Released on: October 29, 2008, 12:25 am

Press Release Author: Eric with China Connection Tours

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Press Release Summary: Many friends around me ask more and more about planning
private tours to China. They become to discard group tours with their belt-bags
blowing-up. They want to arrange their own tour to meet their specific interests and
personal requirements. More importantly, they like things to go flexibly and
privately. They hope money and time spent is of great value that definitely cannot
be avoided in group tours. The experience this article tells may reveal the truth of
a private tour.

Press Release Body: Our Wonderful Private Vacation in China

In the year of 2006, we decided to plan a private tour to China. We wanted to cruise
the Yangtze River before the water level was finally raised. If we were going that
far we also wanted to see places we'd heard so much about like Beijing and Shanghai.
We didn't feel confident about traveling independently in a country where we could
not read, much less speak the language. Previous experience of group travel had been
unsatisfactory - no choice of flights from the UK, set hotels, no flexibility in
places visited and the need to stick with the group at all times.

A search on the internet found sample trips offered by a China tour operator that is
based in Xian. An initial query to them and they immediately confirmed that the trip
could be tailored to our dates and flights and offered a choice of hotel standards.
We shared with them our personal interests and specific requirements - of course all
were met without any problem, then we booked without hesitation. However, in the
last minute, a family crisis occurred and meant a change to our schedule, but which
was coordinated at very short notice. Had we booked with a group tour, we would have
missed our holiday. The private tour operator pulled out the stops and reorganized
the trip.

Visas were surprisingly easy to obtain. The hardest part was getting to the Chinese
Embassy in the UK who needed our passports for three days; luckily the Embassy in
The Netherlands (where my husband worked) offered a 'while you wait' service.

Our tour took us to Xian, the Yangtze River, Guilin, Shanghai, Beijing and Hong
Kong. At every place we were met by an English-speaking guide, who ensured that
hotel check-ins etc went smoothly and conducted our local tours. All our guides were
knowledgeable and enthusiastic. Each demonstrated a pride in China, her people and
its culture. Although local sightseeing was well planned it was also flexible - we
could take more or less time at the various locations, miss out or add in
attractions as we desired - no having to wait for stragglers, hang around venues we
had little interest in or rush through those we found fascinating.

The tour included lunches based on regional dishes. We were constantly amazed at the
range of dishes presented. We enjoy Chinese cooking - the lunches encouraged us to
try dishes that we would not have ordered at home. Our expertise with chopsticks
improved considerably, although each venue also offered Western cutlery. Evening
meals were left to our own choice - again we mostly ate Chinese food - well priced
and delicious.

Hotels throughout were of a good standard; well placed especially in Beijing and
Shanghai where we were within walking distance of the main attractions.

Beijing: this was our favorite of all the places we visited. The Hotel International
was in walking distance of Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. We had a very
enjoyable day exploring these with Grace, our guide. In the evening we enjoyed
window shopping in the malls and side streets nearby - astonished at the range and
variety of goods on offer. There was an excellent choice of reasonably-priced
restaurants where we astonished the locals with our skill with chopsticks. We also
enjoyed the Chinese wine -Great Wall, red, 1997 is especially good! Grace arranged a
visit to the Hutong area where we had the opportunity to take a rickshaw ride and
visit a family home. The local guide helped me to buy a pair of Chinese shoes for
Tai Chi in one of the small craft shops. The Peking Duck dinner included in the tour
was superb. Following the visit to the Great Wall we enjoyed yet another wonderful
meal at the Cloisonne factory and stocked up on presents for the folks at home.

Xian: the main reason for visiting Xian is the Terracotta Army. However Xian itself
was a most interesting walled city with several ancient buildings and excellent
shopping. It was very easy to get around. The Xian dumpling dinner was a gastronomic
experience which we will remember for the rest of our lives! The accompanying show
was also most enjoyable.

Wuhan: After a short visit to a Buddhist temple we boarded Princess Elaine for our
Yangtze River Cruise.

Yangtse River Cruise: we upgraded to a suite on the Princess Elaine, which provided
more room. Initially the food on the boat was good, buffet style offering a wide
choice of Chinese dishes. However the food became more Western towards the end of
the cruise; we were disappointed to be offered burgers, pizza and fried chicken with
the ubiquitous French fries. The scenery through the Gorges was everything that we
had expected. The tours were interesting and we now have a greater insight into the
reasons behind the Three Gorger Project. Fred, the narrator, provided excellent
commentary on the gorges, providing lots of interesting details. The tours provided
great contrasts between the people living on the streams running into the Yangtze
and those relocated into large cities such as Wan Zhou. At times during the tour we
felt a bit overwhelmed at the concept of a 'small' city having a greater population
than the whole of Scotland.

Chonqing: our tour was scheduled to visit the General Stillwell Museum; however the
local guide felt that this would be of little interest to non-Americans. He
suggested that instead we visited a local park. This proved to be a good exchange.
The park had wonderful views of the city and river and housed a wonderful exhibition
explaining the impact of the Dam Project on the local communities. We visited the
zoo to see the panda bears. Lunch was exceptionally good!

Guilin: the Waterfall Hotel was probably the best on the tour. We were amazed at the
local landscape of a thousand hills as we cruised the river. Lunch today was cooked
on the back of the boat using some produces supplied by the local fisherman on
bamboo rafts as we traveled.

Shanghai: we stayed at the famous Peace Hotel. Although excellently positioned the
hotel was lacking in atmosphere and service, obviously still trading on former
glories. In contrast to other Chinese cities visited, Shanghai was more Western in
outlook and therefore less enjoyable. We disliked the constant harassment by those
selling goods and services. We had the opportunity to attend a display by Chinese
acrobats, which we thoroughly enjoyed.

Hong Kong: another city with a Western flavor. We stayed in Kowloon. The hotel was
excellently placed and of a high standard overlooking Hong Kong island, however we
were hassled by Indian peddlers every time we stepped out of the hotel. Kowloon is
definitely over- hyped. Hong Kong Island itself was a pleasurable experience. We
spent our free day on the local trams, exploring the shopping areas and the Peak.
The local markets offered a range of goods for last-minute gifts.

Overall we thoroughly enjoyed our Chinese trip and hope to visit again in the
future. We were impressed by the cleanliness of the country, the wealth of culture
and the courtesy of its people.


Web Site: http://www.china-tour.cn

Contact Details: Tel: (800) 320 9088 (for US & Canada area, 7 X 24 service)
+86 (29) 8765 0440 (local number, 7 X 24 service)
+86 (29) 8765 0440 (9:00am to 7:00pm)
Fax: +86 (29) 8526 2670
Email: info@china-tour.cn
Website: www.china-tour.cn