2009-01-07 Van P. from Australia

Tourist nationality: Australia

Tour itinerary: 14 days Shanghai – Wuxi – Suzhou –Hangzhou –Xian –Guangzhou –Shanghai Tour

Tour Reviews:

Having a family with three teenage children with very different ideas and interests made it very difficult to plan a second holiday trip around China sound appealing to all of them. Some of us expected a great trip, some of us expected nothing special, and some of us didn’t even know what to expect, but all was forgotten as soon as we stepped out of the Pudong airport in Shanghai. There, we were greeted by a friendly, welcoming face from our first tour guide, Sean, of China Connection Tours, a different travel agency, who had promised a memorable trip for us.

Sean taught us not just to see Shanghai as it was, but also to see it through his eyes; a growing economy full of all sorts of people – the next generation of doctors and lawyers. Sean was not only extremely informative, but he was also very friendly, and always delighted in conversation with us to improve his English.

The next 14 days of travelling around China, we were acquainted with many tour guides like Sean. It pleased us especially when they took us to a public garden or historical site, and provided us with very detailed prologues; teaching us while we were enjoying the beautiful sights of China, regardless of man-made or natural. 

All the places we were taken to such as Suzhou, Hangzhou, Xian, Guangzhou, etc were so amazing and breathtaking. As we do not have anything like these sights from where we come from in Melbourne, where we were taken to in China was even more special to us. Every day we had to use two different cameras, both with extra batteries, because we could not help but take lots of photos, to capture all the beautiful places we went to, and bring them all back home with us.

China Connection Tours and Sunny Kong (its travel consultant) as well as all our tour guides and drivers, were very important tools in making our trip very safe and enjoyable. If we were left to our own devices, our trip would be no where near as enjoyable or successful. It was a great feeling knowing that everything was already planned out for us from various domestic flights, banquet lunches and dinners with local delicacies, to museum visits, etc and all we had to do was relax and enjoy ourselves. 

All we would like to encourage the agency do is keep on providing knowledgeable experts who actually know what their doing. We greatly appreciated it when our tour guides provided us with more information than we expected, and taught us more than we ever intended to learn. We were delighted when our tour guides not only did their jobs, but also sat with us in conversation; we liked actually getting to know our tour guides and befriending them. We were very pleased when our tour guides informed us on what was planned for the day ahead; where we were going, what we should expect to see, and also what foods we will be having for lunch. Because of this, we were always prepared for the day.

So, thank you to the China Connection Tours, Sunny, and all our tour guides for putting in all your time and effort to make our trip as enjoyable as possible. Your dedication and hard work is appreciated more than you know, and my family and I have all grown a great deal of respect and admiration towards all of you. You have not only succeeded in making our holiday in China an exciting and memorable one, but have also encouraged us to come again; plan a holiday with the agency, as well as telling all our friends about your great service, and the pleasurable time we all had in China. All of us forgot about our former expectations of our holiday, and we all had an incredibly enjoyable time; no one came back home unsatisfied. All of us kept in our hearts a specific memory; an image of our trip, that will remain with us forever.

Van P. and family.