Reviews

A comp0rehensive well organised itinerary. Some very long days interspersed with adequate rst times. Good value for money though one or2 minor issues could be adressed .
The Box meal on arrival at the Holiday Inn Shanghai consistrd of a Subway Sandwich and a Pepsi, highly unmsatisfactory. The Holiday Inn Shanghai was the poorest of the hotels.
The Guides were good giving much insight and detail/

A fabulous tour incorporating all the key elements of China in one tour. It’s an action packed itinerary taking in all the key sites and carefully managed by your national guide, with local guides at each other main location to assist.

We had 24 on this tour group and everyone got on pretty well. Our National guide George took great care of us - he was super organised and his level of English was really impressive. He diligently catered for the various dietary requirements within the group and gave us rich insights into how China is. My last trip to China was in 1992 and the advancement is amazing! Certainly the standard of food and service facilities have improved massively!

There are several early morning starts but all understandable given that we had to cover vast distances using the various transport options - bullet trains, internal flights, cruise boats and we took a ride on the maglev train in Shanghai too! Beijing and Xian were amazing and stepped in history of course but beware that it’s full on with lots of walking as the sites are vast. The Great Wall is spectacular but that is pretty steep so those that are super for can get a challenge!

If would have been good to have a little break or chill day but we used the first day of the Yangtze River cruise to do this. The optional excursions are good - especially the acrobatics show and the night performance in Guilin if the weather permits it - go! We had a mini heatwave whilst we’re were there this March so be prepared and bring summer clothes!! Or buy some at Yangshuo!

Would highly recommend this tour and will definitely go with Wendy Wu Tours again.

Plenty to see in such a large country - this isn't just Beijing, Shanghai and Zian
Bullet trains fast,clean,punctual but no proper consideration for luggage storage,even worse than finding a space in a cabin bin on Easyjet
There is hardly any porterage which is a real pain with the frequent transfers between cities
Have plenty of Chinese currency -Visa and Mastercard pretty useless and Chinese apps unreliable
You won't want to see Chinese food for at least 6 months at home after facing nothing else for 3 weeks
Security oppressive - presented passport more in 3 weeks than in the previous 10 years
Tour manager needs to be really good as no one of note including hotel staff speak any English. I must say our tour manager Mark Wong was absolutely superb
The tourist group in this case worked well together with no problem participants
This was my 2nd time to China and I enjoyed this one much more than 2011
Terracotta warriors still highlight for me!
Good luck with your travels

A truly magical trip inside a magnificent country.
The trip from start, Beijing and finishing in Shanghai we covered vast distances ( quickly I my say) and saw a wonderful array of sights never to be forgotten.
This is ablely managed by Jason our magician of the tour guide , who is then further assisted by local guides you are extremely knowledgeable of their region to help you grasp the current region or historic issues and enhance your enjoyment, which they certainly did. Jason just makes all the various things that need to happen with the group, happen, he does professional behind a extremely well organised iternary and trip.
Well done Wendy Wu

This was a very interesting tour and we covered a huge area and enjoyed a tremendous amount of activities, sites and entertainments. It gave us a real insight into modern China and how impressively it is developing into a super modern country whilst retaining traditional culture and values.
Because China is so vast the tour entailed a lot of travelling which could be tiring, but without which we would not have seen so much.
Special mention must be made of our National guide Jason. He was tremendous; managing a group which included a number of people with mobility issues. Jason was painstaking in ensuring everyone was looked after; nothing was too much trouble for him and he really made the holiday special for all of us. All the local guides were also very good, especially Grace in Shanghai who was lovely.

Very well organised throughout the holiday apart from pick up from airport Not enough information on arriving to Hong Kong Jackie our main tour guide was very professional took meticulous attention on our needs felt very secure and looked after. I couldn’t recommend him more. Sammy in Shanghai wasn’t so good. I kept asking her to walk slower ended up getting lost for half an hour in the pouring rain Lily was absolutely lovely very knowledgeable and Jackie made a wonderful team. Angie was okay but didn’t give that little bit extra unlike Jackie and Lily all the restaurants were excellent very accommodating all the hotels were clean and some were excellent. The hotel in Hong Kong nice hotel, but the rooms were very basic . The guide in Hong Kong was very knowledgeable a very nice man who looked after the two of us perfectly old transport was good from taxis, coaches and airlines no complaints overall an excellent holiday. Very good value for money. I loved the whole experience of China and Hong Kong and I would definitely definitely, recommend Wendy to anyone

We saw the main tourist things in China, such as the wall, pandas and Terracotta warriors and had a relaxing cruise on the Yangtze river with trips from the boat, including some beautiful caves, and had talks on the boat to keep us occupied when cruising.

It was a disadvantage having to leave our hotel in Shanghai at 4.30am, yes, 4.30 am, to get our internal flight to pick up the boat that afternoon. So it was a very full-on tour. Glad I did it, and plenty of photos and good memories including evening shows.

This is not a holiday, it is an interesting, educational, cultural experience!
On 6th April 2024 we became part of” Ivy’s family “of fourteen. Four English, one New Zealander and the rest Australian (4 singles and 5 couples), a great combination. Due to jet lag we decided to fly to Beijing two days before the tour started-good idea.
Very few people had any English at all, even in the hotels. They did use translation app’s, to varying degrees of success. Downloading your own before you get to China is a good idea (wish we had).
Ivy, our national tour guide was with us throughout the 26 days. How she got us all from Beijing to Shanghai via three domestic flights (enormous airports with very tight security), three train journeys (gigantic stations) and all the tours without losing anyone was a mystery to us all. She made us all feel safe in an environment alien to ours. Forests of sky-high, tower blocks as far as you could see, cars, bikes, scooters and people everywhere. You couldn’t read anything or communicate.
When we arrived in a place we were met by a local guide, so had two looking after us most of the time.
Food was ordered for us by the local guides and Ivy depending on the area we were in and any group likes and dislikes of food. All dishes were put on a lazy Susan (always plenty, you won’t starve) for everyone to try. We practised with chopsticks before going- good idea, some restaurants provided full cutlery, some hunted round for forks and one had to give extra little china spoons (normally for soup) only thing they had apart from chopsticks!
On this trip you don’t need a scarf for temples or clothes for sleeping overnight on a train. You need layers as temperatures differ. A cotton cardigan was the most useful item. Thin plastic mac, sunhat, lipsil, sun block, mosquito repellent in some areas and a good pair of trainers.
All the hotels had toilet paper. Just remember to take some with you when out and about as few public loos (which are abundant and free) have paper. Some have paper you collect before going into the cubicle. Look out for disabled toilet or potty toilet or pedestal, otherwise you’re in the squat!
We averaged 12,000 steps a day (ranging from 6,000 to 19,000) at a moderate pace. Not all due to the tour, we preferred to walk round rather than sit with a coffee during free time.
Go on every optional shows/tour they offer, as they were all exceptional experiences!
Goggle and WhatsApp (blocked in China) TV in English if you’re lucky. Free Wi-Fi in most hotels.
Thank you to all the Wendy Wu staff for all your excellent organisation. All the local guides (especially Max and Bell) who introduced us to their home areas. Our very special thanks to Ivy.

This was the holiday of a lifetime and proved to be excellent value. Everything was perfectly planned and managed by Wendy Wu Tours, from booking onwards. The schedule was jam-packed and we were able to see so many different aspects of China and its long history, accompanied by local guides in each main region who put our experiences in context for us, and our national guide who was with us from start to finish and became a valued friend. I was truly sad to leave this wonderful country.
Photos:
Nothing can prepare you for the immensity of the Terracotta Warriors display near Xi'an.
Our evening river cruise in Shanghai was unforgettable.
A peaceful afternoon by the lake at the Summer Palace in Beijing.

For those that are considering the "Glories of China" offering from Wendy Wu, but remain doubtful if a multi-centre guided tour, in the best hotels with inclusive meals is a bit too expensive. May I tell you, I thought the same thing before I booked. But I am so glad I went for it. The Tour was jam packed with things to see and do. 2x internal flights, a 4 1/2 hour river cruise. Bullet train and Mag-Lev train journeys. Going to the top a skyscraper in Shanghai and viewing the city lights at night from a river boat. What an amazing spectacle. You will experience the hustle and bustle of cities and the more sedate pace of rural life. You can catch a show or two, or three. And if you're worried about the food, the cuisine was second to none, with a few local delicacies thrown in. There was always plenty to go around. Then there are the tourist landmarks, The Great Wall, Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Yu Gardens, Xian city walls, The Terracotta army, Guilin Pagodas, and more. I came away wowed. And wanting to do it all again. Amazing!!

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Easy online booking with any queries quickly answered. Visa process very efficient and final paperwork and documents arrived in plenty of time.

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It was never going to be a relaxing holiday and a few of the day's involving internal travel were pretty full on but China is a big place and it has to be done. The organisation was superb from the time we were met by our national guide Eileen at Shanghai to the time she (tearfully) waved us goodbye at Beijing the tour ran like clockwork. All hotels were good by any standard and any room problems were quickly resolved. Free bottles of water were provided in every hotel. Some locations were better than others with the hotels in Guilin and Yangshuo particularly well placed for an evening stroll and see local life. Our local guides were good although they did tend to give a heavy sell on the "optional" tours on offer. The selling at the factories we visited tended to be a bit full on but then again I did manage to get a bargain at the jade factory. Don't be afraid to haggle hard and maybe you will be offered a "secret" price. We were a group of 25 with 7 different nationalities who bonded well and made the trip enjoyable.

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Well done for the sights and sounds but not so for “optional” tours taking place during the days’s group activities, such as in Shanghai gong up to the viewing platform of the skyscraper , or the MagLev train. Those opting out were left to twiddle their thumbs pending the return of those opting in. Other gripes were about theatre shows where a minimum number had to agree to go or none at all.

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Ticked all the right boxes

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Fantastic experience from start to finish,
A lot to fit into a tight schedule and all completed without a hitch.

National Guide Sam and the three local guides were great and nothing was too much trouble.

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Fabulous tour albeit very busy,
From collection at the airport to final goodbye everything went smoothly and Wendy Wu staff were exemplary.

Tour itself was great and the places visited were amazing, this was our first tour so was unsure what to expect, but we loved the group check in at airports/hotels etc and the express entrance to the attractions etc. The group we were part of was very good and as they say we quickly became "Sam's family".
All the hotels were very good and you couldn't complain about the standard of them, only gripe would be the hotels in Shanghai and Beijing were a bit out of the city centre. That said they were first class hotels and the metro system was so easy and soooo cheap.
We loved every bit of the trip and still found time for some solo sightseeing. 10/10 in my opinion

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Great Tour... Special Thanks to all the tour guides!

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Great Tour, Highlights visiting Shanghai and Xian.

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Excellent service. All questions about the tour and travel arrangements were answered swiftly. Information given was clear and precise.

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The Tour itself was very good in the choice of attractions visited. Our National Guide, Jacky, was excellent. A very pleasant young man who was very attentive to everyone's needs. The choice of hotels was satisfactory. A bit more time in Shanghai would have been good. The only down side was the hours spent on the coach and train when there were no flights available.