This 35 day private tour through China was set up by Martha Fu and her team. The trip was more than unbelievably fantastic and if I could rate it a 10 I would! I had some very specific places I wanted to see that were the typical tourist attractions, but several that I read about that were off the tourist radar and amazing to go to. Martha spent about a year with me to customize every detail of this trip, which I kept adding and deleting. Originally it was set for 58 days so I ended up having to split it in two trips. In fact, I have already setup Part 2 for 2020 to finish what I have started.
Martha was incredible! I have traveled the world and this trip was tops!!! Martha and I discussed the best time to go and obviously avoiding the 70th Anniversary of the Republic of China Holiday week was a great idea due to the crowds, but yet, coming in at the end of this holiday, I was still able to see lots of celebratory flower displays everywhere, which was amazing. Martha helped me with everything so that this trip was smooth and memorable. She responded to my emails within 24 hours and if she was not available Lori or another teammate stepped in to answer all of my questions. This company is unbelievable!
Travelling solo was a concern, but not with this tour company. I felt very safe at all times. Every city I went to – from arriving by train or plane, I was met with an English speaking tour guide and a driver. All my guides (10 in total) spoke English well and were very attentive to my needs.
To give you an idea of the complexity of this tour, which included trains and flights, I thought I would list some of my trip highlights:
* Beijing (Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Summer Place, Mutianyu Great Wall, Hutong Tour, Temple of Heaven)
* Datong (Yungang Grottoes, Shanhua Monastery)
* Pingyao (Hanging Temple of Mount Hengshan, Wooden Pagoda in Ying County, Pingyao Ancient City Wall, Rishengchang Draft Bank, Qiao Family Compound, Shuanglin Monastery)
* Xi’an (Terra-Cotta Warriors, Museum, Small Wild Goose Pagoda, City Wall, Great Mosque)
* Dunhuang (Echoing-Sand Dunes, Crescent Lake, Magao Grottoes)
* Jiayuguan (City Gate, Overhanging Great Wall, Museum (Beginning of the Silk Road))
* Zhangye (Giant Buddha Temple, Danxia Landform (Rainbow Mountains))
* Wuwei (Leitai Tomb of Han Dynasty)
* Lanzhou (Binglingsi Grottoes)
* Chengdu (Wenshu Monastery, Giant Pandas, Wangjang Pavillion Park, Jinli Street)
* Leshan (Giant Buddha)
* Emei Mountain (Wannian Monastery, Baoguo Temple)
* Dazu (Rock Carvings)
* Yangtze River Cruise (Shibaozhai, Qutang Gorge, Wu Gorge, Shennong Stream, Three Gorges Dam)
* Zhangjiajie (Tianmen Mountain, Grand Canyon, Glass Bridge, Hallelujah Mountains (Avatar), Tianzi Mountain, Ten-mile Natural Gallery, Golden Whip Stream)
* Fenghuang (Stilt Houses on Tuojiang River)
* Hangzhou (Feilai Park, West Lake, Tea Plantation)
* Wuzhen Water Town
* Shanghai (Tongli Water Town, Master of the Nests Garden)
I highly recommend China Tours. I’m now very excited to go back to China and finish the rest of my planned trip in 2020! Thanks again for an outstanding tour!