20141023 - The Professional Organization of our Holiday in Beijing & Xian

"Professional Organization of our Holiday in Beijing and Xian"

Dear Sophia,
We returned very late last night after a long holiday. Please see our attached our feedback - it is not on your form, but I kept it as a summary through the holiday, to make sure it covered everything. You can be pleased with it, the holiday was very satisfactory for us, and we appreciate the professional organisation which enabled us to experience far more than we might have if we had been trying to do the same things ourselves.

Summary: We were extremely satisfied with the general arrangements and thank you for your work in putting together such a successful visit on our behalf.

Tour Guide

In Beijing: Mr Xie, understood our interests and the way we prefer to approach our travels. He was extremely patient with our interests in photography, allowing time. Lunches were very different each day, very enjoyable, and Mr Xie took time to ensure we had varied and interesting eating experiences. Taking the train to Xi’an, he made sure we knew the system, ensured we were in it properly, and our train was trouble free.

Mr Ma, our driver, was patient and excellent, despite some long days for him. Despite the Beijing traffic, we felt secure and comfortable, and we were pleased to see him again when we returned to Beijing. The tour took us to aspects we would never have seen or considered, and we are extremely grateful to you for the arrangements made. At no time did we feel pressured to end the day.

In Xian: Susan and Mr Li transferred us smoothly to the hotel and ensured we had time for breakfast and a shower before starting the tour. Again there were no problems, and as in Beijing, they were a pleasure to be with. Susan was very concerned about our transfer to the train for our return to Beijing, and followed up with phone calls to ensure we had no problems.

Both Mr Xie and Susan were knowledgeable, with good English, and could answer our questions about the visits.

Finally, being met on our return to Beijing, plus our transfer the next day to the airport, was smooth with no problems.

Tour Details

Day 1 – excellent. The Silk factory was exactly the type of extra that we were looking for, over and above the more standard tours. Mr Xie had tickets for the performance we had requested at the NCPA, and we were dropped off as arranged. The performance was superb, and we really enjoyed it.

Day 2 – your recommendation to change to Mutianyu could not have been better. We had a superb visit in perfect conditions – a highlight. The Jade carving was good, and we were offered an additional visit to a Cloisonnier factory, which was even better, and showed Mr Xie’s understanding of our interests.

Day 3 – After an outstanding evening of theatre (Ballet, opera, acrobatics, classical and folk music provided by the Ministry of Culture) during our 2 day conference at the National Millenium Monument, and the evening at the NCPA, We are asked to substitute the Tea ceremony, which was very interesting, and fitted in with our interests better, instead of the Laoshe Tea House and their show. While we purchased goods at the silk, jade and cloisonnier works, we never felt under any pressure to buy. They were relaxed and enjoyable, and staff were interested in meeting our wishes.

Day 4 - The visit to Chundixia was really enjoyable – a beautiful day, spectacular scenery, beautiful autumn colours. We were able to stop for photographs in the mountains. Lunch in a family home was excellent – and more interesting than in the Hutong, which was a bit commercialised. We suspect in a few years, the village will be as commercial, but Mr Xie had particularly selected a traditional home, with just us as guests.

Day 5 & Day 6 - Xi’an – We saw everything we expected to see, plus more. Susan was helpful in bargaining in the Muslim quarter – this last, in particular, was an astonishing experience. The Warrior Army was superb, the Shanxi museum far more interesting than we expected. Throughout the two days, Susan did well to keep track of us in the crowds in restricted areas of poor lighting.

In conclusion, we very much enjoyed our visit, which we were able to add on to a conference visit (Mr Xie spent his first 10 minutes with us, taking photographs of me with Chinese photographers attending the conference, and translating for them, while we loaded our luggage into the car!). We really did get the most from our visit, and appreciated the professionalism with which it was organised. We would be very happy to recommend you to friends, or speak to prospective clients who might want a reference.

(I will be happy to send some photos from our tour, but it will be a little while before I have these downloaded and organised. It may be 2 or 3 weeks).

Thankyou,

Barbara and Roy Robertson