Testimonial

Hi Candy,

Prior to this October 2009 trip, my last visit to China was in 2006, and one of my stops was the Shaolin monastery. I bought some souvenirs for my grandson, who is into martial arts. His comment was “you went to the Shaolin monastery and didn’t take me”. I promised him that one day I would take him.

His last visit to China was in 1994 when he was 7 years old. I decided to prepare a trip in which he would visit the monastery and as many sights as possible in the 16 days that he could devote for the trip. This was a “working trip” that did not allow for much relaxation. I prepared a non-stop, tight schedule and presented it to your Miss Candy Wei. This was my 11th trip to china, and I was aware of the rigors of scheduling. Candy did a fantastic job of working with me, and when there was a connection problem or flight cancellation, she patiently helped me through the changes. She is a WOW and was there when I needed her, even during the trip. When in Guilin, candy graciously met my grandson, Jared and I for dinner and we enjoyed a very good conversation. By the way, thank you for the dinner.

Finally, I prefer a private tour with a guide and driver rather than a group tour. We still get to meet some people, but do not miss the group tour when there is usually someone who will be late, not prepare for the new country they are visiting and unknowingly insult a local person. A private tour allows me the chance to set the pace and make changes, if necessary.

Without a doubt, the holding of a 1 year old panda bear at the breeding and research center was tops and will be one of the most exciting moments in my travels, which began in 1957. Already, people marvel at my photos.

The guides were all pleasant, knowledgeable, and attentive to our needs. All of the connections between cities were made timely. Especially our transfer from the 3 gorges dam to Wuhan where we picked up a flight to Xian. It was impossible to fly out of Yichang with the schedule. It was my biggest worry, but it went quite smoothly. The promptness of the guides helped to make our tight schedule easier.

Among all the hotels, the four seasons in shanghai is tops as far as I am concerned. I stayed there in 2006 and rate their steak house as the best dinner for westerners. The other 5 star hotels were true to their rating and were terrific in all aspects for our brief stay in each of them.

There was a wow at the Shaolin monastery as Jared was picked along with 2 other men to come on stage and work with one of the students, during the martial arts exhibition. The audience chose Jared as the winner and after the show, took pictures with an elder monk of the monastery and some other students

I have spoken to many people, shown many pictures, and told many stories of my trips to china. In fact, one person, after hearing stories and seeing pictures, spent his honeymoon in china. He and his wife were thrilled with their trip.

However, I think people should prepare themselves by reading about china, knowing in advance of the historical places as well as the modernization of the hotels, airport and planes, roads and shopping. Each city has its own night life, sights and sounds. A trip should not just be confined to the major cities, but stops to a smaller city may give the traveler an insight to the other part of china. I like to meet people who are not caught up in the hustle and bustle of the large city.

I have attached a photo of holding a panda bear, so far, everyone who has seen the picture are “green with envy”.

Barry

Dear Karen

Thank you for everything. We had a wonderful trip through China and had had a very good time indeed. It was very nice meeting you in Guilin at your main office and talk to you personally for the fist time (face to face). You did a very good job organising the whole trip. The guides were always there on time, the drivers were all driving safely and the hotels were always ready with 1 twin and 1 king size rooms. If there were any delays in the flight schedules you were always aware of it and tried your best to solve the problem.

I really appreciated your organisation and help.Working as a travel agent myself years ago I do know what it means . Here i would like to give my comments in details.

The cooking  class was just such a wonderful 'Wow' experience with only about 11 people and a very nice special location. If there will be hundreds ..... like  on the cruise - it won't be so nice anymore. Same thing for the Panda keeper program, because it was only us & this gives you the feeling that it is really special ....... The hiking on the Great  Wall is great again, because you get to see the wall for a long time and with a very nice view ...... If there would be thousands of tourists again, it will be not the same anymore. We could definitely enjoy the Great Wall in a very peaceful and natural environment. The paper cutting as such was not really so impressed.... however it was very nice to talk to the friendly lady, asking her about her life in the hutongs and get to feel the real life - This was the 'Wow'-effect in this attraction to be able to get in touch with the local families living in the hutongs. If we have to rate these attractions - I would say 'Cooking Class' &  'Hiking on the Great Wall' were the best!!

We had two very outstanding tour guides. Lola in Guilin & Sandra in Beijing. The whole family took Lola right in their hearts. She was very flexible and explained a lot of things to us. The two girls also had a very good time with her .... probably because she was closest to them in age and they were talking together and exchanging thoughts and experiences like friends. Sandra was as well very flexible and had a broad knowledge about all the sights we visited and gave us always very good information about the places we were visiting but also general information which was very usefull in Beijing.

The hotels we enjoyed most were the Hotel Renaissance in Shanghai and the hotel Crown Plaza in Beijing. Both of them were western 5 star hotels with very comfortable beds, good service and a broad variety of western and eastern dishes at the breakfast buffet. The location of the Crown Plaza hotel was excellent and the Swimming Pool of the hotel Renaissance had an amazing view over the old city of Shanghai. About the most outstanding meal - it was definitely the self prepared dinner during our 'Cooking Class' because the whole thing was fun,  really 'Wow' and we definitely had a very good time and all the meals were of course super fresh and very delicious!!!

Almost everything we did was not to be missed for us but this is very individual ..... If you like cooking the 'Cooking Class' is not to be missed .... if you like hiking the 'Hiking on the Great Wall is not to be missed ..... Hopefully we will have another opportunity to travel to China. As it is such a huge country with a long and diverse histiory.

Best wishes,
Esther

Dear Virginia

Thank you for your service and the bookings you made for us. I have no hesitation in recommending your service to anyone travelling to China.

As you know we (my wife and I) had a 25 day trip to China. China Highlights made a number of resrvations for us including the Yangtse Cruise and several domestic flights. No where did we have any trouble. Everything went smoothly despite the fact that we travelled on our own without a permament guide. We only had local guides in some places

The highlights of our trip were Guilin and Lijiang. The old city of Lijiang and Shue are just breathtakingly beautiful with streams flowing through the old cities and flowers adorning the side streets. The little shops sellings arts and crafts and a host of restaurants with out-door seating added to the beauty of the place.

Guilin is very beautiful especially at night. It was rather relaxing to spend the evenings in the pedestrian mall behind the Sheraton Hotel. The day trip on the river Li in a small personal boat was well worth the time.

We would have liked to spend an extra day in Dali and visit the mountains. Perhaps we will do so next time.

The Stone Forest near Kunming is majestic and awe inspiring. It is worth spending a week doing the Lijiang-Dali- Kunming circuit.

Beijing is an impressive city and the Terracota warriors near Xian are well worth the trip.

We will send you pictures of our trip once we have sorted them out.

Lastly, people every where in China were friendly and easy to talk to. The air services were efficient, on time and comfortable. The food varies a lot and depends on one's taste. We like the Shechuan cuisine.

Thanks again.

Yas and Hemu

Dear Sunny,

The tour was indeed a wonderful autumn program for us. My wife & I would extend our thanks for your kind assistance & services.

The most memorable attraction was Huangshan scenic area. All guides were excellent (knowledge & attitude), but two of them to be particularly mentioned: Doris, Mei Li  (Huangshan) > very kind, attentive, helpful.Rainy, Liu Lei (Shangshai) > pleasant communication

Hendra Gany - Indonesia

Hi Sunny,

I felt the most memorable attraction was the village of Hongcun. I really enjoyed the Yellow Mountain area. The others on the trip most enjoyed the Terra Cotta warriors and biking on the city walls of Xi'an.

The most outstanding guide was Christina in Xi'an. She really knew what to do and when. Everything went completely seamless with her, and she obviously adjusted things when we understood what we wanted. Also, she did the little things right, like including us when ordering food and changing the schedule to suit our needs and desires.

The food was fantastic. The places Christina took us to in Xi'an were great. We liked the food in Huangshan area as well (the food on the mountain wasn't great, but my understanding is we went to the best restaurant on the mountain). The food in Hangzhou was OK, and I think it could have been better. 

The biking on Xi'an walls. The villages near Huangshan (Hongcun and Xidi). Terra Cotta warriors. Some of the food was really, really good, too. The acrobats in Shanghai were amazing (we did the show ERA)

I'd really recommend Yellow Mountain and the area. It was what I think people expect from China, but don't find in the big cities. Also, taking the time to hit the sites in Xi'an beyond the Terra Cotta Warriors.

We had a fantastic trip and greatly appreciate all of the help from you and the guides at China Highlights. I don't think the trip would have been possible if you wouldn't have helped coordinate major sections of it.

Thanks!

Jeff

Hi Sunny,

Anna in Xi'an. She was very knowledgeable and her English was very good. We also liked our guide at the Panda Research Center very much.  The panda keeper experience was incredible.

The hotels and meals were all very satisfactory. Our favorite hotel was the Bell Tower hotel in Xi'an and the best lunch was on Thursday 10/2 after visiting the Terra cotta Warriors.

Also a suggestion-Add a space on your reservation form for personal information, so that your clients can provide their airline frequent flyer program numbers. For instance, all 3 airlines for this trip were members of the Star Alliance group which would accept our Delta FF program number.

It's easy to include FF numbers when the airline reservations are booked, but more difficult to get them added into the record after the fact.

Best regards,

Liz Dodge

Dear Sunny,

My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed our stay in China. It was very educational to me as I had a different (less positive) pre-conception of waht I was going to see. The local food was very good.

The most memorable attraction I visited was The Great Wall and the Terra-Cotta Warriors. I also enjoyed the bicycle ride on the City wall in Xian.

The most outstanding tour guide is Jerry Xu in Beijing. Right attitude, knowledge of the places, very accommodating.

Thanks!

Sachidulal Dhar

Dear Sunny,

We arrived yesterday after an amazing trip to China, a fantastic experience and we definitely want to see more of China next year !

The services rendered by your company exceeded our expectations. Looking back on our trip, the key word we used almost daily was AMAZING

The changes in China during the last 10 years have reformed the country in such a way that it is unrecognizable.

All the perceptions like; ultra low wages, heavily polluted cities, uneducated masses, dirt and grime... seem to be just that, because it looks like China is in a process of rapid change.

Here are my general comments about different aspects:

1.The most memorable attractions were without any doubt, the Terracotta Warriors, The Great Wall and the Forbidden City.

2.Difficult to give a judgment about our 2 guides since they were both good but very different.<>Jin Ling - Tina, was very dedicated, had an in depth knowledge of all the historic facts and explained in great detail our surroundings, while we were on the move to different locations
Li Pei - Penny, was very spontaneous, knew her subjects and was clearly very passionate about her job.

3.The hotels and meals were good with the Peninsula as the absolute ultimate in terms of service and style. A world class hotel and a bit more is the qualification that describes the hotel with full justification and I have been in hundreds of hotels during my 38 years airline career.The room at the Sofitel could have been a bit bigger, was clearly a one person room with a king size bed. The room at the Harbour Plaza hotel was the least impressive. It was very small and a bit dated. But I guess it's because it is a 4 star.Allrestaurants in the program were quite authentic with good quality meals, the Duck dinner ( thank you again ) was a highlight indeed.

On various occasions we experienced the wow factor; at Tiananmen Square regarding the massive crowds and overwhelming size of the facilities, the virtual lack of traffic noise due to the electrical mopeds and buses, the crowds on Saturday morning engaged in ball room dancing, Tai Chi, singing etc with a level of enthusiasm that borders on the unbelievable and the fine art of inside painting in miniature glass bottles.

Yes, we can and will recommend your organization to friends and colleagues since you delivered consistent quality throughout the trip. ( with the exception of one small mishap but that was corrected very quickly )

The quality of your guides and drivers was of a very high quality, with their local knowledge which makes a difference.

The bike ride on the City walls of Xian was something I will never forget while the cultural show ( with Chinese musical instruments and song and dance ) on our the last evening in Xi'an, is highly recommended. Unfortunately, we did not enjoy the Kung Fu show at the Red Theatre as much. Maybe, one should be given a choice, when it comes to these shows.

We will go through our pictures and will forward you some.

Ron and Rosemary

Hi Tina !

Our visit to China was a memorable one.  I thank you for that.  We were all satisfied with your service and the tour guides you gave were all good.  I have recommended you to my friends in fact i have a friend who will go on tour with a big group of family . maybe around 20-30 persons.  mayber thisnext April 2010 .  I promised her I will give her your company's name and email address and your name too. 

It was my first time to try booking to agency direct china. I was bragging about your company when I came home since most of my friends and my dads friends said booking to china directly cannot be trust and now I prove them wrong.  Just a comment on China in general especially in our experience in Beijing, In Tianamen Square the public toilet was really horrible. So far that was our bad experience in Beijing. As for the 2 hotels, Sofitel was excellent in Shanghai. service and staff were good.  As for Marriot Courtyard in Beijing, it was good except for 1 staff in the restaurant were we had our breakfast, she was impolite and harass when serving.  I complained to 1 of the staff in the restaurant and I also gave her name in the reception in the lobby.  She was good to Americans and Europeans and arrogant to us.  Do hope the hotel warned her of her bad attitiude.  As for the food, the best was the Peking duck.  Everything so far was okay.  The tour gudes were all good.  Pan in Shang hai was good.  He can answer all our questions and he was patient to my parents who are old especially they are slow in walking.  As for Zho in Yichang he was also good also patient  and respectful.  He did all his best to help us out with 1 luggage of our left in Shanghai.  Cobing in Beijing gave us excellent service.  He knows everything and he is like our son who could cheer us up specially my dad and mom.  He is very patient and gave us all comfort he could give . Cobing is the best guide .  We just missed him on our last day.

We are assigned to another guide since he was told to do something that day. It was another guide who brought us to the airport .  Cobing adviced us the afternoon on our last tour to Beijing in the way to the hotel.  We understand the situation but comparison to the guide the next day was a big difference. Just an advice to your agency, Guide should  be the same all the way until tour ends.  Overall I and my family are happy and very satisfied with your agency.  Again I thank you Tina!  As for you Tina , I salute you on the way you organize tours and your service  especially.  Overall it was Wow expereince in  China especilly booking to your agency.. I will give the tracking code too my friends and would very much be interested on a 5% or maybe more discount.  Do hope to here from me in our future trip to China and my recommendations to my friends since I have proven them wrong in generalizing China agents not reliable. 

Thank you! 

 sicerely Elaine Ong

Hi Delia,

Hope you are well.  Sorry for the delay in emailing you.  We've been very busy since we got back to England with work and visiting family.

We've attached a few photos of our tours for you, including the three of us in your office!

We both wanted to thank you for all your help in organising our tour guides whilst in China - our holiday would not have been the amazing experience it was without your help, you has been really helpful organized tours for us. She has been amazing throughout our holiday in China and has really made it a fantastic holiday! We couldn't have done it without her help. Very professional and friendly!
and it was lovely to meet you in person.

The Li River Cruise was fantastic!Food was Ok.But not great. And the Longji Terraced Field is amazing views!Fantastic.Great food and good selection/variety.Our guide is very friendly,funny,entertaining.

Hope you like the photos!

Take care,

Barry and Rebecca Ptak