Jiayuguan, Miss Lee Hai Xia (Jessica). She was absolutely fantastic both as a guide and as a person to be with. She went our of her way to make us feel at home in both cities, so much so that we actually missed her after we left Jiayuguan. We hope China Highlights can convey our gratitude to her for being such an integral part of our experience. Thanks again, Sunny. I will not hesitate to recommend China Highlights to anyone who is interested. Best wishes, Anirban.

Hello Elaine, Lian and I thank you once more for the good care you have taken of us. The trip went very smoothly. Everything you organised went according to plan, the quality of the hotels was excellent. Tibet was a breathtaking experience. We will certainly want to visit that area again and probably stay there a little longer. Have a nice day. Regards, Pieter de Boer

Dear Eva, Overall, I found the service very good. The Anting Villa in Shanghai was excellent and the people who took us back and forth from the airport were helpful. The trip was great and thanks for helping to organize it for us. Best regards, Eva Rathgeber

Sunny Thanks for your arrangements. We had a good trip and Lily was wonderful - very attentive and Mr Chen was a very safe and efficient driver. The train trip was also fine. No problems there and quite comfortable. The children had a wonderful time and the scenery was great. I look forward to booking other trips with you. Regards Leanda