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Guest Reviews & Travel Notes
19 published guest reviews
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Claudio Panarello
Best China trip
The guides were knowledgeable and the itinerary balanced history, scenery and city experiences very well. We would gladly recommend this route to first-time visitors to China.
Susana Dominguez
Wonderful private tour
We booked the tour from Argentina without knowing the agency and it turned out to be a wonderful experience. The organization, hotels and excursions exceeded our expectations.
Sarah Mitchell
Everything ran smoothly from start to finish
We booked the 14-day route and it was paced very well for our family. Beijing and Xi'an were the big highlights, but I also loved the quieter moments in Guilin and Yangshuo. Airport transfers were always on time and our guide adjusted sightseeing when my parents needed a slower morning.
Andrea Rossi
Helpful team for a custom itinerary
I wanted a private trip focused more on history museums and older neighborhoods, and the tailor-made team listened carefully. They revised the plan twice before I booked, and the final route matched what I had in mind. I also appreciated that restaurant suggestions were practical rather than overly touristy.
James Cooper
A well-planned first trip to China
This was our first time visiting China and the route made a lot of sense for first-time travelers. We especially appreciated having the same contact person before and during the trip. The Terracotta Warriors day was excellent, and the hotel locations made evening walks easy in both Beijing and Shanghai.
Aiden & Mei-Ling Fitzgerald
Our honeymoon in China ? romantic, magical, and perfectly organized
My wife grew up in Beijing but had never seen China through a tourist's eyes before. Choosing the 16 Days China Highlights tour for our honeymoon let her rediscover her homeland and let me see it for the first time simultaneously. Our guide David seemed to understand this perfectly and kept finding moments for us ? a private rooftop sunset view of the Forbidden City from Jingshan Park, a table by the window at a restaurant in Yangshuo with the karst peaks lit up at night, arranging a paper-cutting workshop with a local artist as a surprise on our anniversary evening in Xi'an. The Li River section was outrageously beautiful. My photos of the karst peaks reflected in the still water of the river in the early morning look like paintings. I'm sharing a few here ? absolutely untouched, shot on a phone.
Dr. Hans M?ller
The Silk Road exceeded all my historical expectations
I have been interested in Silk Road history since university, so the 12 Days Silk Road Adventure was a dream come true. The Mogao Caves at Dunhuang are one of the most astonishing things I have ever seen ? 492 caves filled with Buddhist art spanning 1,000 years. The guides had specialized knowledge and our cave tour felt like a private lecture from a museum curator. Jiayuguan Fort at sunset, camel trekking at the Singing Sand Dunes, the ancient city ruins of Jiaohe near Turpan ? each stop outdid the last. The logistics were flawless despite covering remote areas. This company clearly has deep relationships with local operators.
All Reviews
Ryan S
Australia
✉️ DirectExcellent first-time China itinerary
This 11-day private route gave us exactly what we wanted for a first trip to China: Beijing history, Xi'an wonders, Guilin scenery and the energy of Shanghai. Everything felt smooth and professional.
Grace Lim
Singapore
✉️ DirectShort trip but we covered a lot
We only had limited vacation time, so the 10-day highlights route suited us well. The days were full, but not chaotic, and we never felt pushed through attractions too quickly. Shanghai at the end was a nice contrast after Beijing and Xi'an.
Daniel Brooks
New Zealand
✉️ DirectThe private tour format worked very well
We were traveling with my mother, so flexibility mattered. Being able to start a little later on two mornings and spend extra time at the Summer Palace made a real difference. The team handled those adjustments without any friction, which made the whole trip feel very personal.
Sophie Keller
Germany
✉️ DirectBeautiful scenery and easy logistics
The scenery around Yangshuo was my favorite part of the trip. Bikes, river views, small villages ? it felt very different from the big cities earlier in our vacation. Everything was arranged clearly, so we could just enjoy the days instead of worrying about transport details.
Fran?ois Dupont
France
✉️ DirectTr?s bonne organisation sur place
Le circuit de 10 jours ?tait bien ?quilibr?. Les transferts ?taient ponctuels, les h?tels ?taient pratiques pour visiter, et le programme ?tait clair chaque soir pour le lendemain. Xi'an a ?t? notre ?tape pr?f?r?e, surtout la visite des remparts et du quartier musulman.
Yuki Tanaka
Japan
✉️ DirectHuangshan Yellow Mountain clouds ? I understand Chinese painting now
I studied Chinese art history at university and always wanted to understand why the Yellow Mountain appears in so many paintings. Now I know. We joined the 11 Days China Wonders Experience which included a Huangshan extension, and waking before dawn to hike to the Western Sea of Clouds was one of the most beautiful things I have ever witnessed. The clouds fill the valleys between the granite peaks and the pine trees, and as the sun rises the light turns everything gold and pink. I stood there for two hours just watching it shift. My photos don't fully capture it ? no photo can ? but I'm sharing them anyway because even 60% of the real thing is extraordinary. The rest of the tour (Beijing, Xi'an, Guilin) was excellent as always, but Huangshan was my personal revelation. Book the sunrise hike.
Omar Al-Rashidi
UAE
✉️ DirectThe Silk Road camel trek at Dunhuang ? my most shared Instagram post ever
I travel extensively for work and rarely get genuinely surprised anymore. The 12 Days Silk Road Adventure managed to surprise me at every stop. The Crescent Moon Lake at Dunhuang ? an oasis lake surrounded by giant sand dunes, completely intact after 2,000 years ? is one of the strangest and most beautiful things I have ever seen. We did the camel trek at sunset and the light on the dunes was extraordinary. The photo I took from the dune top looking down at the lake has been shared over 4,000 times on Instagram. The Mogao Caves visit the following morning was the intellectual counterpart ? 1,000 years of continuous Buddhist art in carved rock, with a specialist art historian as our guide. The company clearly chooses its guides at every location for expertise, not just language ability.
Barbara & Richard Stevenson
United States
✉️ DirectAt 72 and 75, China was our most ambitious trip ? it was flawless
My husband and I are both in our 70s and had reservations about whether China was manageable. From the very first email, The Top China Tour team put us at ease. They arranged the 16 Days China Highlights tour with specific modifications: a slightly slower pace, ground-floor hotel rooms where possible, and a guide who knew all the least-crowded entry times for each attraction. The Great Wall at Mutianyu has a cable car and a toboggan return ? perfect! Our guide Angela was endlessly patient, carried my camera bag without being asked, and knew exactly which temple steps had handrails. We covered six cities across 16 days and returned home exhilarated, not exhausted. Do not let age hold you back.
William & Patricia Chen
Singapore
✉️ DirectFrom Li River karst to Yangtze gorges ? China's two great rivers in one trip
The 13 Days from Li River to the Yangtze is a beautifully conceived itinerary connecting China's two most iconic river landscapes. The Li River bamboo raft from Guilin to Yangshuo in morning mist with karst peaks ? being there in person made me understand why people fall in love with China. Then the Yangtze Three Gorges cruise: completely different in scale ? epic rather than delicate. The combination makes perfect sense. Our guide arranged a cooking class in Yangshuo where we went to the morning market first and chose our own ingredients. The French chef at our Three Gorges cruise ship dinner was a welcome surprise. An absolutely world-class trip.
James & Sarah Norton
United Kingdom
✉️ DirectShort on time? This 6-day tour is pure gold
With only 6 days to spare, the 6 Days Beijing & Shanghai Tour was perfect. Two of the world's great cities, beautifully contrasted. In Beijing our guide took us to a dumpling-making class in a real Hutong family home ? completely off the tourist trail and absolutely delicious. The Forbidden City at our own pace and Tiananmen Square at dawn with almost no other tourists. Then high-speed train to Shanghai ? one of the most exciting train journeys in the world at 350km/h. The contrast with modern Shanghai was electric. Our guide arranged rooftop cocktails overlooking the Bund for our last evening. Perfect trip, perfect service.
Professor Mark Sullivan
Australia
✉️ DirectFor history lovers, this is the definitive China tour
As a history professor who has read about China's ancient capitals for 30 years, finally seeing them in person on the 13 Days Explore Ancient Capitals tour was overwhelming. Luoyang's Longmen Grottoes with 100,000 Buddhist carvings ? staggering. Nanjing's city wall, the world's longest surviving ancient city wall, at sunset was deeply moving. Pingyao's perfectly preserved Ming dynasty merchant quarter where our guesthouse had been operating since 1755. The guides at each location had specialist knowledge at PhD level ? one was actually a published archaeologist. I have done tours on every continent and this company's cultural depth is unmatched.
Charles & Elizabeth Hartley
United States
✉️ DirectThe Yangtze cruise was the highlight of our entire China trip
We booked the 11 Days Best Yangtze River Cruise and the river section was even better than we hoped. Watching the Three Gorges unfold from the deck of the Victoria cruise ship, passing through the enormous locks at the Three Gorges Dam, and taking a wooden sampan up the narrow Shennong Stream with local trackers ? these are images I will carry forever. The pre-cruise portion in Beijing and Xi'an was excellently paced. Our guide arranged a private behind-the-scenes tour of the terracotta warrior restoration laboratory ? not normally open to tourists. The cruise itself was first-class: five-course dinners, enrichment lectures on Three Gorges history, and a very friendly international group.