Saw alot of things

I'm in agrrement with my husband (Anthony) about the pace & the meals . It would been nice to have a variety for meals.All the hotels were very nice.

An amazing and informative experience.

I would highly recommend this tour for the unique experiences it provided: Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, climbing the Great Wall, cruising the Yangtze River, view of the new dam, visiting the pandas, the Terracotta Warriors, night tour of Shanghai harbor, wonderful temples, amazing architecture of Beijing and Shanghai, excellent accommodations, the charm and friendliness of the Chinese people and the superb guides. I have completed ten Go Ahead tours and this tour ties for first position with Egypt and India. If five stars is the highest rating, I give six stars to this tour.

very highly recommended tour

In light of heavy traffic in the big cities, time on site was sometimes rushed to make the next event. Now that the tour has been reduced to 15 days, there isn't much down time or free time to explore museums, etc. However, the Yangtse cruise is well placed to allow some rest for the older touring people. Comments from my group indicated that the cruise was the highlight for almost everyone. Of course, the women want to shop and oftentimes there wasn't enough of it to satisfy everyone. It takes some adjustment to the local culture and prices to learn how to shop in China. It is also interesting to note how fast China is developing a tourist business and how quickly things are changing. The tour was professionally conducted, organized and wonderfully engaging.

Fascinating China

What an amazing culture. This tour had it all. All the famous sights, and the less well known. Tour director was excellent as were the local guides. They were very informative to help us understand this ancient and modern civilization. We covered a lot of ground in this very large country which gave us an insight into this country. We loved the variety of transportation: airplanes, trains, pedicabs, trams boats, sampans, gondolas high above Hong Kong. Every day was packed with activities. We thought the optional Kung Fu show might be a bit hokey, but loved it. It was Kung Fu, meets Cirque du Soleil, meets Bolshoi Ballet! All the optional were very good. The hotels were well located in each city.

Good trip overall but needs fine tuning

I liked the tour and our guide Michael Du was excellent(five + stars). I would suggest slowing down the pace. We were up every morning and on the move by 8 or 8:30 am and kept going till dark. If you took some of the shopping stops out it wouldn't be so hectic and besides I didn't go there to shop in the first place. I also think that if you have a group of all Americans like we were that you should vary the food choices a little more. We ate Chinese food for every meal and the group as a whole got tired of this after a few days. I like Chinese food but not for every meal every day.

China

The tour was very interesting and educational. I enjoyed almost everything about it. Most of the important sites in China were included on this tour and seeing the friendly people who asked us to pose for pictures with them was certainly fun. There was a lot of walking and comfortable shoes were a must. Definite highlights of the trip were the terra-cotta soldiers and the Yangtze River cruise. All the tour guides were professional and personable. If I could change only one thing it would be the shopping trips. If I were given a choice to go to a museum while the others went shopping, I would have been very happy. I was not so interested in buying souvenirs but a piece of jade jewelry and some silk pieces satisfied me.

My China Experience

TOUR DIRECTOR/TOUR GUIDE: Spoke English very well and was easily understood. Has a vast knowledge of numerous cultures, history, etc. Was able to answer questions from tourists quickly and clearly. OTHER TOUR GUIDES: The tour guides that joined our group in various cities were also well spoken and knowledgeable. OVERALL EXPERIENCE: I feel that this Tour delivered all, if not more, than was advertised in Go Ahead Tour brochures. I feel that I got to see all of the major cities and sites of China and Hong Kong. The pace was very quick at times for this 62 year old man but I still persevered and did not miss a thing. I found the authentic Chinese food to be very tasty while others claimed they couldn't eat it based on appearance alone (that was their loss). There should have been more complimentary beverages served at lunch and dinner. A small 5 oz glass is not enough for a single meal.

Best first trip to China

Hotel in Xi'an had a ridiculous rule about soiling the towels in our rooms; charging the guests for any makeup on towels and did to two of our groups members. Otherwise hotels were excellent. Not enough time for individual exploration , but trip was professional and well organized. While the pearl and jade factories were interesting, merchandise was very overpriced. Food was acceptable but very repetitive . Needed a break of other cuisine; breakfasts of course were the best meal of the day; starting to dread the lunch and dinner hours . Highlight for me was the yangtze river cruise, relaxing and fun with the group and crew. Wonderful service.

Best Tour Guide Ever

Since my retirement my husband & I have been traveling quit a lot. We plan two trips a year. The China Tour was one of the best due to our tour guide 'Andy'. Our schedule was flawless except for a delay from God. A storm delayed the plane. We were informed of every situation and times we should meet the group. The information on China and all the sites we saw was excellent. When I travel with Go Ahead again it would be nice if we could choose our personal guide 'Andy'. Thanks again Andy for the great trip

Challenging but Worth It

My visit to China was physically challenging but certainly worth it...we saw so much and had such a great tour director (Andy) that I really gained an appreciation of chinese culture, history and achievements.