Firstly, our trip was fantastic.
Our Review:
The lead-up for us going on holidays, when booking, was excellent.
Our guides were great; very knowledgeable, helpful, & patient, & went out of their way to provide extras, e.g. shows, lunches, dinners, pedicures, that weren’t on the tour itinerary. They also provided us with a good history lesson about China. Our drivers were also very good.
Beijing:
Our guide was Suzy & the places that we visited were brilliant:
• Tiananmen Square & through the Forbidden City.
• Temple of Heaven (added lunch).
• The sensational Mutianyu area of the Great Wall with chairlift, & toboggan (added lunch).
• The Confucius Temple & Imperial College museum were terrific.
• Wudaoying Hutong was great.
• The Summer Palace was massive & very impressive.
• Birds Nest & Water Cube (2008 Summer Olympics).
• Sanuanli market.
Our guide, Suzy, added great extras:
• Show, ‘Golden Mask Dynasty’, at Beijing OCT Theatre.
• The Circus World of Beijing ChaoYang Theatre for the Acrobatic show.
• Shopping centre.
The bullet train from Beijing to Xi’an was great.
Xi’an:
Our guide was Sally & the places that we visited were great:
• The Terracotta Warriors & Horses are something to see.
• The Xi’an City Wall is in fantastic condition.
• We went to the Muslim Street:
o Great Mosque;
o Bazaar.
• Bell Tower & Drum Tower Square (added lunch).
• Shaanxi History Museum.
• Big Wild Goose Pagoda.
• Small Goose Pagoda.
Our guide, Sally, added great extras:
• Dumpling Dinner & Tang Dynasty Show.
• Reflexologist & a massage (followed by lunch).
The flight from Xi’an to Shanghai was excellent.
Shanghai:
Our guides were Hugo, & Jacky, & the places that we visited were terrific:
• The Bund.
• Shanghai History Museum.
• Yuyuan Gardens.
• Nanjing Road.
• Shanghai Bazaar.
• French Concession.
• Xin Tian Di (New Spot).
• Drove to Suzhou:
o Master of the Nets garden.
• Tong Li water town (Shanghai Venice):
o Walked around the canals.