I just wanted to write and thank you very much for a wonderful trip to Beijing. Jill Smith and I had a truly memorable time seeing some of the sights and we would like to thank you for organising the whole holiday so well. Please also pass on our thanks to our guide, Richard and driver who were so accommodating with our schedule and helped us to make the most of the short time we had.

  Thank you so much for your Xmas card I received just before we are leaving the country. We return to Switzerland, my husband closed the project he has been working for over the last 16 months. We will have fond memories of our journey here, too short to our idea, but maybe 1 day we will be back ...... Anyway, Xian has been 1 of the most extraordinary experiences, and I would certainly come back for another visit. Have a merry merry "last"Xmas of this century, and hope the next millennium will bring you all you desire.

  I had a wonderful time in China! And the tours I had through you helped make it that way. I really appreciate your help so much. The tour guide I had in Xian (Ling?) was very nice, knowledgable, and spoke English well. She was a bit immature and a little disorganized, but those were small things. I felt that she pressured me a bit to buy things at the tourist spots, and that made me feel less that she was looking out for me. I heard a similar complaint from other tourists about their tour guides. There will be more trust in the tour guide if nothing is said about making purchases unless the guide is asked for advice. - The dumpling dinner was great and I enjoyed the lunches I had. Our tour guide in Beijing was absolutely super! (She said her name was Lee/Li - I dont know the spelling) She was obviously experienced, mature, and very professional. Nothing was ever said to encourage us to buy anything, and she was great about getting us places before the biggest crowds hit. She was always very courteous and upbeat, and her English was good. I would recommend her very highly to anyone. I liked her a great deal as a person and respected her professionalism and know-how. The Peking duck dinner was great.
Both tours went smoothly without any problems and all of my flights went well. In Guilin, I immediately went to Yangshuo and stayed there the whole time in a hotel/farmhouse about 8km outside Yangshuo. (I wanted to get away from cities for a while.) The area was very beautiful and a girl at the hotel was extremely helpful and acted as my tour guide for most of the time.
And again, I appreciate all the help that you gave me. I sent you so many emails and questions and you were just so helpful and patient. Please feel free to use me as a reference if you have any fretting customers (like me!) in the future.

  Tibettrip,

We had an excellent trip to China! Thank you for all your help in putting it together. We enjoyed Hong Kong, and Guilin, and the 3 Gorges, and Beijing, and Shanghai, and Hong Kong again! Our air tickets were waiting for us in Hong Kong, just as you said. Everywhere we went we were met by guides who looked after us very well. Our first guide, Christina, in Guilin was especially good. And you arranged for the guide in Shanghai to meet us earlier than scheduled and at the other airport, in response to our phone call - thank you, we were impressed. And the conference in Beijing, which was the central purpose of the trip, was worthwhile. Some people in the UK think it is risky to use a travel agent in China who is not "known" except over the Internet. We felt confident that you would not let us down, and that has proved to be the case. Perhaps it would help your credibility to give more prominence to being part of Xian Foreign Languages University?

  Dear Sally,

We enjoyed the itinerary you set up for us through Xian, Kunming, Lijiang, Xishuanbanna, Kunming and Guilin. Airline schedule, pickup on arrival, send-offs were all very timely. The weather was amazingly good except for the exceptional heat in Guilin.
Like D. Clarke, we were not happy with our tour guide in Guilin. One suggestion is that there should be more items clearly included for Guilin--for example, dinner upon arrival, seeing a minority dance show afterwards, watching the fisherman using coumararon to fish, etc. Our guide took us to these places but brought us first to a restaurant far too exorbitant--we think he is in with the restaurant. We did not mind the price of the minority dance show and short fishing expedition (U.S. $20) but after the restaurant experience, we were quite distressed. He was afraid we would turn in a major complaint on him. We are disinclined to do that as he may loose a months pay. However, we believe that it is probably the normal practice of the Guilin guides to soak their tourists. Sorry to say this but this dishonest feature was a bad experience.
Jintai Hotel in Kunming was not very clean--the bedspread had all sorts of stains including blood. We took it off and never used it. When our guide asked about the hotel, we told him about it but asked him not to bother to complain. He, nevertheless, told the hotel. Then they changed our slippers, towels, soap, everytime we stepped out of the room--that seemed a bit wasteful. Overall, it was good trip. The hotel in Xian was very good. Thanks a lot.
There was another incident--in Lijang we were supposed to go to a Naxi tribal dance after dinner. The guide told us that reservations had been made the day before. When we arrived, there were no tickets for us. Rather, she had simply called her Naxi friends the day before, alerting them to our arrival. As a result we were given wooden stools in the narrow aisle between the tables. We were very uncomfortable and had a difficult time seeing. After the show we were told to walk back to the hotel on our own or call a taxi as she had to go to a meeting at her tourist agency. Our guide was knowledgeable and prided herself as the only Naxi lady to have gone to college and spoke English. However, her last act blew us away. I suppose that coming from the States we expect everything to be on the up and up. I am sorry to report this incident but I believe international standards are what China tourism is trying to achieve. However, I do believe that you had warned us that in the smaller regions, things are still not up to par. Thank you again for your attention and your endeavor to satisfy your clients.

  "Thanks very much for arranging a very good tour indeed. We have all liked it very much and it has been an unforgettable experience. The guides were always ready at the airport to pick us up and the hotels were a good choice. I have 2 suggestions:
- The full day in Xian was a very busy programme with 4 items. Maybe 2 or 3 visits would be enough for 1 day.
- The day in Guilin (when visiting elephant hill, etc.) was not really special. The sites were very touristic we thought. With hind-sight we would have prefered to have had an additional free half day in Yangshuo and then transfer directly to the airport to fligh to Chongqing.
But again, we are very happy with the tour you have provided and we really enjoyed it. I will certaily recommend any people I know that will travel to China, to use your organisation. Also if I will plan any travel in the future, I will certainly contact you again!"