21 Days China Panorama Tour, Best Itinerary for China

Tour Itinerary Expand All

Itinerary Expand All

Day 1Arrival Beijing

Transfer service to hotel

Meals: No Meals
Recommended Hotel: Citadines Ritan Service Apartment ★★★★

Arrive in Beijing, the capital city of China. You will be greeted and met by TCT tour guide at the airport and transferred to your hotel, whenever your flight arrives in Beijing. After check-in, free at leisure for the rest of the day.

Beijing City View

Day 2Beijing

Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Jingshan Park, Temple of Heaven, Panjiayuan Antique Market

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch
Recommended Hotel: Citadines Ritan Service Apartment ★★★★

[09:00-09:30] Our guide will meet you up at the hotel lobby and start to explore the historical city of Beijing.

[09:30-12:30] You will reach the Tian’anmen Square, the largest public square in the world. Walk through the square and visit today’s highlight: Forbidden City , the largest and most complete ancient imperial palace in the world. Hike to Jingshan Park, where gives a nice panoramic view of the Forbidden City at the top of Coal Hill.

[12:30-14:00] Lunch time at Shi Yuan Restaurant, Chinese local food, famous for the braised eggplant, vegetable ball, and diced chicken with walnuts in soya sauce

[14:00-16:30] Visit Temple of Heaven, which was used to pray for harvest by the emperors. It is China's existing largest structure for sacrifice to heaven. Shopping time at Panjiayuan Antique Market and tea store.

[16:30-17:30] Back to the hotel, en route you can plan for the night show or the Peking duck dinner with your guide and ask for suggestions.

Tiananmen Square

Day 3Beijing

Mutianyu Great Wall, Olympic Park, The exterior Bird Nest and Water Cube

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch
Recommended Hotel: Citadines Ritan Service Apartment ★★★★

[08:00-08:30] Our guide will meet you up at the hotel lobby and start to explore the Great Wall.

[08:30-12:30] Drive to Mutianyu Great Wall, which section is more popular among foreign visitors. Upon arrival, you can choose to hike on the Great Wall, or take cable car up and walk around.

[12:30-13:30] Lunch time at Xiaolongpu Restaurant, famous for the vegetable food, such as fried vegetables, dry-fried beans, sweet corn cake

[13:30-16:30] Drive back to Beijing city, while you can take a nap in the car. Enroute Shopping time at a jade store. Visit the exterior Bird Nest and Water Cube, the amazing architectures that built for Beijing Olympic Games.

[16:30-17:30] Back to the hotel, en route you can plan for the night activities, such as foot massage, houhai night bars and Sanlitun bar street.

Mutianyu Great Wall

Day 4Beijing - Xi'an

Beijing Hutong, Summer Palace, Take high speed train to Xian

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch
Recommended Hotel: Atour Hotel Xian Nanmen ★★★★

[09:30-10:00] You will have enough time to pack up and check out. Our guide will meet you up at the hotel lobby and have half day leisure tour in Beijing.

[10:00-11:30] Drive to Drum Tower area for taking a relaxing Hutong Tour by rickshaw , which is the way to know the Beijing local lifestyle.

[11:30-14:30] Drive to Summer Palace, which is the existing largest, best-preserved imperial garden in China. Boat ride on Kunming Lake is included. Lunch will be arranged at nearby restaurant, named Xiangyangtun, with opera stage inside.

After lunch, be transferred to the railway station for the 5hrs high speed train to Xian. Your Xi'an tour guide will wait for you at the station and help you to transfer to the hotel.

Hutong Tour by Rickshaw

Day 5Xi'an

Terracotta Warriors, Ancient City Wall, Muslim Quarter

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch
Recommended Hotel: Atour Hotel Xian Nanmen ★★★★

[09:00-09:30] Our guide will meet you up at the hotel lobby and start to explore the Ancient city.

[09:30-12:30] Drive to Terracotta Warriors and explore one of the world's most important archaeological finds, with troops, horses and carriages in battle formation. Shuttle bus will be arranged for your convenience. Then you will have a chance to visit pottery figurine factory, where you can learn how to make a pottery figurine.

[12:30-14:00] Lunch time at Lanchi Restaurant, professional for buffet and local food, such as dim sum, noodles and Chinese hamburger.

[14:00-17:00] Back to downtown and visit the Ancient Xian City Wall, which represents one of the oldest and best preserved Chinese city walls. Bicycle or sightseeing car will be arranged on the wall to go around. Continue to visit Muslim Quarter and enjoy your shopping time there.

[17:00-17:30] Back to the hotel, en route you can plan for the night activities, such as Tang Dynasty Show with Dinner.

Terracotta Army

Day 6Xi'an - Lhasa

Fly to Lhasa

Meals: Breakfast
Recommended Hotel: Lhasa Hotel ★★★★

After breakfast, be transferred to the airport for morning flight to Lhasa. Your Tibet tour guide will wait for you at the airport and help you to transfer to the hotel.Relax and have a good rest at your hotel to acclimatize when you arrive.In the afternoon, you might walk around to get first impression of Tibet. Have a good rest at night and get ready for tomorrow’s tour.

Lhasa City View

Day 7Lhasa

Potala Palace, Jokhang Monastery, Barkhor Street

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch
Recommended Hotel: Lhasa Hotel ★★★★
Tips: When you enter into a temple or monastery in Tibet, please take off your hats at the entrance to show your respects and follow the clockwise direction for visiting. No smoking, do not touch the Buddha statues, turn the Buddhism scriptures or toll the bell.

[09:00-19:30] Our guide will meet you up at the hotel lobby and start to explore the Holy city.

[19:30-12:30] Visit Potala Palace, the largest monastery of its type in the world and official home to Dalai Lama. Walk around the Potala PalaceClockwise to appreciate those who worship every day and also experience the life of local residents. After that, we will arrange a visit to the opposite hill in order to get a panoramic picture of Potala Palace, which is the best photo spot.

[12:30-13:30] Lunch time at Ganglameduo restaurant for local meal, beef and mutton

[13:30-16:30] Visit Jokhang Monastery, where monks receive their official training and education. Shopping time at Barkhor Street, a window into Tibetan culture and an opportunity to buy colorful ethnic handicrafts rarely seen outside of Tibet.

[16:30-17:30] Back to the hotel, en route you can plan for the night show and ask for some suggestions.

Potala Palace Lhasa

Day 8Lhasa

Drepung Monastery, Norbulingka Park, Sera Monastery

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch
Recommended Hotel: Lhasa Hotel ★★★★

[09:00-09:30] Our guide will meet you up at the hotel lobby and start the second day trip in Lhasa.

[09:30-12:30] Visit Drepung Monastery, which is one of the three great monasteries in Tibet. Then continue your tour to Norbulingka Park, a traditional summer palace and residence starting with the 7th Dalai Lama.

[12:30-13:30] Lunch at Tibetan Family Kitchen for local food, especially for the Yak meat dumplings.

[13:30-16:30] Pay a visit to Sera Monastery to see a monks debating inside the shady courtyard behind the main temple. After that, drive back to your hotel and free of the rest time.

Drepung Monastery

Day 9Lhasa - Chongqing

Fly to Chongqing, Eling Park, Chongqing People's Great Hall

Meals: Breakfast& Lunch
On Board: Victoria cruise ★★★★★

Fly to Chongqing. Your Chongqing tour guide will wait for you at the airport. After lunch, have a visit to Eling Park displays the layout of Suzhou gardens. You can also take excursion to Kansheng Tower where the bird’s-eye view of the Yangtze River and Chongqing city is breathtaking. And then, continue to visit the Chongqing People Grand Hall which looks like the enlarged version of the sacramental Temple of Heaven in Beijing.

Drive to Chaotianmen wharf and check-in at the Victoria cruise, which Set sail from Chongqing at 9:00 p.m.

Chongqing City View

Day 10Yangtze River Cruise

Fengdu Ghost City (optional), Fengdu "Jade Emperor", FengYan SanGuo "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" Show(optional)

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch& Dinner
On Board: Victoria cruise ★★★★★

[06:30-08:30] Early Bird Coffee and Tea; Practice Tai Chi on board and Buffet breakfast.

[09:00-13:30] Shore excursion---Fengdu "Jade Emperor" is aranged in the morning. Or take additional shore excursion to Fengdu Ghost City with extra cost. Buffet lunchis served on board.

[16:00-21:30] Late afternoon Captain's Welcome Reception with buffet dinner. In the evening, you can choose to take the additional Shore excursion---FengYan SanGuo "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" Show.

Fengdu Ghost City

Day 11Yangtze River Cruise

White Emperor City (optional), Qutang Gorge, Wu Gorge, Goddess Stream

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch& Dinner
On Board: Victoria cruise ★★★★★

[06:30-08:30] Early Bird Coffee and Tea; Practice Tai Chi on board and Buffet breakfast.

[07:30-10:15] Activities on board as you like. Or take Additional Shore excursion to White Emperor City with extra cost.

[10:45-13:00] Sailing through Qutang Gorge & Scenic cruising of Wu Gorge, buffet lunch is served on board.

[15:15-21:45] Shore excursion to Goddess Stream. Evening enjoy Captain's Farewell Banquet and the Crew cabaret.

Qutang Gorge

Day 12Yichang - Shanghai

Three Gorges Dam Site, Fly to Shanghai

Meals: Breakfast
Recommended Hotel: Sunrise On The Bund Hotel ★★★★

[06:00-07:45] Buffet breakfast

[07:45-10:45] Disembark at Maoping cruise terminal, Shore excursion to Three Gorges Dam Site; transfer to the passenger center in downtown of Yichang

[12:30-15:30] Your Yichang tour guide will wait for you at Yichang passenger center and transfer you to the airport.

Fly to Shanghai. Your Shanghai tour guide will wait for you at the airport and help you to transfer to the hotel.

Three Gorge Dam

Day 13Shanghai

Jade Buddha Temple, the exterior of Oriental Pearl TV Tower, Yuyuan Garden, Shanghai Old Street, The Bund

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch
Recommended Hotel:Sunrise on the Bund Hotel ★★★★

[09:00-09:30] Our guide will meet you up at the hotel lobby and start to explore the Modern city of China.

[09:30-12:30] Visit Jade Buddha Temple, which is famous for the seated Buddha, encrusted with jewels, which is said to weigh 1,000 kg.Then visit the exterior of Oriental Pearl TV Tower, while walking on Riverside Promenade Bingjiang Da Dao. Enroute have a shopping stop at silk museum.

[12:30-13:30] Lunch time for the local special food, Dim Sum and Steamed Bun

[13:30-16:30] Visit Yuyuan Garden, which is a Chinese classic garden in city downtown, shopping time at Shanghai Old Street and Nanjing Road which is the earliest commercial street in Shanghai, you could look for some special souvenirs there. After that, enjoy a leisure walk along the Bund, famous for groups of buildings known as "a Gallery of world architecture".

[16:30-17:30] Back to the hotel, en route you can plan for the night Acrobatic Show, especially the ERA show, which is one of the most popular evening entertainments in Shanghai.

The Bund

Day 14Shanghai - Suzhou

Take high speed train to Suzhou, Lingering Garden, Suzhou Museum, Humble Administrator Garden

Meals: Breakfast& Lunch
Recommended Hotel: Garden Hotel ★★★★

[08:00-08:30] Guide will meet you up at the hotel lobbyearly in the morning. Be transferred to the train station for your 0.5 hour G/D train to Suzhou.

[09:30-12:30] Suzhou guide will pick you up at the train station and start the tour to visit the real gardens in China. You will firstly have a sightseeing tour to Lingering Garden (1 hour) - which is one of the great four gardens. And then, take a short visit to Suzhou Museum- the masterpiece of I.M. Pei.

[12:30-13:30] Lunch time at local restaurant nearby Suzhou Museum

[13:30-16:30] Enjoy your time at Humble Administrator Garden which is the largest garden in Suzhou.

[16:30-17:30] Back to hotel. Enroute you can plan for the night activities with your local guide, who will give some suggestion to you.

Lingering Garden

Day 15Suzhou - Hangzhou

Pingjiang Ancient Street, Tongli Water Town, Take high speed train to Hangzhou

Meals: Breakfast& Lunch
Recommended Hotel:Hangzhou Merchant Marco Edge Lake Hotel ★★★★

[09:00-09:30] Guide will meet you up at the hotel lobbyearly in the morning.

[09:30-12:30] Stroll around the Pingjiang Ancient Street, an ancient cultural road which has been preserved for more than 800 years. After that, drive to Tongli Water town, where are famous for the traditional residences including gardens, houses and temples, built in the Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty. You will also experience Tongli Canal wooden boat through the waterways.

After lunch, betransfer to the train station for your G/D train riding to Hangzhou. Your Hangzhou guide will wait for you at the train station and escort you to the hotel. Rest of day will be at leisure on your own.

Pingjiang Ancient Street

Day 16Hangzhou

West Lake, Lingyin Temple, Six Harmonies Pagoda, Tea Museum; Hefang Street

Meals: Breakfast& Lunch
Recommended Hotel: Hangzhou Merchant Marco Edge Lake Hotel ★★★★

[09:00-09:30] Guide will meet you up at the hotel lobbyearly in the morning.

[09:30-12:30] Today is a joyful day with firstly visit the West Lake, reputed for beautiful scenery, a multitude of historical sites, brilliant cultural relics, and a profusion of native products. We will arrange cruise tour on West Lake and it is also highly recommended to walk around. After that, visit the Lingyin Temple, a site famous for not only as a Buddhism temple but also an attraction to catch beautiful scenery.

[12:30-13:30] Lunch time at local restaurant for traditional Hangzhou cuisine

[13:30-17:00] Visit Six Harmonies Pagoda, ensure a view of the Qiantang River and a far view towards the misty horizon. After that, transfer to visit Meijiawu Tea Plantation, where you may know how to make green tea. Shopping time at Hefang Street, which is the most prosperous place in Hangzhou since the ancient time.

[17:00-17:30] Back to the hotel, en route you can plan for the night activities or watch Impression Show of West Lake.

West Lake

Day 17Hangzhou - Guilin

Fly to Guilin, Reed Flute Cave

Meals: Breakfast
Recommended Hotel:Guilin Bravo Hotel ★★★★

Free day at leisure and be transferred to the airport for flight to Guilin.
Fly to Guilin. Your Guilin tour guide will wait for you at the airport. In the afternoon, visit Reed Flute Cave which is a famous scenic spot offering a magic fairyland of stalactites, stalagmites in fantastic shapes and colors. On the way back to hotel, a shopping stop at pearl store.

Reed Flute Cave Guilin

Day 18Guilin - Yangshuo - Guilin

Li River, West Street, Yangshuo countryside, Drive back to Guilin

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch
Recommended Hotel: Guilin Bravo Hotel ★★★★

[08:00-08:30] Our guide will meet you up at the hotel lobby and start to explore the Li River on Cruise.

[09:30-14:00] Enjoy Li River Cruise tour with buffet lunch on board. Deluxe cruise will be arranged with decent facility and good service. Savor the fairy-tale scenery while cruising down the meandering river to Yangshuo. You can go on the sundeck or just sit and appreciate the view from the picture windows. After disembarking, walk through the West Street or take sightseeing car to the parking lot. Check-in the hotel in Yangshuo and take a refreshment rest.

[14:30-17:00] In the afternoon, you will have a leisure trip in the countryside of Yangshuo by riding a bicycle, enjoy the beauty of southern China. Then drive back to Guilin for overnight.

[17:00-17:30] If you would like to stay in Yangshuo longer, you can plan for the Impression of Liu Sanjie or just hang out at West Street night bars before back to Guilin. If you decide back to Guilin earlier, Two Rivers and Four Lakes Night Cruise is a good choice as your optional night activity.

Li River Cruise

Day 19Guilin - Hong Kong

Elephant Trunk Hill, Riyue Shuangta Cultural Park, Take high speed train to Hong Kong

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch
Recommended Hotel: Eaton Hotel Hong Kong ★★★★

[09:00-09:30] Our guide will meet you up at the hotel lobby and check out from hotel in the morning.

[09:30-13:00] Start to the morning tour to visit Elephant Trunk Hill, the symbol of Guilin. Walk to Riyue Shuangta Cultural Park next to Shahu Lake, which is famous for the golden and silver twin pagodas. Lunch is arranged at a local restaurant.

Drive from the expressway to Guilin West Railway Station for the 3.2hrs high speed train to Hong Kong in the afternoon. Your Hong Kong driver guide will wait for you at the station and help you to transfer to the hotel.

Elephant Trunk Hill

Day 20Hong Kong

The Peak, Repluse Bay, Aberdeen Fishing Village, Gem Factory Outlet, Stanley Market

Meals: Breakfast& Lunch
Recommended Hotel: Eaton Hotel Hong Kong ★★★★

[09:00-09:30] Our guide will meet you up at the hotel lobby and start for the day trip

[09:30-12:30] The Victoria Peak (include one way Peak Tram Ride), sit on the right of the tram for the best views, and be certain to wait for a clear day to make the trip. Do not leave the Tower complex - which is a little disorientating without riding the escalators to the outdoor observation deck: the views are breathtaking. After that, visit Aberdeen fishing village (with Sampan Ride), old-fashioned boats which provide floating homes for thousands of people. Taking a ride on one of the boats is a popular activity.

[12:30-13:30] Dim sum lunch at jumbo floating restaurant, aside from feasting every imaginable appetite, the Restaurant will dazzle visitors with the same auspicious stories decorating regal residences of old, told through illustrious craftsmanship in the wealth of treasures on these world-renowned floating fantasies.

[13:30-17:00] Visit Gem Factory Outlet, the outlet located in Aberdeen mainly reserved for foreigners, and the factory has won a lot of jewelry design competition in the world. Then shopping time at Stanley Market, where is known for its bargain clothes, and the stalls are as good a place as anywhere in Hong Kong to buy souvenir T-shirts or inexpensive Chinese artifacts and household goods. After seeing the market wander down to Stanley's waterfront Main Street, lined with bars, pubs and restaurants popular with ex-pats.

[17:00-17:30] Back to the hotel, en route you can plan for the night activities, especially the light show, or go to LanKwaiFong (famous bar street) for the night life.

Victoria Peak Hong Kong

Day 21Departure Hong Kong

Transfer service to airport

Meals: Breakfast

Pack-up & check-out. Free day at leisure and be transferred to the airport for return flight. Your pick-up timewill be reconfirmed by our tour guide beforehandaccording to your departure flight timing. Anyway, shopping spree before leaving for the airport

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Due to the uncertainties of this tour, such as special local conditions , the changes of accommodation rate, etc, the tour has to be tailor-made and its price is on request. Please tell us in advance your group information inclusive of departure date, number of pax, and other individual needs, which will be helpful to work out a fit program and the right price.

Useful Information

Traveler Reviews Feedbacks & Photos >>Feedbacks

5.0

Geonannie

5.0

Top China Travel is the the tops! I booked an 21 day tour of China for my husband and I and from the very first contact with Lily Lui I was totally impressed. We communicated via e-mail and Lily was very quick and helpful with her responses. Because this was not our first trip to China, I wanted an itinerary that was different from the norm. Lily's recommendations were top notch. The hotels she used were top shelf as we requested. Our guides and drivers were fantastic. What impressed me the most was that when we were in China, Lily called to speak to me and make sure everything was going well. When I ran into some issues due to altitude sickness, I contacted her and she had the itinerary changes done and finalized within an hour. This was a private tour with guide and driver and I honestly can say there was not one thing I wished we had done differently. Thanks to Top China Travel and Lily our trip to China was perfect. I will definitely be contacting Lily when we return to China for yet another visit.

Geonannie

5.0

Donmac_10

5.0

A educational tour through the history of the Silk Road, well organised by Janet Chan who was very helpful and easy to communicate with. It is an extensive tour covering great distance-the western border of China - near Afghanistan. There were different tour guides in each area and all were great and some were excellent, Abdul, Shir and Vicky were standouts! as there was little or no English spoken in the western provinces it was necessary to have a guide to explain the sights as well as organise travel and hotel arrangements-also were great in recommending and taking us to great local restaurants. as we are experienced and usually individual travellers we had to suggest that we wanted to see the local areas and sights/people, guides were happy to do so especially in Kashgar where we changed to itinerary from the lake trip to spend time in the markets, teahouses etc -well worth doing as Kashgar and the Uygur people were a highlight of the trip. The tour involved 3 rail, 4 flights and numerous private vehicle trips-all went smoothly although we were not met at one rail station and had to make our own way to the hotel-normally not an issue but at this town there was no-one to speak english so was not a smooth transition. Highlights were off course the big tourist spots of the Beijing , Xian and the incredible terracotta warriors, the Magao grottoes , Labrang Monastery,and the very colourful Zhangye Dana Landform Geological Park, and Dunhuang. We extend our tour spending extra days in Shanghai where we didn't have guides and could be free to get to art galleries etc and then went to Guilin and Yanshuo which were a wonderful and greener change from the western provinces. We were pleased to meet Janet in Guilin. Overall it was a great trip and covered the Silk Road and the rich history that it encompassed, i would suggest less time spent in Urumqi and more tome in Kashgar -there was no need to visa two lakes (we went to the Sacred lake in Urumqi but on reflection would not have that included in the tour. We highly recommend Janet and Top China Travel, but be aware they are a company that has shopping included in Beijing and Xian !

Michaelgotz

5.0

Thank you Janet Chan of Top China Travel (Guilin) for making our 21-day China trip the best travel experience ever! Janet built us a private tour itinerary that was suited to our physical abilities and cultural preference, and she can and does do that for everyone. TCT specializes in individual private tours for singles, couples, and family/friends. Not group tours where there are people you don't know. We went to exotic places not often on the usual tour company itineraries: Yellow Mountain, where you climb and climb and climb, carrying your own luggage, to get to a hotel accessible only on foot. We took only what we needed, left the rest down below. Incredible vistas beyond imagination. We visited the Yangshuo Mountain Retreat, the Longshen terraced rice patties (a climb so tough there were porters to haul up our luggage), the pandas in Chengdu, and the difficult-to-breathe Lhasa,Tibet. Of course we also saw the other more usual spots: Beijing, Xi'an, Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Guilin. We highly recommend Top China Travel: ask for Janet!

2017caz

5.0

Our tour was organised by Janet Chan, whom I would highly recommend to anyone planning a holiday in China. The original itinerary was set some 5 months in advance and involved 12 different guides and drivers, 10 hotels and a cruise on the Yangtze. As could be expected, a number of issues arose in the subsequent period prior to our departure including areas being affected by earthquakes (requiring a change of itinerary) and specific flights being cancelled. None of these caused us any concern as Janet dealt with them in the background and emailed us the changes as we moved around the country. The ability and attitude of the chosen guides and drivers varied from location to location, however, none were unsatisfactory and a significant number were excellent. Despite there being three train trips and six flights, the designated TCT guide was always there to meet us on our arrival, which after 3 weeks across a broad itinerary was a great comfort. Most of the guides displayed a high degree of flexibility and were able to vary the program under their control to ensure that we covered all of the items and attractions that we had on our itinerary. In some cases this involved changing the daily schedule completely to ensure that we covered everything that we wanted to see. On a general note, TCT and Janet Chan in particular took great care of us despite some unplanned changes to our itinerary. An earthquake in western china altered our plans somewhat and she stepped up and organised on short notice another part of China to see. Cancelled flights and delayed flights were taken in stride and train trips organised so nothing was missed off our bucket list. Because of her organisation with the local guides and drivers we were never left stranded and she was always willing to be on call if there were any problems. She was very willing to hear our feedback and met with us once personally on our trip to talk face to face about our experiences. I would without reservation recommend TCT and our agent Janet Chan to anyone travelling to China in the near future. Happy travels!

heraldsun

5.0

We just got back from 1 month private tour of China organized by Vicky Lu, tour consultant at Top China Travel. Vicky did a spectacular job in making all the arrangements: domestic flights, high speed rails, car transportation, hotels and English speaking local tour guides. She is very accommodating in changing things per our requests, such as: we did not want to eat Chinese foods buffets in hotels catering to tour groups. Instead we preferred local experience eating at local restaurants and being able to choose our foods from the menu. We were able to speak with Vicky and she immediately made the change. A big surprise during the trip was a birthday cake sent to me by Vicky via our local guide. Vicky also apparently arranged for another one from the cruise ship delivered to our cabin as soon as we boarded the Yangtze River Cruise on my birthday. That was very sweet and thoughtful. During the time of planning for the trip Vicky Lu of TCT was extremely prompt in email exchange. And during the trip she was frequently checked in on us. She was available even during the weekend. We were able to meet our tour consultant, Vicky at TCT office in Guilin, on the way to our excursion there. Overall we are very happy traveling with Top China Travel and highly recommend it to other travelers.

jdivens2017

5.0

I recently visited China with my son and his friend. Janet Chan’s patience with us as we kept changing our minds on where to go and what to do was amazing and we thoroughly enjoyed our visit to China. Starting in Chengdu we were met at the airport by Summer and the driver. They were on time and Summer was excellent with explanations and answered all our questions. She did not rush us and we had the time to see and take all the pictures we wanted. On To Xi’an . We were met at the airport by Lili and the driver. She was knowledgeable and very interesting. While visiting the Terracotta Soldiers she made sure that we had the best views and even helped us with finding the best prices for our souvenirs. She suggested we visit the wall and while there we saw the night time show. We also visited the People’s park ( a suggestion from Lili) and were amazed at all the activities there. We had decided to visit Pingyao on our own and really enjoyed walking around the city and even visited the underground castle. As we did not book any tours for this town our kind host at the hostel drove us to the castle and back. While there I lost my train ticket. We contacted Janet, and her agent, the driver and the train station were extremely helpful in helping me. When we arrived in Beijing the driver went out of his way to help me get the refund for my ticket and I will be forever grateful. We had only one issue through no fault of Top China Travel, with the guide the day we went to the Forbidden City, Summer Palace and The Temple of Heaven. We were picked up on time, we were rushed through the Forbidden City with little explanation. There was no time to visit or take pictures. We did have more time in the afternoon for the Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace but I would have like more information about all three. Our last day was memorable . The Great Wall that Janet suggested was spectacular and I managed to walk to the tenth post. We had more than enough time to enjoy this experience. A short tour of Water Town after an excellent lunch was also included. Even though it took longer to reach our destination the spectacular views were so worth the bus ride and on the way we got to see the country side. We found the people of China most helpful, friendly and kind and it is a trip I will remember forever. I thank you, Janet for your help in making this amazing trip of a lifetime possible and being there when we needed help. Needless to say I would not hesitate to recommend Top China Travel to anyone. They are very professional and you get the feeling that they personally care that you have a great China experience. Janine

VanSalinas

5.0

I went to China on July (2017) and had a great experience with TCT. Our organizer was Janet and she was really helpful during our stay in China. They helped us with the itinerary and it was valuable choice to do the tour with an organizer in order to know more places. We had a great time during the 21 days we stayed in China and all the small problems we had, Janet took care of it. Felt really secure and look foward to have another experience with TCT!

YumnaM1

5.0

We were a party of 9. Four adults and 5 children, varying in ages from 8-13. Travelled to China August 2017. After contacting a number of agents in China for our holiday, Janet from TCT was extremely prompt in her responses whilst trying to finalise our itinerary she was as accommodating as possible. We had a wonderful trip to China. It is one of the most incredible countries with so much culture and history. We were greeted at each destination by a guide and had an air conditioned mini bus ready with a driver at each destination. I would say Ken in Xian and Martin in Shangahai were the better of the four. They all spoke English well they were fun and enthusiastic! My personal highlights In Beijing - were the Great wall of China_ Muttanya section. ( I chose this section to toboggan down the great wall at the end- our guide JOYCE was very cautious and did not allow us to attempt this. I was very disappointed in her lack of adventure! she could have let us adults take the ride! ) However the view whilst on the Great Wall were just breathtaking! Xian- the Muslim area- incredible food and history and The Terracotta army- unimaginable. Our kids especially like the Calligraphy lesson! Guilin- for us was not as good as we expected- partly because it was so hot and we couldn't appreciate nature as much! But it is scenic ! The river cruise was relaxing after days of non stop sightseeing! Shanghai! Its a wonderful city.! Wild! The water villages are a must! Overall, I would say that its essential to have guide in China. All our guides sourced us Halal restaurants so food was never a problem! If I were to visit again- i would pick a cooler time perhaps such as October or April as August was just too hot! I would like to thanks Janet and her team for giving us such wonderful memories in China!

CattyDoo

5.0

Me, my brother, and mother just got back from our 3.5 week trip all around China with TCT. From the moment we landed in Beijing we had an experienced and friendly guide waiting for us at the airport (Felix who was GREAT!). All of our guides throughout the cities we went to were very knowledgeable, had stellar English, and were very friendly. The drivers of our personal van were also very nice and did their job very well. The trip was planned with great detail and thought by Janet- we got to see so much in our 3.5 weeks there from The Forbidden City in Beijing, The Great Wall, Pandas and Hot Pot in Chengdu, Shanghai, Rice Patties in Chengdu, The Terracotta Warrios in Xian and so much more! We highly recommended top China Travel and loved the personal touch they added to our wonderful trip. Many thanks, Catherine, Dragana, and Paul

docbj82

5.0

Lily, the tour organizer for Top China Travel, was wonderful. She planned everything and adjusted the trip to match our specific destination requests (My daughter and I were traveling alone). At every destination on the trip (from Beijing to Guilin), a driver and guide met us so we never had to worry about transportation or the challenges of making ourselves understood. Our guides varied from being very poor (when it was a contracted city guide to see the Great Wall or the Forbidden City) to the very good (when it was their guides for stops in Guilin or the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park). The Beijing guides couldn't speak English or spoke it poorly, they made us go to destinations no one wanted to see, and they were rude. Those places would be worth visiting on your own because Beijing's subway system is pretty straightforward and arranging transport to the Great Wall seemed uncomplicated.We are not great with guides in that we prefer to travel on our own and "discover" the joys of a new place without the rigidity of a tour, but having a driver and in some places a guide can be essential in China. If we didn't have a guide in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, we probably would still be there! In very few places do people speak English, so figuring out the queue system or even the need to hold onto your ticket for endless checking made the presence of a guide rather handy. The downside of having a guide, though, is how their presence limits your spontaneity and impedes your ability to choose where or what you want to eat. Eating Chinese food three times a day can be pretty depressing to your taste buds. From this trip I learned ( I have never used a tour company before and I have traveled all over the world) that you need to play an active role in requesting the kind of accommodations you want. We prefer to be in walking distance of city centers and having an English speaking person on staff would have been nice. In Xi'an we were outside the city walls and, throughout our trip, rarely did any of the hospitality staff in the many hotels we stayed in speak any English. That oversight was my fault because I failed to request those things. I expected some English proficiency from people working in the hospitality industry, but in reality English speakers didn't appear to be very common. Beijing and Xi'an were one time places for us (the crowds at the Terra-cotta soldiers were literally overwhelming), but the mountain region in the Hunan Province and the Li River in Guilin (bike riding in Guilin was a real highlight!) were delightful. No matter where you go, though, be prepared for endless crowds, a lot of shoving, and an ongoing din as you navigate this part of China. Top China Travel made an extremely challenging trip (China is not an easy country to visit- the inconsistency of sanitary toilet facilities, a form of public behavior that can be very disconcerting to visitors, and the total absence of any multi-culturalism), one that was a bit less challenging. We had a fascinating time in China. Many of the destinations we chose were not for the faint of heart or for someone who is new to international travel. In most places, we were the object of intense curiosity and the subject of many, many photos. The Great Wall alone made the trip worth doing, so don't be put off by the extreme hustle and noise that will surround you night and day. Top China Travel certainly helped make our trip one we will never forget!

stpesquire

5.0

Had a wonderful time in those places. The guides were all friendly and accommodating. They can all speak good English and made suggestions on what to eat, what and where to buy for local products. They even helped us order food in the restaurants because most people in the Gansu and Xinjiang provinces do not speak and cannot understand English. Special thanks to our guide (Jerry) and our driver in Beijing who acceded to our request to drop by a small cherry farm to pick and buy cherries on the way back to Beijing from Mutianyo Great Wall. Special thanks too to Kevin Ma, our guide in Xinjiang for a detour to a grape vineyard for a photo op as well as to his treat of the most delicious melon in Turpan. The places we have visited - Zhangye Danxia Lanform, Mingsha Shan Sand Dunes and Crescent Moon Lake in Dunhuang, Tainchi/Heavenly Lake in Urumqi, and all the other places in our itinerary are beyond amazing. It's quite a surprise that China has all these magnificent places. Shoutout to Yocky, the beautiful tour operator who patiently arranged all the tours for us and made this trip as pleasant as possible...thank you! Hats off to Top China Travel!!! Will definitely avail of their services in our future China trip.

johnhagnas

5.0

In september 2016 we (2 couples from Finland) started to plan for a real encounter with Asia. Quite soon the project grew and we decided to ask for help. Top China Travel made it easy for us in China. We gave rough guidelines and Janet made a proposal based on that. After some iteration (we did not want everything) we ended up in a plan. The plan was good, if not excellent, and the price within our budget. Deal! In april we spent three incredible weeks in China. Now we are back home and have digested the whole thing. We are very happy. Janet and her guides made it so easy for us and everything worked perfect. This is incredble, because we traveled around a lot. By train, car, air...tickets, time schedules, hotels...perfect! Thank you. In really recommend. John

drphani

5.0

professional people to handle everything. Rebecca the star of our trip to china answered my unending emails with lot of patience and smile. gave a perfect tour to see china in a memorable way. the guides Helen at shanghai and windy at Hongkong are very kind people and lot of patience to organise the trip to your liking. curt very bad guide in Beijing, doesn't have patience and smokes continuously, very rough in speaking. but china is beautiful country to visit.see it through these guys.

Luca L

5.0

With TCT I have organized a 21 days tour for my family: my wife, my 9 years old daughter and me (in august ) We asked to Rebecca (our TCT consultant), who has patiently worked for more than 6 months on all details, to see, not only the most interesting things but to understand a little the Chinese way of life. The goal of the journey was to let my daughter to see different way of life and unusual (for us) landscape. The other objective was to visit China like a Chinese tourist can do. All these things weren’t easy to organize, but after more than six months of planning we were exited to visit the Country and we had really high expectation. It seems impossible but all the goals have been reached and TCT make us to live unforgettable visit of China. During the organization of the tour Rebecca suggested us to add some destinations to our trip and that makes our trip something unique. One the most interesting thing is that in most of the hotel (all 4 stars – western standard- and really comfortable) we never meet western people, that mean we were out of usual tour. All the guides had high professional behavior, knowledge and did their best to let us to see as much as possible. Consider that we were with a 9 years old child and nothing went wrong. All the drivers, considering the traffic situation in China, have been super! They did all the best in order to take us closer to all attractions in the safest way. Guides and drivers has been very flexible. Some days we have been together more than 12 hours! All the guides make arrangement of the tour in order to avoid queue and visit more. That has surprise me a lot. We have visited places like Mt.Huangshan, Hongcun Village (set of the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), Tulou in Fujian , Shaolin Zen Music Ritual in Denfeng (a show that worth the journey in China – the biggest stage we ever seen - , suggested by Rebecca) or arhat clay statues at White Horse Temple in Louyang ( if you have seen Terraccota Army in Xi’an you will remain astonished in front of this sculptures), descending from Grat Wall with a toboga, ride a bike on Xi’an city wall or visit a daily market in Beijing. We have attended to the Mask Changing show and 1000 Hands Dance , few minute show but hard to find in a show. Just to list some of the wonderful things we have experienced. But, the most astonishing thing has been that in some places “we were the attraction”. Western people were so unusual that parents asked to my daughter to take pictures with their children !!! Very Chinese !!! In Guilin we meet Rebecca from TCT after little bit less than one year of e-mails ! A great moment too. The only thing that TCT could not manage was the weather, but we have been lucky. Quite always blues sky and just one day of heavy rain. We could not ask more ! A special thanks to our guides Tony around Huangshan, Candy in Shangai, Mike in Xi’an, Mina in Fujian and Shane in Luoyang. And a special special thanks to Linda in Beijing and Tina in Guilin that have done so much for us in order satisfy all our wishes! Deep knowledge, flexibility and enthusiasm made us to enter in Chinese culture. . Interesting, safe and well organized! We are thinking to visit more China in the future with TCT, we trust them !

lonabrunton

5.0

We started out in Beijing and then traveled by fast train and airplanes, visiting Xi'an, Guilin, Yangshou, and finally Shanghai. We saw all the most famous and auspicious sites, scenery and nature and experienced the amazing people and culture of China. Having tour guides and drivers to ourselves made the trip intimate, friendly and provided a rare opportunity to be part of the travel rather than onlookers. Eating lunch with a retired woman in Shanghai in her home was a highlight. This is one of the best trips we have ever taken. Thank you to all our guides and drivers, Janet and Top China Travel.

glennkim11

5.0

we looked around and could not find anyone else that would tailor a trip how we wanted it But Janet from Top China Travel was so helpful we emailed at first then talked on skype Janet Chan of the Guilin office went that extra mile Janet helped us plan our 4 week tour of China starting in Shanghi then to Yellow Mountain were Misha met us took us to some old villages then spent 3 days in the mountains with Misha showing us her wonderful part of the world (a Must do) then took the Public Bus to Hangzhou this was a great choice then onto Beijing, Xian by High Speed train (spoil your self go 1st class was great) we did the Great wall at Mutianyu we had 4 hr wish we had more time there Herbet our guid took us to The Sacred road & the Chang Tomb in the afternoon well worth the very long day Xian Terracotta Warriors Met the guy that found them and a great day Guili,Yangshou & Longsheng Annie or guid was great took us to some real out of the way places we met up with Janet in Guilin and she gave us a very personalised gift something very special to my wife & I Janet made sure we did not miss a thing. All of our tour guides and drivers were waiting for us at the train stations/airports as pre-arranged which took a lot of stress away. Everything ran so smoothly. A big Thank You to TCT Janet and the team for making our experience so enjoyable. WE will be Back The Food was Great go to the little cafes in the back streets well worth it and cheap

Christine G

5.0

We arranged our 21 day personalised itinerary of China and Tibet with Janet Chan of Top China Tours , a company in Guilin.Janet made the process from us enquiring to the end of the trip very easy for us. The tour was fantastic, the Guides were very knowledgeable, the Driver's very experienced, the Hotels were very central, the Tours arranged for each area we visited were great, leaving us with a very rememberable trip,many thanks to Janet. Christine-Australia

William J

5.0

I’m going to begin by saying we highly recommend China Travel, specifically our tour director Janet Chan, for your travel arrangements in China. They offer value, quality, professionalism and even friendship. And if you run into trouble, they are there to help you out. Four of us experienced it all during our 21 day tour of the country. And after using a tour company for nearly month with seven amazing tour guides you really get to know their worth – this one went above and beyond. Now the details on why we loved this company. Our totally custom tour of China took in the breadth of Central China, from Shanghai, Guilin, Hangzhou and Beijing to Xian, Chongqing and Chengdu. Leon collaborated for several months before the trip with our group leader, Alan Holtzman, on the itinerary. Alan did a lot of research on where we would go and would submit his ideas by e-mail to Janet who would in turn make suggestions about alternatives if there was something we missed or warnings if one particular venue was too far or too physically demanding. After months of back and forth, they came up with an incredible itinerary that would include the major cities of China, well known destinations like the Forbidden City and the Great Wall in Beijing, the Terra Cotta Warriors in Xian and a three day cruise down the Yangtze to the Three Gorges dam. Our tour also took us to some not so traveled paths to places like Leshan with its giant Buddha, and an incredible journey to Mount Emei and the Monastery of Ten Thousand Years. We saw old and new China in ways packaged tours could not approach. Each place was fascinating – some magical, like our short cruise down the Li River and other’s just fun like exploring the ancient river town of Wuzhen. The price for the entire tour, not including hotels and some meals, was surprisingly affordable – less per person than our 14-day cruise we took to get to Shanghai from Hong Kong. The fee included the Yangtze cruise, flights, train tickets, tours, guides and drivers, attraction fares and lunches. A word about lunches. Many of our friends who visited China via tour packages complained about the bland food served day after day. We had a totally different experience. Our lunches were wonderful. Each reflected the region or city we were in and included as many dishes as we wanted off extensive restaurant menus, plus tall beers on hot days. Our wonderful guides helped us out with the dishes knowing our tolerance for spicy heat and weird food. None of us had any health issues due to food or drink on the trip. We were provided with English speaking guides and experienced drivers for every destination. They were heart and soul of our experience – a joy to be around and learn from. I will go into detail about each tour in other TA reviews about specific destinations. But our guides became our friends in a very short time. Their English names were Dream, Melody, Tony, Kenneth, Jim, Li Li, and Helen. All made sure we were greeted at the airport or train station, checked into the hotel and got our plane or train when we departed. They were on-time, funny, entertaining, knowledgeable and above all, caring. If you needed anything, they would go out of their way to find it. They helped you bargain when shopping, select dishes from exotic menus and get you into the priority check-in lines at the train stations and airports. They even helped my wife find Western-style toilets – not an easy task. (The Chinese version was too hard on her knees.) Our drivers were very experienced driving in the chaos that reigns in Chinese roads… roads full of inexperienced drivers who do things that are jaw dropping and dangerous. Wear seat belts; you’ll feel a lot safer. The cars and vans provided were all in good order and mostly newer models. Before our tour we took a cruise from Hong Kong to Shanghai, so we had a lot of luggage. So much that Leon had to order a second car and driver just for our luggage after the tour began. AND HE DIDN’T CHARGE US ANYTHING MORE! I titled this review “our guardian angels.” When you travel as much as we do you know that there’s always the possibility of unexpected “adventures.” After our cruise down the Yangtze we stayed overnight in Yichang, and then were scheduled to fly back to Shanghai, where, a day later, we would catch our flight back to San Diego. We boarded the Yichang plane on arainy morning and waited on the tarmac for nearly an hour before the captain announced that the flight was weather-delayed. We deplaned, and waited in the terminal for the flight to be cleared. We called Leon to alert him to the delay, so he could contact our guide in Shangha about the change in plans. We waited in the airport for four hours before it was announced our flight was cancelled. The staff at the airline spoke little English and we worried it would be hard if not impossible to find another flight or alternative transportation, since the bad weather was affecting much of western China. But we had a friend in China. Janet had been keeping track of our flight and working on alternative arrangements. She booked us on a flight to Hangzhou where we would take a high-speed train to Shanghai. After another brief delay, our new flight took off for Hangzhou. When we landed there, our former tour-guide Tony and his driver met us and took us to the train station an hour away. He led us to the platform, handed us the tickets and made sure we got on the right train. An hour later, we were met in Shanghai by a new guide and driver who took us to our hotel. A three hour journey turned into a 1- hour odyssey, but thanks to Janet and her team we made it to Shanghai in time to enjoy a half-day there before catching our flight home. There we many things we loved about China, the history, art, culture and especially their people who were universally friendly and caring. There are also dark sides, like pollution, explosive growth that erases historic districts and information censorship (although the people were very savvy about current affairs and recent history). We agreed that many of those issues are being addressed by a more enlightened leadership. In the end, it was a magnificent adventure, made possible by China Travel’s Janet Chan and her talented team. We thank them and look forward to seeing our China friends again soon.

tooshies

5.0

TCT, and our dedicated agent Maggie, performed A+ service in the planning & execution of our 21 day, door to door excursion of China, Tibet and Hong Kong. All drivers and guides excelled in there individual skills, knowledge and were personable. Absolutely no complaints from us and we consider ourselves to be very well traveled to the more exotic spots of the globe. The Gordons, Richmond Hill, ON CANADA.

21 Days China Panorama Tour