Dear Ruby,
We had a phenomenal China trip. The tour exceeded all of our expectations. Our tour guide, Juliet Yu, was waiting for us on the platform when we arrived so we had no worries about trying to find her in a crowd of people. She is, perhaps, the best guide I've had since coming to Asia. She possessed extensive knowledge and was able to provide an incredible amount of detail not only about the places we visited but about the country and history. We learned more in the four days than we had in the previous eight months of living here in China. We also appreciated NOT being taken to many different factories and shops. As we live here, we can access most of those in Guangzhou. She selected a factory that was unique to the north and made sure we were willing to go as we had previous expressed our unwillingness to be taken to places like that. She made an excellent decision as we found the cloisonne factory to be fascinating. We also appreciate her honesty when it came to pricing. Many of our group were shoppers and she was very helpful in giving fair price ranges. It made our shopping experiences all the more enjoyable.
The sights we visited were spectacular. It was wonderful having a chance to see historical Chinese places as so many of them have been destroyed here in the south. The Great Wall at Mutianyu was just as it is pictured in books and movies. It's truly an awe-inspiring place.
The hotel we stayed in was first rate. The rooms were spacious, clean, well-lit, and very, very comfortable. The breakfast buffet was delicious. The vast array of food selections--both Chinese and Western--ensured that everyone in our group was able to eat something. The meals included on the tour were great. There was so much food, it was impossible to eat it all. There was also an excellent mix of dishes so we were able to try a variety of traditional foods. One recommendation I would make about the food is for the a la carte meal. We had a great deal of difficulty choosing foods and some of the foods were not what we had expected. For us, it would have been easier had the meal been pre-selected. We ended up ordering far too much food and then wasting it. But, the food was still very delicious.
All in all, everyone in our group was thrilled with the tour. The only complaints we had were regarding the crush of people at a couple of the sights and that certainly wasn't anything you could control and the location of the hotel. For us, we would have prefered a hotel a little closer to the subway station. However, as I said, this is a minor issue. We had no real trouble getting around, it's just something you might want to consider for future tours. Some groups might not have found it to be a concern. But, as I said, that is a very minor, minor issue.
Overall, we would rate our tour to be excellent. I'd give it five stars. We were kept informed about any changes and given reasons for them. In many cases, changes were discussed before being made. Our guide spoke excellent English and possessed a vast amount of knowledge. As teachers, we had a tendency to ask many questions and she was able to answer most of them. the food was first class as was the hotel. The tour made the best use of our time in Beijing. We were able to see many different sight within a short period of time. I would definitely recommend ChinaTour360 to other people.
Sincerely,
Marilyn Robbins
We had a phenomenal China trip. The tour exceeded all of our expectations. Our tour guide, Juliet Yu, was waiting for us on the platform when we arrived so we had no worries about trying to find her in a crowd of people. She is, perhaps, the best guide I've had since coming to Asia. She possessed extensive knowledge and was able to provide an incredible amount of detail not only about the places we visited but about the country and history. We learned more in the four days than we had in the previous eight months of living here in China. We also appreciated NOT being taken to many different factories and shops. As we live here, we can access most of those in Guangzhou. She selected a factory that was unique to the north and made sure we were willing to go as we had previous expressed our unwillingness to be taken to places like that. She made an excellent decision as we found the cloisonne factory to be fascinating. We also appreciate her honesty when it came to pricing. Many of our group were shoppers and she was very helpful in giving fair price ranges. It made our shopping experiences all the more enjoyable.
The sights we visited were spectacular. It was wonderful having a chance to see historical Chinese places as so many of them have been destroyed here in the south. The Great Wall at Mutianyu was just as it is pictured in books and movies. It's truly an awe-inspiring place.
The hotel we stayed in was first rate. The rooms were spacious, clean, well-lit, and very, very comfortable. The breakfast buffet was delicious. The vast array of food selections--both Chinese and Western--ensured that everyone in our group was able to eat something. The meals included on the tour were great. There was so much food, it was impossible to eat it all. There was also an excellent mix of dishes so we were able to try a variety of traditional foods. One recommendation I would make about the food is for the a la carte meal. We had a great deal of difficulty choosing foods and some of the foods were not what we had expected. For us, it would have been easier had the meal been pre-selected. We ended up ordering far too much food and then wasting it. But, the food was still very delicious.
All in all, everyone in our group was thrilled with the tour. The only complaints we had were regarding the crush of people at a couple of the sights and that certainly wasn't anything you could control and the location of the hotel. For us, we would have prefered a hotel a little closer to the subway station. However, as I said, this is a minor issue. We had no real trouble getting around, it's just something you might want to consider for future tours. Some groups might not have found it to be a concern. But, as I said, that is a very minor, minor issue.
Overall, we would rate our tour to be excellent. I'd give it five stars. We were kept informed about any changes and given reasons for them. In many cases, changes were discussed before being made. Our guide spoke excellent English and possessed a vast amount of knowledge. As teachers, we had a tendency to ask many questions and she was able to answer most of them. the food was first class as was the hotel. The tour made the best use of our time in Beijing. We were able to see many different sight within a short period of time. I would definitely recommend ChinaTour360 to other people.
Sincerely,
Marilyn Robbins
- Name: 14 guests headed by Ms. Marilyn Robbins
- From: CA&NZ
- ltinerary: 4-Day Beijing trip
- Date: 12/13/2006
