*15 Days Classic Yangtze Cruise

Betty

Yangtze Cruise is very enjoyable.

Rachel and Brian

Just came back our home. Everthing was first class. Thank you all.

Isabella and Andrea

We liked the meal in a Beijing hutong house. It was summer when pomegrantes were in full blossom. And the kids were giggling and chasing each other in the courtyard. I loved the stir-fried aubergine. Their hand made dumplings were the best ever I've had in my life!

Traveler

I liked the dumpling in Hutong too. And the dishes are very authentic.

Tanya

Here is a feedback from our clients:

Tour name: 17 Day Yangtze Cruise tour
Passengers Name: MR THOMAS GILCHRIST and MRS JEANETTE GILCHRIST from UK
Travel dates: 18 April to 2 May 2009


Dear Sir or Madam:

We have had a superb holiday which we attribute largely to China Holidays' planning, preparation and management – well done.
In particular we want to thank Jenny Chen who was patience personified helping with all our queries and providing what proved to be very useful advice and help.

Sincerely yours,

Tom


Details

Beijing Section:
Hotel: Particularly impressed with the executive breakfast room recommended by guide on 16 floor which provided marvellous views over Beijing.

Day Tours: All the tours were excellent except for the Ming Tombs tour which was a little disappointing as the tombs lacked focus and interest. Can the authorities not come up with something better than a series of red wooden boxes as the centre piece?
Also enjoyed the Kung Fu show

Tour Guide: Bat, an exceptionally focused and well organised guide who made clear from the offset that our enjoyment was his objective and who then fulfilled his objective. In retrospect he stands out as the best of all our guides.

Meals: All the meals were excellent, enhanced by the thoughtful way the guide had arranged each venue to give us a very varied experience of Chinese cuisine.

Xi'an Section:
Hotel: Ana Grand Castle, excellent facilities but the view from the hotel window which was at the rear of the building was disappointing as it was overlooking an empty building site.

Day Tours: Terracotta warriors tour was excellent and the undoubted highlight of this part of the holiday. We also enjoyed the Huaging Hot Springs – particularly as in retrospect it proved to be one of the unique elements of the whole tours.

It would be helpful if the number of temple or mosque visits could be managed at an overall level to ensure that tourists only see the best. Once we had seen one temple/ mosque there was little to be gained from seeing more.

Tour Guide: Pong,a pleasant relaxed guide – but perhaps too relaxed. Would benefit from a little more interest and drive
Meals: Meals were good. The Dumpling Dinner was too specialist (single topic- too many dumplings in one go for our taste). Similarly the Muslim lunch was too different for our taste. Dinner on first night (after flying from Beijing) not necessary – we were too tired.



Shanghai Section:
Hotel: New Jinjiang Tower, excellent hotel – liked the views from the revolving restaurant on the 41st floor which were magnificent. Skyline amazing. Good choice.

Day Tours: The Yu Garden was an oasis in a very busy city. We enjoyed an hour's visit to the Museum and this was sufficient. Enjoyed Acrobatic show in the evening - a good touch particularly as we were tired and welcomed the sit down entertainment.

Tour Guide: Tom, an interesting guide who used his age and experiences to good effect telling interesting stories of the way China has developed.

Meals: Meals were very good



Victoria Cruise Section:
Cruise: Victoria Katarina, excellent cruise, wonderfully managed boat and crew. We enjoyed the break from the busy sightseeing tours and the crews entertainment was excellent. The highlight of the holiday for us.

Day Tours: It was hard to improve on the everyday 3 Gorge views but the lesser gorge tour was exceptional. The other visits, (the dam and Fengdu) were less impressive and of less interest. The onboard activities were all excellent. Add an optional visit to the 3 Gorge dam generating site to spice up that tour would be more attractive.
Tour Guide: All 5 guides were excellent.

Meals: Meals were all exceptional and were presented and served in a first class manner. Top marks.


Guilin Section:
Hotel: LiJiang Waterfall, well positioned and lovely hotel

Day Tours: The Li Valley cruise was excellent and the highlight of this part of the holiday. Enjoyed the side visits to see a rice farmer preparing and planting his crop and the night time cruise on the Guilin lakes (both arranged by our 2 guides).
Our trip to the top of one of the highest mountains by chair lift was disappointing as the weather was poor so the visibility non existent and the cost was expensive. The guide's advice on this occasion would have been appreciated! I'd like to add seeing a rice farmer managing his crop to the itinery.

Also consider adding the night time cruise on the Guilin lake.

Tour Guide: Pan was an excellent guide - discreet with his very informative interventions when on the cruise and helpful in arranging for us to see the rice farmer. Jenny was also helpful and suggested the night time cruise on the Guilin lake but a little self-centred.


Meals: Meals were all very good . Again we didn't have the dinner on first night (after flying from Chongqing) – we were too tired. I think this meal is not necessary.

Hong Kong Section:
Hotel: Marco Polo Hong Kong, ideally positioned with great facilities. However, we upgraded to rooms with a view over the harbour which may influence our judgement.

In particular we want to thank Jenny Chen who was patience personified helping with all our queries and providing what proved to be very useful advice and help.