Reviews

This has been the most amazing experience, truly a holiday of a life time.
Such a well organised tour, which included so many aspects of China, including historical landmark sites like the Terracotta Warriors, The Great, to the wonderful outdoor landscapes and the hussel and bussel of the beautiful Old Town of Lijiang which was magical and excellent for shopping. The tour gave a real insight to China as a country and the people their selves who were so very friendly. The days were long and busy, and therefore tiring but it made the most of the time we had in China. The Yangtze River cruise was a great way to wind down from this spectacular holiday. The hotels were very good, the food was excellent and plenty of it.
Our tour guide Gary Guo was excellent and made our holiday. The poor man met us at Beijing air port only to be greeted by us, very upset as both mine and my husbands cases had not arrived at the airport as British airways has failed to put it on our flight. We were most distressed as we had no clothes etc and due to the language barrier we were uncertain that Beijing airport understood us and all the information was correct. Gary was very calm and soon had us reassured that he would follow this up and sort it out, which he did. he kept us updated each day and made sure they were delivered to the hotel in time before we left for the next destination. making sure personally to deliver the cases to our rooms.
Gary was very knowledgeable and we learnt so much about the various places that we visited but also about Chinese people, their customs how they live. He was constantly taking care and watching out for us and the whole time in China we felt very safe in his hands. so travelling around the country went very smoothly as the holiday was arranged so well and because the guide put a lot of effort into taking care of us at tarain stations and airports, having our tickets ready to hand and making sure we were on time. A number of us on the tour fell ill with chest infections and Gary made sure to get us to a pharmacy and translated for each of us what symptoms we were experiencing so that the pharmacist could give the correct medication. He made sure we were drinking plenty of fluids and brought food to the rooms for those who were unable to make dinner. Even now a month on, he is dealing with the fact that our silk pillows which we had purchased from the silk factory, accidentally had not been included with the rest of our purchases. He has kindly arranged for the them to be posted to us, and kept us updated on their progress. We have now received the pillows. We can not sing Gary's praises enough he has gone far and beyond what we would expect of a guide, such a lovey caring man with a great sense of humour too. he really brought the group together. The best tour guide ever and we hope one day to be able to return to China, so long as Gary will be our guide again.
Just loved everything about the holiday.

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.

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Wendy Wu, Grand Tour of China. This was very well organised, with pick up from the airport, meet by the excellent National Tour guide Summer. Check in, all transport, entry to attractions. Meals etc. The tour itself was excellent with interesting locations and places to visit. Very well run. 2 of the local tour guides stood out. Both called Cherry, the first with Three Tribes tour in the Yangtze River and in Chengdu.

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Wendy Wu were easy to book with. The daily trips out were excellent. Several stand out, Dali was beautiful in the foothills of the Himalayas, Beijing and the Great Wall. The terracotta Warriors, the Pandas, Xi’an at night and Shanghai. Sailing through the Three Gorges on the Yangtze Cruise. Loved wondering around the markets in the various towns battering for items.

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The tour was well organised. We were taken care off from the time we arrived to our departure.

The local tour guides were very good and had sound knowledge.

Our national guide Mr. Jacky was excellent. He was knowledgeable and had lots of patience. He made everyone feel at home and was helpful throughout the trip. His presence made the trip even more enjoyable. He is an asset to your company.

The places we visited were excellent. We managed to have a bird's eye view of China and Hong Kong. All important places were included in the itinerary.

The drawbacks were the time constraint and the travel between places. Beijing and Xian were good. The travel from Xian for the Yangtze river cruise was tiring. Even more tiresome was the day we travelled from the cruise to Hong Kong. We travelled by water, land and air all in one day. We would not have minded an extra day added to the itinerary if it helped to make the pace a bit bearable. That would have given us more time in Hong Kong.

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The places we visited were excellent

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Just returned from Magnificent China tour. On the whole the tour was very good. It was a bit hectic at times with us being out for the whole day returning late evening but saw some amazing sights.
Never written a review before but thought our experience would be useful for those suffering from coeliac disease and requiring a gluten free diet.
It was a bit of a struggle at times. The Chinese do not have much appreciation of a gluten free diet shown by the 'gluten free' boxed breakfast given to my husband on our last morning. They had taken out the sandwich but left in the pastries! (and hadn't given him anything extra to make up for the items removed).
There is something available at each meal. However, because soy sauce can't be used at times the food can be very bland ie the meat and it seems difficult to get them to substitute another flavouring.
He couldn't have the special dumplings at all in Xian. It would have been nice if some could have made with a different type of flour rather than him having to miss out completely.
At times my husband was told that he was to have some 'special dishes' which often constituted a whole plate of broccoli or beans. This was quite disappointing as even mixed vegetables would have been preferable.
The Yangtze cruise was better. The cruise director listened to us and my husband was given a choice of food to pick. The chef was able to make curries for my husband and produced some very nice desserts for him as well. The cruise director was very honest and told us there was no need to upgrade to the a la carte food option and we were very grateful for her help.
On the positive side the tour guide kept my husband informed as to what he could and couldn't eat and he wasn't ill at all on the trip. It just would have been better if a bit more effort could be made to provide interesting and varied food.
It is definitely worth going as long as you don't have too high expectations on the food front. We took plenty of snacks, crisps and nuts for him and he found this a godsend.

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Would have liked to have been informed of the Yangtze river cruise upgrades when we booked and before we left UK. Other people on the tour from other countries had pre-booked upgrades.

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Our guided tour of China was extremely well organised. The hotels were excellent and the meals we had as a group (of 10) were all first class. Our national guide, Melody, made sure everything ran very smoothly and became a friend to each of us. The local guides were better than any guide book giving us history, culture, stories of daily life and even Chinese jokes. We saw the classic sites but also had included special extras like a tai chi lesson, dim sum making, calligraphy and spectacular theatre shows. The only lowlight would be the Yangtze River cruise where the food and evening entertainment shows were not to our taste, however the accommodation was very good and everyone else seemed to enjoy themselves. All in all an unforgettable trip.

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A well thought-out tour of China with all the classic sights and much more besides, including lectures, factory tours, theatre trips, country walks and rickshaw rides. The selection of hotels and restaurants was first class. All the tour guides were excellent. There was a perfect mix of organised sight-seeing and time to explore on your own. Highly recommended.

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The hotels were excellent. The National guide Tony was 1st class, and could not of done more for us. The coaches not always of a good standard. E.g. Seat belts not working, weak floors an some seats broken.

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Everything was organised for us and went to plan. The Yangtze River cruise was a big disappointment as the River was polluted and there was not a lot to see along the riversides as most of the journey was overnight, the Three Gorges were not particularly interesting or spectacular. We would of preferred to see the real China and see villages and people that just lived and worked and were not just a tourist village.

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From start to finish Wendy Wu were friendly, efficient and professional regarding all aspects of the booking as well as the actual tour. We did not experience any problems at all and would definitely recommend them.
The Tour to China was amazing, well organised and good value.

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The Yangtze River Cruise was excellent. Worth upgrading our room.

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We had Sophie Lee (Lixianhui) as our national guide, she was excellent and help to make our holiday such a great success. She was very well organised, helpful and also very knowledgeable with a good sense of humour - a credit to Wendy Wu Tours.

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The holiday, although very busy was wonderful. There was so many highlights. We enjoyed The Great Wall, the Yangtze river trip and the Li river trip from Guilin very much and would have liked to have stayed longer.in China. The organisation was excellent, and I would not hesitate to travel with Wendy Wu again,

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Sean who was the guide was excellent but some of the local guide did not take into consideration the ages of some of the group and it felt the we were doing a route march at times

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the hotels were placed badly and none were even 3 star more like 1!I requested dietary needs for my husband these were not catered for, he missed at least 10 meals so I had to go to local shop to purchase food I did bring this up with the local guides but to no avail. on other tours we had our evening meal at the hotel we were staying at, not sat on benches in places that looked and felt like slums. the train over night was terrible air-con not working no ladder to get on the top bunk needs to be taken off the tour nightmare!. to much travel on coaches one was 8hours plus not enough leisure time two 2hours. the food at lunch and dinner time was always the same the. the start of the tour was not bad the Yangtze river cruise was excellent but we would not go on another wendy wu tour again.

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Our national Guide Wendy was fantastic. She made everything run like clockwork. A feat in it's self shepherding 28 bodies around! The local guides Mai, Eddie, Amy, Jenny and Stephen were also very good, very informative , and like Wendy, good fun!

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Very tiring but worth it. Food plentiful, but at some restaurants the meat was a little sparse and the Peking Duck dinner was a let down as everything was chopped up, bone, gristle, skin and a bit of meat (not like the shredded duck in English Chinese meals). Trips were very good and well organised. Hotels were mainly very good. The cabins on the Yangtze river cruise were naturally small with not a lot of storage space and a little tired but perfectly acceptable. The entertainment on the boat was very good, especially considering it was the staff not professionals giving the shows. (I sure you could mistake them for professionals!). The staff were very polite and friendly and one of the bar staff, Christina seemed to be able to remember everyone's name, amazing!
It would take too long to go into detail about the trips but for me The Great Wall stood out, but mind, be aware those steps are very steep and exhausting. The vastness of Pit no. 1 and of the detail of the Terracotta warriors. The colourful sights, sounds and smells of the Muslim Quarter in Xi'an. The Summer Palace by the lake. Three Gorges Dam and ship locks, a tribute to Chinese civil engineering on the Yangtze River cruise. The pandas at Chongqing. The Cormorant Fisherman show and having a Cormorant perched on my arm so my wife could take a picture.
Our group of 28 consisted of 21 English and 7 "Aussies" all got on well and had loads of laughs, including being stopped in the street by Chinese to take our picture, especially if one of us was Blonde or fair headed. Our guide said many Chinese holiday from rural parts where Westerners are a rarity. They are intrigued by our big noses too (but in a nice way!)
We thoroughly enjoyed the holiday and would not hesitate to recommend a trip to China through Wendy Wu Tours and our particular 16 day tour "The Wonders of China "
Barry and Brenda

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Our national guide, Addison and the rest of the Wendy Wu team gave us the best service ever. We did not have to worry about anything at all, except enjoying ourselves of course. There were also plenty of surprises and delights throughout the tour.

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The Wonders of China fulfilled childhood dreams with the Great Wall and Terracotta warriors. It was also awe inspiring with things like the Yangtze river cruise and the Li river into the beautiful Yangshuo and many more. This is the first time I have been able to say "I have a number one best holiday ever".

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All tour guides were punctual and knowledgeable, although they were good at explaining things in English, some had a better understanding of English than others. The guides knew the short cuts around and the drivers were always there when you needed them and were helpful with luggage.

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We thoroughly enjoyed our holiday and the hotels were all excellent as was the itinerary. However the walking distance to the train station up and downs escalators and steps with suitcase and hand luggage is not for elderly travellers. Also the Yangtze river cruise may have been operated by a 5* company but the ship was certainly not 5* by any means. Upgrading to the amenities pack is essential.

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The National guide was very good. The local guides on the whole were good. Food was good but by the time you had eaten 36 Chinese meals you lost the will to live a little. By the time the end of the holiday came there was more food left on the table than was eaten.

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We visited every place on the agenda but felt on the clock all the time. There were some places you needed half or even a full day to visit but only had an hour if you were lucky. The Summer Palace was a vast place and we only had 40minutes which wasn't enough to even scratch the surface. We knew when we booked how busy the schedule was going to be but some places could have been taken off the agenda to spend more time at ones that warranted a longer tour. The Yangtze river could have been cut to 2 days and Shanghai was too many days for what we saw there which was mainly gardens. The British tend to like to wonder sit and have a coffee and watch the world go by for a while, not jump on and off a coach take pictures and move on which happened on a number of occasions.

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Very well managed and arranged. Everything was thought of. The only "down side" were the coaches in Beijing - a school bus - and from Wuhan to the Yangtze River Cruise - 5 hours on a VERY old and uncomfortable bus.

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Very good itinerary although we could have left Yangshou in the afternoon of the second day to give a little more time in Shaghai where everything was rushed. Overall and excellent introduction to China.