An Unforgettable Experience in China

My wife and I spent 37 days touring China during May - June 2007, with the help of China Odyssey Tours. We knew that we wanted a private tour, so that we could see what we wanted on our schedule, not what some tour company thought we wanted to see, and we did not want to be herded like cattle as so often happens on other tours. China Odyssey came through for us on all counts and provided a thoroughly enjoyable tour. The more than 2700 photos that we took on the trip reinforce the special memories of our vacation.

Our 37 day journey covered the cities of Beijing, Xi'an, Lhasa, Chengdu, Chongqing, cruising down the Yangtze, Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Guilin, Yangshuo, Dali, Lijiang, Shangri-la and Hong Kong. Each city was different and had unique sites, the food was delicious but different in each place, seeing the minority people and interacting with them was a special treat. There is so much to see and so little time; we wish that we could have spent longer in China. We traveled within China by airplane, fast high speed modern train, regular train, subway, taxi, cruise boat and on the Yangtze, standard cruise boat on the Li River, harbor ferry in Hong Kong, sampans, rickshaw, city bus, private car, golf cart, cable car and of course on foot.

We started in Beijing where we met our first guide, a guitar playing aspiring country singing star, who was our guide for 5 days. He provided an excellent tour of many sites including the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Summer Palace, and the Temple of Heaven and set the benchmark from which we judged all of the other guides that we would encounter. One of our initial concerns was if there would be a guide to meet us at each new city and how would we recognize them. Upon arrival at each city there was always a smiling guide eager to show us their city, even when the plane arrived several hours late. Traveling alone on public transport, and not being able to speak Chinese, was never a problem.

Some of the more memorable sites were the Great Wall, so many stairs to climb; the Ding Tomb Sacred Road was very interesting and previously unknown to us; of course the Terra Cotta Warriors in Xi'an, but also the Great Mosque and the history surrounding it; Potala Palace was breathtaking and not just because of the altitude; petting the Giant Pandas at the Giant Panda Breeding Research Base in Chengdu was very special; the Yangtze Cruise will long be remembered as will the changes brought about by the Three Gorges Dam; the gardens in Suzhou and Hangzhou are to be envied for their beauty; meeting some Yao women while climbing up the mountains in the rain in Longsheng Autonomous County outside of Guilin was a unforgettable experience; the mountains that ring Guilin seem to spring up out of the ground like dragon teeth; the spectacular beauty of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain outside of Lijiang is unspoiled by man; the contrast of a modern vibrant Hong Kong now Chinese but with a British influence.

We started the planning of our trip with the standard tour that China Odyssey Tours offers and modified it to suit our desires; adding some other sites and deleting some stops. In many cases we lengthened the time in a city so as to spend more time at each vista to get a more in depth understanding and appreciation for the culture. With Wanda as our tour coordinator it was easy to tailor the trip to exactly what we wanted and we able to plan the perfect vacation. She made many helpful suggestions before we settled on the final itinerary and her thoughtfulness extended to calling and checking on us while we were in China on tour. Wanda was able to answer all of our questions before we left home and resolved the few minor problems that we encountered along our journey. If we had to do it again we would be happy to utilize China Odyssey and Wanda to plan another wonderful tour.

Wayne & Linda from Virginia, USA
Dec. 10, 2007