We left Shanghai on the bullet train and got to Chengdu where we were greeted by our tour guide, Lisa. The following day we went to see the Pandas and we weren't disappointed, Lisa knew exactly where to go and when to be there, we got close up with baby bears, the 'teenagers' and the older ones - it was truly one of our highlights of a fortnight in China.

The following day we went to see the giant Buddha in Leshan, again with Lisa as our tour guide. On the way there we had an excellent tea tasting experience. Another cracking day, all thanks to Lisa.

Lisa is professional, knowledgeable and speaks excellent English - she is a truly wonderful person and helped make our stay in China truly memorable.

It’s a little while since last September when my wife and I had our fantastic trip to China with Wendy Wu Tours, but I have just been going through all our photos of the trip and all the great memories came flooding back, so thought I would let everyone know.

We chose Wendy Wu as our local travel agent had recommended them, particularly the quality of the tour guides and their detailed knowledge of the country and each area visited. How right they were. Our national guide, Alisa was outstanding – friendly, knowledgeable, with a great sense of humour, and spoke great English! She was a real mother hen, keeping our group together (and stopped me wandering off and getting lost on a number of occasions). She clearly loves her work and was always cheerful, seemed tireless and had a bottomless amount of patience with our mixed group. She made sure everything went as smoothly as possible wherever we went, and at times that did mean making a few adjustments to timings some days.
When my camera stopped working Alisa took time out in Chengdu to help me get it fixed – and I really appreciated that extra effort on top of a very long day for her!

The local guides were also brilliant, and they all gave us an insight into local life and Chinese culture which we never expected in such a short time. Alisa also made sure there was a great family feel to our tour group which really helped the atmosphere and banter between everyone, and made things all the more enjoyable.

The hotels varied a fair bit. The Greenland Jiulong in Shanghai, Sichuan in Chengdu and Mercure in Beijing were very good (although no bar in the Sichuan so stock up if you want a drink later), with the Lanxi in Xian still provided a good room but not so good for food. The staff were really helpful in all of them, and generally the breakfasts were pretty good with a varied selection of English and Chinese food. Ok – a down side for us was that apart from breakfasts and the food on the ship) the food did get repetitive in a ‘westernised’ buffet style, although there was always plenty. The local restaurants had been carefully selected by Wendy Wu, so often full of other tours, but sometimes you were dining with locals who helped create a great atmosphere.

You visit so many varied places on the holiday, but quite honestly our advice is to do the optional tours while you have the chance. Try not to miss a thing!
The places - Shanghai and its modern buildings, towering skyscrapers and Bund is so impressive. It’s even more so at night, so don’t miss the river cruise when everything is spectacularly lit up. There is also the Maglev train if you fancy travelling at 431kph, and the Shanghai Museum is full of interesting artefacts – Ming vases and coins from before and during the time of Christ - and the tranquil Yu Gardens!
The Three Gorges Dam is a must to see. The engineering is so impressive – it’s vast! We were also lucky enough to visit the Qu Yuan Monastery, temples and gardens at Zigui. The Cruise along the Yangtze really is majestic and beautiful (including the Shennong trip) and we enjoyed the stop at the Red Pagoda where you can really appreciate the effect of the dam and raising the water level along the Yangtze. There was plenty to do on the ship, although the views were usually enough, and the crew were great – really helpful and they provide the entertainment as well.
Chongqing is an enormous city with building going on everywhere –the old town is fascinating. Chengdu is full of hustle and bustle and the Sichuan food is lovely – the city is also home of the face Changing Show, another thing not to miss, and of course, the Panda Centre.
Xian is another interesting city that really lights up at night, with amazingly well preserved City Walls (don’t miss the night tour, umbrella dancing or the Tang Dynasty Show) and Terracotta Warriors – but expect it to be very busy!
Beijing is beautiful, full of parks, and the Forbidden City with its incredible buildings and detailing. Just beware of pick pockets – they are always on the lookout for the unwary, as one of our group found out! But the Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace with the lake and gardens make you wish you could stay longer. Then there is the Great Wall – although in some places ‘The Great Staircase’ – there are lots of steps, so take good walking shoes with you!

Finally - there are the usual ‘shopping experiences’ on the tour - which may or may not be your cup of tea – but you can easily pick up some presents for home, and find out a little bit on how lacquered furniture is made, or jade is carved or silk is made.
Another tip – there is a lot of travelling, and two of the coach trips were very long. In fact, the coach trip from Wuhan to the Yangtze was really too long (we would rather pay a little more to get to the Ship quicker - just a thought Wendy Wu!) – so take something to read or to do with you.

It’s hard to believe just how much we managed to pack into the trip. The scale of the place (two internal flights and the bullet train just to get around) the beautiful scenery, parks and architecture, both old and new, is stunning. If you do get the chance to go to China, then take it. We are more than happy to recommend that you travel with Wendy Wu Tours – they know what they are doing and the organisation from booking to return was very good.