Travel China with Family and Friends for 3 Consecutive Years

It is always a wonderful thing to travel with family and friends. And the places we went to thus become more than a city or a country, but somewhere with treasured memories. For Mr. Ban and his group, China is such a place with so much to recall.

Since 2017, Mr. Ban and his family and friends have traveled to China with us for 3 consecutive years. When I first received Mr. Ban’s inquiry, he was planning a China tour of 7 people to some featured cultural and natural sites. So I arranged a 10-day tour for Mr. Ban’s group to Chengdu, Xian, Luoyang, and Zhangjiajie. Then in 2018 and 2019, Mr. Ban’s group contacted me again for 2 tours to multi-ethic dreamland Yunnan in southwest China and several gentle Jiangnan cities in southeast China such as Huangshan and Suzhou. It seems to become a routine for Mr. Ban’s group to travel to China every year around October.

Now let’s see what Mr. Ban’s group said about their three China tours.

First China Trip: 10-Day Exploration in Chengdu, Xian, Luoyang and Zhangjiajie (2017.10)

From October 21 - 30, 2017, Mr. Ban and his group went to the hometown of pandas - Chengdu, two ancient capitals - Xi'an and Luoyang, and Avatar mountain - Zhangjiajie.

Mr. Ban’s review on Trip Advisor

"We had a great experience in dealing with China Discovery based in Chengdu. Our consultant was Vivien. I found this company by searching on internet and decided to give it a try without any references. Vivien replied my email inquiries and has demonstrated her professionalism with quick responses and concise English answers without any ambiguity. There is no any doubt about the tour package what is included and what is excluded. We just came back from 10 days tour to Chengdu, Xian, Luoyang and Zhangjiajie. It was well organized and the local tour guides showed up on time and understood the details of our package without any questions. All local tour guides are doing great. A job well done."

Feedback from Mr. Ban

"We are in Taipei now. We had a great time in China. Everything went smoothly. Thanks for your tremendous efforts to make our trip successful. All the tour guides did a great job. Organized and paid attention to details. We enjoyed their company. We will give the highest recommendation to our friends. We will contact you for our next trip to China. Thanks again."

Mr. Ban's Group Visited Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang

Feedback from a Group Member

"My wife and I are also in Taipei now, after a wonderful 10-day tour in China organized by Bamboo International. We enjoyed very much your professional services ever since the beginning. The program, the accommodations, and the guides are all great! We also would like to take this opportunity to recognize our tour guide in 張家界 (Zhangjiajie), Ms. Wang for a job well done! We would definite come back to you for future businesses, and would not hesitate to recommend your services to our friends."

Mr. Ban's Group at Zhangjiajie National Forest Park

Day-by-day Tour Itinerary

Day 1 - 2: Chengdu Arrival & Mt. Qingcheng/Dujiangyan Visit

Take an evening flight to Chengdu and met by our local guide and driver at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport. Then go straight to hotel and have a rest. The second day, drive to Mt. Qingcheng and have a hike on the mountain. Then go to Dujiangyan to know this brilliant irrigation system in ancient China and drive back to Chengdu.

Day 3: Chengdu to Xian

Pay a visit to Chengdu Panda Base and Wuhou Memorial Temple. Then have a cup of tea at Renmin Park and try some snacks at Jinli Old Street. After that, take a plan to Xian.

Day 4 - 5: Xian Visit & Xian to Luoyang

Go to see the Terracotta Warriors in the morning and visit the Ancient City Wall and Muslim Quarter in the afternoon. On the next day, take a high-speed train to Luoyang after visiting the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda in Dacien Temple and Shaanxi History Museum.

Day 6 - 7: Luoyang Visit & Luoyang to Xian/Zhangjiajie

Visit UNESCO World Heritage Site Longmen Grottoes, nearly 2000-year-old White Horse Temple, and General Guan Yu’s Tomb - Guanlin Temple. The next day to have a deeper understanding of Luoyang at Luoyang Old Town, Luoyang Museum of Folk Customs and Luoyang city Ruins Park of Sui and Tang. Then take a high-speed train to Xian and take a plane to Zhangjiajie.

Day 8 - 10: Zhangjiajie Visit & Departure

Spend 2 days appreciating the highlights in Zhangjiajie such as Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon & Glass Bridge, Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, Yuanjiajie and Tianzi Mountain. On the last day, sent off to the airport by our guide and driver and take a flight home.

Second China Trip: 11-Day Yunnan Holiday of Mr. Maa's Family (2018.09)

In 2018, with the previous successful travel experience, Mr. Maa, a member from the group, contacted me to consult about a Yunnan trip for his family of three. Yunnan is famous for the minority culture and stunning natural landscape, a perfect place for a relaxing family holiday. So this 11-day Yunnan tour is arranged at a leisure pace and Mr. Maa’s family enjoyed a lot.

Later Mr. Maa wrote me that “My wife and I are in Taipei now, and Tina is back in New York. Overall we had very good time in Yunnan. We thank you and your company very much for making all this happen.” He also told me that their favorite parts are Stone Forest, Lugu Lake, Tiger Leaping Gorge, Three Pagodas, Mufu Palace, Yunnan Nationalities Museum, Xizhou Ancient Town and they wanted to express special thanks to the guides - Ching in Kunming, Daisy in Dali, and Simona in Lijiang.

Day-by-day Tour Itinerary

Day 1 - 2: Kunming Arrival & Kunming Visit

Met by our local guide and driver and escorted to downtown hotel. After a night’s good rest, start the Kunming tour from Western Hill and Dragon Gate where you can have a panoramic view of Dian Lake, then continue the trip to Yunnan Nationalities Museum and Green Lake Park.

Mr. Maa and His Family at Dragon Gate in Kunming

Day 3: Kunming to Dali

Take a morning flight from Kunming to Dali and visit Three Pagodas of Chongsheng Temple, then head to Erhai Lake and take a cruise to Jinsuo Islet. After that, come to Dali Old Town and enjoy the City Wall, Gate-towers, elegant streets, etc.

Mr. Maa and His Family at Three Pagodas of Chongsheng Temple in Dali

Day 4 - 5: Dali to Lijiang & Lijiang Visit

Drive to Xizhou Ancient Town and attend the morning market there. Then drive to Lijiang and have a visit around Lijiang Old Town to Lion Hill, Wangu Tower, Mufu Palace, Sifang Street Square, Dongba Culture Museum, and Black Dragon Pool. The next day, continue the Lijiang tour to Yuhu Village at the foot of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and visit the Former Residence of Joseph Rock. Then head to Baisha Village to appreciate the ancient Baisha Mural Paintings and take a trip to Shuhe Ancient Town.

Mr. Maa and His Family at Black Dragon Pool in Lijiang

Mr. Maa and His Family at the Former Residence of Joseph Rock

Day 6 - 7: Lijiang to Lugu Lake & Lugu Lake to Lijiang

Drive to Lugu Lake to visit the Mosuo Family and have a Campfire Party. Drive back to Lijiang after a cruise on Lugu Lake the next day.

Mr. Maa and His Family at Lugu Lake with A Local Naxi Woman

Day 8: Lijiang to Shangri-La

Drive 45 km to view the spectacular First Bend of Yangtze River and go on to Iron Chain Bridge in Shigu (Stone Drum) Town. After that, appreciate one of the deepest and most spectacular river canyons in the world - Tiger Leaping Gorge and keep driving to Shangri-La.

Mr. Maa and His Family at First Bend of Yangtze River in Lijiang

Mr. Maa and His Family at Tiger Leaping Gorge on the Way from Lijiang to Shangri-La

Day 9: Shangri-La to Kunming

Tour around Ganden Sumtseling Monastery and Pudacuo National Park. Then pay a visit to a local Tibetan family and take a flight from Shangri-La to Kunming in the evening.

Mrs. Maa and Her Daughter with Sumtseling Monastery in the Background

Day 10 - 11: Kunming Visit & Departure

Drive 85 km to the typical Karst landform - Stone Forest and then drive back to Kunming. Have a good rest and take a flight home on the last day.

Mr. Maa and His Family at Stone Forest in Kunming

Mr. Maa and His Family at Stone Forest with Local Yi People

Third China Trip: 10-Day Southern China Discovery (2019.10)

Then in 2019, I had a third cooperation with Mr. Ban’s group, which has grown to 12 people. This time they chose to explore the famous Yellow Mountain and surrounding ancient villages in Anhui, then appreciated the beauty of some typical Jiangnan (regions south of the Yangtze River) cities and water town such as Hangzhou, Wuzhen, and Suzhou. This turned out to be another successful trip, like always.

At the end of the trip, Mr. Maa e-mailed me that:

"非常感謝你的關照。導遊和司機都盡了力，團員們也都很滿意，尤其是對於你即時的處置更是贊許連連. 在此我要特別向司機先生致歉，彼此初次相處，我因為對他的誤解而作了負面的評語，實在有愧。"

English Translation: Thank you very much for your care. The tour guide and the driver have done their best. All of the group members are very satisfied with your service, especially for your immediate disposal. Here I would like to apologize to the driver. I have made a negative comment on him for some misunderstanding, which I felt really regretful about.

"總之，明天是行程最後一天，在此向你暨貴公司致謝。行程很精彩，導遊和司機們也都很專業，住的旅館也很好。希望再次和你們合作。"

English Translation: In a word, tomorrow is the last day of the trip. Thank you and your company. The itinerary is wonderful, the tour guide and drivers are professional, and the hotel is also very good. I hope to cooperate with you again.

"此祝 業安"

English Translation: I wish you all the best.

And after the tour, Mr. Ban wrote another review on Trip Advisor to share his feelings:

"This is my second time to ask China Discovery to organize a private tour for a group of 12 people to visit Huangshan, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Suzhou, Shanghai and other cities close-by. The tour started on Oct. 16 and ended on Oct. 26. Our travel consultant is Vivien Li. She also organized our first group tour two years ago and one of the group member asked her to put together a private tour for him last year as well. She is very professional and explained the itinerary and the cost very clearly. You will know what is included in your package and what is not. There is no confusion. You will know exactly what you have paid for. She replied to our questions concisely in a timely manner. That is how she built up our confidence to deal with China Discovery."

Day-by-day Tour Itinerary

Day 1: Huangshan Arrival

Met by our local guide and driver at Huangshan Tunxi International Airport, then escorted to downtown hotel in Huangshan.

Day 2 - 4: Huangshan Visit

Drive about 80 kilometers to Mount Huangshan, take a cable car to Beihai Scenic Area. Walk to Begin-to-Believe Peak, Black Tiger Pine and view sunset at Purple Cloud Peak. The next day is to fully explore West Sea Grand Canyon, a dreamland on Yellow Mountain. Then the third day on Yellow Mountain, enjoy the magnificent sunrise at Refreshing Terrance and continue the hiking to Dawn Pavilion and Lion Peak. Then take a cable car downhill. In the afternoon, visit Tunxi Ancient Street and Hu Kaiwen Ink-stick Factory.

Mr. Ban's Group at Yellow Mountain

Day 5: Hongcun to Xidi and Pingshan

Drive to Hongcun, Xidi and Pingshan to visit three remarkable ancient villages and best examples of ancient Huizhou-style architecture.

Day 6: Xin’anjiang River Cruise and Huizhou Ancient City Visit

Drive to Shexian County and have a natural painting gallery tour by cruise in Xin’anjiang River, then drive to Huizhou Ancient City to see ancient bridges, towers, lanes, streets, dams and memorial archways.

Mr. Ban's Group at Huizhou Ancient City

Day 7: Huangshan to Hangzhou

Take a morning high-speed train to Hangzhou. Then visit some famous sites at West Lake such as Su Causeway and Bai Causeway.

Day 8 Wuzhen to Nanjing

Drive to Wuzhen Water Town and visit Wuzhen East. Then drive about 3.5h to Nanjing and visit some landmarks downtown such as Nanjing Confucius Temple and Zhonghua Gate.

Day 9: Nanjing to Wuxi and Suzhou

After a visit to Dr. Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, drive from Nanjing to Wuxi to visit Lingshan Grand Buddha and enjoy the breathtaking natural scenery of Taihu Lake. Then drive around 1 hour to Suzhou.

Day 10 - 11: Suzhou to Shanghai & Departure

Drive to Shanghai after a visit to Lingering Garden and Pan Gate. Then continue the trip to Shanghai World Financial Center, Nanjing Road, and the Bund. Take a flight home on the last day.

Mr. Ban's Group at the Bund in Shanghai

Until now, Mr. Ban's group have traveled to China with us for 3 times. I am really happy that I helped Mr. Ban's group make their China trip possible. In these three trips, they have traveled to the north, southwest, and southeast of China. They not only saw the manmade wonders such as Terracotta Warriors in Xi'an, Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, but also experienced colorful minority culture in Yunnan, and appreciated a different beauty of China in the mountains and rivers. Having seen so much of China but still a lot unseen, I believe this is not the end. Looking foeward to our next encounter with Mr. Ban and his group.