Testimonial

Michael

We just returned from our China trip. Just a note to let you know how much we appreciated the outstanding service provided by your company. Our driver and guide were first class. Laura provided the best service we have ever received, she was knowledgeable, personable and very friendly. We did not have to worry about a thing from pick up to airport delivery. She stayed with us until we went through security at the airport.

The roses were very beautiful and a wonderful surprise for Valentine's Day. Please use our name as a reference anytime. You will hear from us again if we travel to china.

Gaby

Hi Micheal,

Sorry for not getting back to you quicker,,it's not because our trip wasn't wonderful! Joy was truly a 'joy' and we were so lucky to get her for our guide! Since it was Chinese New Year, I wondered about the quality of guide and driver we would get but I couldn't have been happier!

I know now that hiring a private guide and driver is the best way to travel. Joy was cheerful, very knowledgeable about the sites we visited and the city of Beijing in general, and very accomodating to our needs. She was flexible with our shopping and schedule wants. She suggested a western restaurant and then arranged for our driver Mr. Gao to take us there. Mr. Gao was wonderful as well. Since one of the worst things I find about living in China is the way drivers here drive, I was hoping that our driver wasn't too reckless. Mr. Gao was not at all. He did not speed, did use his signal and was a cautious driver. Both of them should get a raise!!!

We were blessed with mild winter weather and the afternoon at The Great Wall was spectacular with a bright sun. Forbidden City and Temple of Heaven were also crowded with people but Joy directed us wisely. She timed the meals to make the most of the day. Without hesitation I would book another tour with China Highlights. In fact, I am thinking about Xi'An next December..... I also appreciate all the emails back and forth with you Michael to answer ALL of my questions!

Thanks,
Madelaine

Dear Michael,

Lethel and I agree that the Li River and Yu Long River were the highlights. Our tour guide Tony was fine. Nice guy but sings too much, hahaha. He is very knowledgeable about sights to be, etc. Our Hotels were very nice, but perhaps just as nice rooms could be found in cheaper hotels. Your company has reasonable prices and professional staff. I will definitely recommend to the others.

Furthermore, I suggest more time in Guilin, less time in Yangshuo which caters to western tourists. More time interacting with locals and Chinese culture. Less time in pearl shops, caves, and dance shows. More time hiking and seeing natural beauty. Show historical sights, beautiful buildings, landforms and landmarks.

Thank you so much! Guilin and the mountains are very nice to see!


Yours,
Mike

Dear Sunny
 
We did have a wonderful and very memorable trip in China. Thank you so much for all the great organization you did with this trip. You were so helpful and always answered my questions as quickly as possible and with great details. We really appreciate it.
 
It's hard to point one only, but actually the most memorable one was one that was not planned for us with your company, but was suggested by our tour guide, Tao, in Hangzhou: a Chinese opera. Tao suggested it to us, and we bought 4 tickets and it was UNBELIVABLE! Much better than the acrobatic show we saw in Shanghai. We're very grateful for Tao for suggesting it to us.
 
Out of the four tour guide we had, the TWO most outstanding ones were Jenny (Guilin) and Pan (Shangahi). Both tried their best (in different ways) to do everything possible to make our trip the best it can be. They both went FAR BEYOND their duities as tour guides. Jenny worked so hard to help us in any way and did a superb job. I think she can easily take a leading higher job at your company. She has excellent qualities to succeed in a much higher position in your Chinahighlights.com Company.
 
Pan has an absolute wonderful personality and he also did his best and went FAR BEYOND the duties of a tour guide to make it the best trip ever. He was flexible, helped us in any way he could, had great manners, very respectful to us and a wonderful human being. My husband and I thought of Pan and jenny so highly.
 
Tao(Hangzhou) was an excellent tour guide. His strength was KNOWLEDGE. He provided lots og great information.
 
Shelly (Sozhou) was excellent too.
 
If I could grade again all 4 tour guide between 1 and 20, (and not 1 to 5 only, but 5 is still considered as EXCELLENT GRADING) these will be my grades:
 
Shelly: 5 (excellent)
Tao: 8 (above excellent)
Jenny: 20 (and deserve it! much above superior)
Pan: 20 (and deserve it! much above superior)
 
The hotels were great! Bravo in Guilin was wonderful! Lakeview hotel was in great location and had a superb boufett breakfast, but the room needs improvement. The room was just okay. Sozhou I forgot.... sorry... The BEST hotel was in Shanghai, the Bund hotel. The room was so elegant and the service in this hotel was superb. Breakfast was great too.
 
Hereunder are some of my opinions for the China tour.
 
1. All our tour guides chosen for us SUPERB LUNCHES/DINNERS. We loved the Chinese foods.
 
2. I suggest to you to include the opera show in Hangzhou as part of your tour planning. The acrobatics show was a disappointment a little. Only the ending was really exciting and the place was not as impressive and nice as I thought it will be. I versioned much better acrobatics show than what we actually saw. On the other hand, the Opera in hangzhou was amazing! I think this area needs improvement (if possible).
 
3. Great choices of hotels. You may want to look in person in the rooms of the hotels you choose before booking. I do understand that they are many factors in choosing hotels, mostly location is important. Although all of our hotels were 4 stars, they vary a lot in the service they provided, elegance of the room, the breakfast buffet...etc...
 
Between 1 to 5 ratings:
Bund hotel in Shanghai gets 20 points! Bravo gets 15.
 
4. The vehicle we had in Hangzhou was not nice, in my opinion. We had a wonderful vehicle (vans) in all other places. In three locations they were very comfortable with 4 large seats. In Hangzhou we had a large vehicle with narrow seats that should be given to a larger group (that pays less). It had like 12 seats in it. It was noisy and not comfortable, at least not to me. I thought that by us paying a much higher price for being a small group of 4, ALL 4 locations should have had conforatble newer vehicles. Hangzhou was not one of them. This area needs improvement.
 
A note above the drivers:
 
We had a SUPERB driver in Guilin. Outstanding!!! The best! Also in Shangahi the driver was good. The other two drivers were just okay.  Just a suggestion.... I think the drivers will get a much higher tip if they will say hello to the passengers when they see them coming to the car and also smile. But this is my personal opinion....
 
Thank you again for a superb trip. When we'll plan to go again to China, we'll definitely choose your company.
 
I hope you'll look carefully into my suggestions and act upon it. It will make your even company stronger and better by improving constantly, listening to your customers, as you so well do. Thank you.

Dear Sunny,

The highlights of the tour would be the night time illuminated Ice Festival. My guide was a very pleasant young man who was most solicitous & attentive but his English was not as good as I expected. The one & only hotel for my 2 day tour (Songhuajiang Gloria) was adequate but was old fashioned and left much to be desired. The breakfast room was badly located & the buffet itself was a free-for-all in a small area.

Your organisation was excellent. Everything worked like clockwork. Thank you for a very satisfactory tour.


Yours sincerely,
Francis

Hi Sunny:
Most all of the attractions were memorable in their own ways. The one I keep thinking about is the neighborhood we visited on the day I wasn’t scheduled for anything. This was in addition to my organized itinerary and was also the day we went to the tea plantation. We went outside of Guilin and visited a very old neighborhood which really made me think of what China was like one or more centuries ago. That day, I believe I was one of the very few, if any, foreigners there so it was like I went back in a time. Most everywhere else I sent there we some foreigners. I felt almost totally immersed in the “old China”. What was the name of that place? The stop for lunch at the outdoor restaurant outside of town that day was also memorable. Chasing down the chicken we ended up eating, etc stays in my mind for some reason. It made me think how the vast majority of Chinese probably really live. Foster can tell you more about it as well. My tour guide and driver were great. The driver (“Aye” is his name?) didn’t speak any English but he was a very capable driver and had a friendly personality. My tour guide was “Foster” and he was great. I liked him for several reasons. First of all was his capability, efficiency and knowledge. He is also very personable with a great sense of humor. I think we hit it off since we’re almost the same age and had both been officers in our respective military. We had something in common. He was also helpful and willing to teach me Chinese (Mandarin) words and phrases. I got excited enough that I now plan to take language course to learn Chinese. I was particularly impressed with Foster when he waited (a while) for me to get checked in at the airline counter when I was departing. He probably realized that if there was a major delay or problem, I would otherwise have difficulty in contacting him or someone for assistance. That really was a nice gesture and was very much appreciated. When I left, I felt I was leaving a friend. I would highly recommend your company. The fact that you’re frequently seeking feedback is a good sign you’re always trying to do even better. Thanks again to you, Foster and the staff for making this a memorable trip.
Randy

Hello Sunny,
We enjoyed our tour and our tour guide, David, very much, and look forward to recommending your tourist agency to our friends for future trips. In addition to the tour activities, David arranged tickets for evening preformances, saw us to our seats, and also recommended / made reservations for convenient places for dinner afterwards. He put his personal commmittments on hold, to assure we would first be OK and have pleasant evenings in Beijing. David has a very good English vocabulary. It was very easy for us to ask questions and for David to express his own thoughts.
Regards, Liz Dodge

From Maria-Anna, Reinhold, Bailee and Bonnee Jung New Zealand
26. January 2009
Management for China Highlights ( copy to Candy ) We have been home for just a few weeks. Our daughter is doing well. Now that we all had a rest we can finally write to you and express our thanks. China Highlights has been organizing our trips through China for the last three years. Candy, our travel advisor, is a wonderful capable young woman. Her knowledge of the handiest and reasonably priced Hotels to stay and the most important places to see made her invaluable for us. She booked planes, trains and automobiles for us and always got us where we wanted to go. In December 2008 our family was in dire need of assistance – not for a holiday this time, but for a family emergency. Our older daughter was gravely ill in Gansu Province and our younger daughter was studying in Yunnan Province. Because of Candy’s fast work booking a plane and a car, our younger daughter was able to be at her sister’s bedside inside of 12 hours. Unfortunately our Travel Insurance was less than efficient and neglected to provide a translator for some visa issues that arose but, once again, Candy came to our rescue. She organized a translator for us inside of a couple of hours and with her help we solved our problems. We wish to thank Candy and China Highlights for handling our difficult situation with speed and efficiency. China Highlights is not only a great place to book holidays but also a place where we found help in a desperate situation.
Yours sincerely
The Jung Family from New Zealand

Dear Morgen,

We can't say enough good things about all of the wonderful sights that we saw as well as superior service we received from everyone at China Highlights.

BEIJING (Population 14 million)

Day 1

We left Chicago for Beijing via Shanghai on an American Airlines flight.

Day 2

We arrived in Shanghai about 2:30 pm local time and had a 7 ? hour wait until our flight to Beijing departed. We claimed our luggage and found an airport motel where we rented a room for 4 hours. It was good to take a shower, relax and watch TV until it was time to have something to eat and check-in for our Beijing flight. We arrived in Beijing at 11:00 pm, claimed our luggage, and met our guide Nancy who was waiting to greet us and present us with a gorgeous bouquet of flowers. Our luggage was loaded in a waiting car, and we sped off to our hotel, Raffles Beijing Hotel. After we were checked in, we said goodnight to Nancy and eagerly headed to our room. We had a gorgeous, deluxe room with a wonderful king-sized bed with down pillows and duvet. The bathroom was huge and had the largest, softest towels ever. This was our favorite hotel on our trip to China. We had no trouble falling asleep.

Day 3

Today was a free day—we had nothing scheduled. After a wonderful breakfast at the hotel, we set out for a walk on Wanfujing Street which is close to the hotel. This is a shopping street with the Oriental Plaza Mall, so there was a lot to see on our walk including the world’s largest Mac Donald’s. It was definitely high end and not a place to look for souvenirs, but it was fun. We found a Parisian bakery where we ended up having lunch. It didn’t take much to tire us, so after lunch we headed back to our hotel for a nap. Later we headed back to Wanfujing Street and walked to the very end where the famous Night Market is located. The Night Market is a street lined with food stalls that sell all those unusual edibles—snake, scorpions, starfish, and things I couldn’t possible identify. We decided not to sample anything. We had dinner at the hotel, and then went to sleep early.

Day 4

We met Nancy in the hotel lobby at 9 am and headed off for our tour of Beijing. Our first stop was Tiananmen Square. There were long, long lines of Chinese people waiting to see Chairman Mao’s tomb, but we did not join them. After Tiananmen Square, we walked across the street to the Forbidden City. There was a lot to see with a lot of stairs, but we made it. We also walked along the water surrounding the Forbidden City to meet up with our driver. We had lunch at a local Chinese restaurant and agreed that the food was fresh and delicious. In the afternoon, we toured the Temple of Heaven. It was a good day to learn about the Chinese emperors and their customs. We then went to a Chinese teahouse for a Chinese language lesson with a local professor. I doubt that we have enough days left in our lifetimes to learn Chinese! After our day of walking and climbing stairs, we had the famous Peking Duck for dinner. The ducks are specially raised for this meal, basted with a special sauce and then roasted in special ovens.

Day 5

Today we set off to see the Great Wall. En route we stopped at a cloisonné factory to see how this enamelware is made. The pieces were all handmade and involved many steps. The finished products are indeed lovely. The drive through the countryside to the Wall was a contrast to the city. Even though we rode a chair lift to the top, we had a long uphill climb to the chair lift and a lot of stairs after the chair lift to the wall itself. We had a gorgeous, clear sunny day, so we had great views of the wall as it wound around the mountain tops. It is an incredible sight to see. We headed back to Beijing after our visit to the Wall and had a Chinese massage which included a foot massage. Clark said afterwards that he never wanted to put on his shoes again. We had dinner and then went to the Kung Fu show. It was a great show and very entertaining.

Day 6

This morning we headed to Beihai Park. We had to enter the park through a narrow shopping street that sold all sorts of food, clothing, etc. We stopped at a bakery and bought some dried sweet potato chips and fried won tons to snack on. The park is lovely with lakes, bridges pagodas, and a respite from the city for the Chinese. In the park were a band playing and many Chinese singing along with the music. We got on rickshaws for our tour of the Hutong that contain 4 sided courtyard houses averaging 300 years old. Originally they were inhabited by a single family, but now house several families and are a coveted area in which to live. We had lunch in one of the hutong where a resident chef prepares meals for tourists. The food was good, and it was certainly a unique experience. After lunch we had a Chinese knot tying lesson. We were “not” good at tying knots, but it was fun nonetheless. In the evening we went to a Buddhist vegetarian restaurant where the food was supposed to resemble meat and fish. It was O.K. and a unique experience but definitely not our favorite meal. Day 7

Today we leave Beijing for our next stop, Xian. We have had wonderful weather in Beijing, but today the smog has settled in. We say goodbye to our wonderful and most favorite tour guide Nancy. She certainly helped us fall in love with Beijing.

GUILIN, CHINA

Day 1

After disembarking our ship in Chongqing, We visited a local museum there and then headed to the airport for our flight to Guilin shortly after noon where we were met by our guide Lily. We checked into the Sheraton Guilin where we had a lovely suite overlooking the Li River and a lovely park. We then took off to visit the Reed Flute Cave which is very interesting and illuminated. The Chinese love to light things up. We had a light dinner at a restaurant near the hotel and then went back to our room to rest for a while and clean up. In the evening we took an illuminated boat tour of the lakes surrounding Guilin. We even got to see the cormorant fishermen. The cormorants are tethered to the boat and have a snare around their throats so they cannot swallow the fish. This way the fisherman can have the birds spit out the fish. It was a beautiful evening since the pagodas, many bridges and fountains are all colorfully lighted.

Day 2

We got up and went for a walk in the park across from the hotel. The Chinese are up early practicing their Taiji and dancing, so it was fun watching them. We crossed the street to get back to the hotel, and no sooner had we stepped on the driveway, Clark’s knee gave out. He limped back to our room and took pain meds he had brought with him. Also he had brought a folding cane that came in handy. We were supposed to go to the Longii terraced rice fields that day. When we met our guide, she wasn’t sure what we should do since it is a long climb up the mountain to the top. We decided to head out anyway and see what the day brought. The area is home to both the Yao and the Miew ethnic tribes. We stopped at a Yao village where Ruth was quickly surrounded by the local women selling bracelets. These women were half her size and dressed in traditional clothing, each of them vying for her attention. After buying 2 bracelets, our guide shooed them away. After we arrived at the base of the mountain, our guide informed us that we could be carried to the top in sedan chairs. We told here we were interested in doing that since there was no other way we would get to the top. So she went off to negotiate with the sedan chair porters. We got to the sedan chairs and both sat down in one. At that point there began some heated conversation between our guide and the porters. Once the porters got a look at the “big guy”, they wanted more money. O.K.—what else was there to do. Next thing we knew we were lifted up by the porters and carried up this long, narrow winding staircase to the top of the mountain. I think each of us uttered silent prayers that we wouldn’t suddenly plunge down to our demise. It took us an hour to reach the top. Once there, the views were incredible and something we will never see again. A third of the way down, there is a village with several hotels and restaurants. We had lunch at one of the hotels, and that was delightful. In that area, they cook rice inside bamboo over charcoal grills, so we got to try it. It was very nice. It was a 2 ? hour drive in each direction, so when we got back to the hotel, it was time to rest and have Clark take more pain medication. We had a nice buffet dinner at the Sheraton and were even given a complimentary bottle of wine to enjoy.

Day 3

 Today was the day for our cruise down the Li River to see the beautiful karst peaks, bamboo groves and picturesque farms. It was raining when we started out, but the rains stopped after a bit, and it was quite nice the rest of the day. We sat at the front of the boat and had lunch served to us. The river trip was why we scheduled a stop in Guilin, and it was lovely, but we were thrilled to discover that there was so much more to see in the area. In the afternoon, after we returned to Guilin, we went to the China Highlights headquarters to meet Morgen. Morgen was the agent that Ruth communicated with over the internet to plan our trip. The two were in communication with each other for over a year. The two of us were delighted to finally meet fact-to-face. We had tea with Morgen and were even presented with a lovely gift. In our estimation, China Highlights did a marvelous job, and we always felt that we were treated like royalty. In the evening we went to a Minorities Show (China has several groups of minorities). It featured costumes, song and dance of the local minorities. I think we were the only Westerners in the crowd. At the end of the show the cast threw out “good luck” decorated balls, and a woman behind me caught one. She presented it to me despite my protestations. The Chinese were so gracious towards us.

Day 4

Time to leave Guilin and fly to Shanghai.

SHANGHAI CHINA

Day 1

Once again we were met at the airport by our guide, Rainy who would show us the wonders of Shanghai. After checking into our room at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, we set off to do some sightseeing. We walked around the Bund area which is along the Huangpu River. The West side of the river has buildings dating from the colonial period, whereas the East side of the river has just been developed within the past 20 years. Then we headed to the Urban Planning Exhibition Hall. There is an amazing model of the city of Shanghai and what it will look like in 2010 when the city will host the World Expo. We had a lovely dinner after our sightseeing and got to try Shanghai’s famous Hairy Crab which was quite delicious.

Day 2

We again had a great breakfast at our hotel. The Grand Hyatt is a very upscale, business hotel. The hotel lobby is on the 50th floor of the building, and our room was on the 58th floor. The views from the lobby were quite spectacular, especially at night when the surrounding buildings are all lighted. Our first stop of the day was at the Jade Buddha Temple where there is, of course a famous Buddha made of jade. Next we went to the Yuyuan Garden and afterwards wandered around the nearby market. The Yuyuan Garden was originally the residence of a wealthy family, and it is quite a treat to walk around. The market is adjacent to the Garden and has a myriad of shops selling goods aimed at the tourist trade. It was fun to bargain for several items including a 2nd suitcase in which to take our purchases home since we were only allowed one suitcase on the flights within China. There was a Starbuck’s in the market, and Ruth satisfied her coffee craving. We stopped for a delicious and plentiful lunch where we had sharkfin soup with crabmeat. After lunch, we had a walk along Nanjing Road which is an upscale shopping street. Then we headed to the Oriental Pearl TV Tower. For the first time in memory, Clark was bothered by the height. Our tour guide, Rainy had made a reservation at a nearby restaurant for us, but we were really tired after such a full day of sightseeing and walking. So, we came home, showered and rested before heading for the hotel restaurant. Clark had a hamburger with fries, and Ruth had a pasta dish. The Western food was a nice change from Chinese food.

Day 3

 We were met by our guide for Suzhou and our driver. It was a 2 hour drive to that city. Suzhou is a city of canals and lakes. We climbed a bridge for a view of Tiger Hill and the Panmen Gate. Next we toured the Garden of the Master of Nets which was originally the home of a wealthy Chinese family. Suzhou is also famous for its gardens. We went to a local restaurant for lunch where we enjoyed Suzhou Mandarin Fish—yum, yum. Before cooking the fish, we were shown a bucket that held our live fish. After lunch, we went on a canal cruise through the waterways surrounding the old section of the city. There are homes on both sides of the canal, and it was interesting to watch life going on around us. Our last stop was the No.1 Silk Factory where we got to watch silk production and silk quilts being made. The traffic back to Shanghi was very heavy, and it was quite late in the evening by the time we arrived back at our hotel. It was nice for us to just have dinner at the Hyatt. We sat at the same table as we did the previous night, and enjoyed the same friendly waitress and bus boy. Clark was delighted to be able to order ice tea, and Ruth was happy with a glass of Chilean chardonnay.

Day 4

A week before leaving on our China trip, we decided to add two more days to our itinerary. I had some hotel points that enabled me to get a room at the Westin on the Bund. It was a good choice because we could walk to the Bund, and it was a short taxi ride to the Yuyuan Market. Our room was every bit as nice as the one at the Hyatt, but the view was not as spectacular. After lunch at Shanghai Uncle, we set off to the market to do some shopping. It was fun just walking around the market and taking all of the sights as well as bargaining for qifts to take bak home with us. Ruth managed to get directions to Starbuck’s so she could satisfy her coffee craving. We also walked from the hotel to the Bund along the river after shopping. Day 5 We were met by our Hangzhou guide and driver for our day trip. It was another 2 ? hour drive to our destination, but we enjoyed the scenery along the way. Our first stop was the Six Harmonies Pagoda which is surrounded by a lovely park. It was good to walk and stretch our legs after the long car ride. Next we went to the 9 Creeks and 18 Gullies park. This also was a lovely park where we could walk and enjoy the scenery. We tried local food at a restaurant on West Lake and took a walk around the area afterwards. Then we boarded our boat for a trip on the lake itself. Our last stop was the Meijiawu Tea Plantation. The tea grows on terraced fields and is lovely to see. We had green tea which is nothing like green tea back in the US. The tea leaves float on top of the tea and are eaten along with drinking the liquid. The leaves taste very much like spinach and are the source of the antioxidants. I’m not sure that this will become part of our diets. We had a long drive back to Shanghai, but the traffic was not as bad as it was returning from Suzhou.

Hi Rebecca,

Our Trip to Xian was great. We really enjoyed all the sight seeing things we did. Not really anything about the tour i would change. Echo and our driver, Mr Lee, were both great and Echo had a great knowledge of the area. We really enjoyed how we could arrange the tour to suit our pace and what we felt like attempting on the day. Thank you for all you help with arranging the tour. I will definetly recommend this service to anyone i know travelling to Xian in the future.

Thanks again Rebecca,

Nicole