Shanghai Holidays

From our arrival in Beijing to our departure from Shanghai this was an excellent holiday with our guide, Betty, going above and beyond to make sure we had a fabulous time.
There were quite a few early starts - this isn't a trip if your idea of a holiday is relaxing with a good book - but there was so much to see!
In Beijing we saw Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden Palace, the Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace, the Great Wall and more.
We then took a bullet train to Xian (amazing experience - totally smooth journey travelling at up to 250mph). We explored the city including the Muslim food quarter and the restored city walls and then went to the Terracotta Warriors.
The next day we took an early flight to Yichang and made our way to Maoping docks near the Three Gorges on the Yangtze river where we boarded the almost brand new Victoria Isabella. The weather was dreadful for our 4 days on the boat but the facilities and staff were excellent and we did get a few excursions.
We left the boat at Chongqing and went to the zoo where we saw pandas (a real highlight) and many other animals. A second bullet train took us to Guilin where we spent a night in the Waterfall Hotel (at 2030 every day a massive waterfall cascades down the outside of the building).
The next day, the sun came out and we took a boat trip down the beautiful River Li to Yangshuo. After a night there, we made our way back through the countryside to Guilin, seeing local people and the rice harvest.
After a second night in Guilin (a small but beautiful city) we took a flight to Shanghai, arriving in the early evening. A boat trip on the river Huangpu lets you see the Bund area with the most amazing lights display.
Our final day was spent exploring the city of Shanghai including the beautiful Yu gardens.
China is spotlessly clean. There are reasonable, free public toilets everywhere and the people are friendly (several conversation attempts via Google translate). There are security cameras and police everywhere and you are constantly asked for your passport but it never felt oppressive.

We did a 16 Wonder of China tour with a beautiful ****** Britney (Zhang Ru). Britney was organized, attentive, care, patient, knowledgeable in Chinese new and old histories and culture, above all she was lively and fun which made the tour full of laughter and joy. The Great Wall of China is magnificent, terracotta warriors in Xi’an is unbelievable til you see it, cruising on Yangtze River was beautiful with classic and optional shore tour, cruising from Guilin to Yangshuo on Li river was WOW factor, it took our breath away. We have already thinking of coming back to Guilin again just to sit back and enjoy the most beautiful scenery on earth. Shanghai the Bund is jaw dropping.

Wendy Wu you’ve done it again! Fascinating, informative, spectacular and comfortable.
Even though I was found to be in the wrong group at the start, I got to know a few extra travellers!
Eileen our tour leader was terrific and displayed that Wendy Wu professionalism always. Her insight was great and a change of tack to avoid a very long queue at Tiananmen sq was commendable. Always helpful, always full of information.
Would love to see that magnetic train in Shanghai as a mode of transport for transfer arrivals instead of just a ride back to the airport.
Enjoyed all modes of transport. Loved the Yangtze cruise, excursions in the heat and the upgrade fantastic. Accommodation was the best and meals really delicious everywhere we went. Probably would have swapped the cultural centre for the mountains last day of the cruise. Local guides good and they add another aspect for travellers.
Fascinating country and really recommend it. Loved the pandas, the warriors and the wall.

Absolutely fantastic, cram packed tour with so may contrasting places and experiences. Walking along the Great Walk and strolling round mountain tops where we stood above the clouds and looked down at the brown Yangtze where it met with its green tributaries. The deep crevices of the rift valley with its shafts of daylight poking through. We went under overhanging boulders and deep dark gorges. Such contrasting features.

We experienced the hustle and bustle of huge cities like Beijing and Shanghai and smaller towns like Guilin with a slower pace. We met Mr. Wong the fisherman, with his cormorants and asked him about his life, a way of life that's dying out as youngsters don't want to fish. They'd rather have city jobs.

I loved the .people's parks and the tea rooms with beautiful traditional music playing in one area and live singers backed by musicians in another part. Whilst visiting a rural settings just outside Guilin with its serene, tranquil, stunning scenery, we stumbled on a village wedding and were greeted with sweeties and peanuts as soon as we were spotted.

I will never forget the magnificent sight of the Terra-cotta army in their original burial sites and close encounters with a few of the warriors preserved in glass cases for closer inspection. And of course watching those lazy laid back pandas strolling around their grounds and leisurely climbing trees.

We went to four shows all very diverse and highly entertaining from the unique singing of the Beijing Opera, to the spectacular water show on the lake and then the jaw dropping acrobats and bikers in Shanghai.

Out on the streets and particularly in historic places, were lots of young ladies wearing stunning , traditional very evocative of a traditional Chinese culture. They were very beautiful.

There was so much more to see but I've already written more than I probably should.

Our tour guide, Alice was very professional with all the qualities necessary to keep us well fed, entertained, safe and well informed. She, along with Wendy Wu made this a trip of a life time. I loved every cram packed minute and crave those delicious banquet meals.

Absolutely amazing holiday. Wendy Wu takes great care of you from start to finish with everything included and a guide who stays with you on the whole trip. We started at Shanghai and then on to Guilin and Yangshuo which for me were the highlights of the tour. Then on to Xian and finishing up at Beijing. There were optional extras available and everywhere we went the food was excellent. I felt we did all the major sights and learned so much about the culture and life in China.

I had a fantastic time in China, only one problem was another elderly male traveller was very rude to one of our local guides and disrespectfull to a security guard at the temple site and other travellers, he should be banned from any other tours with this company...
We had 3 local guides ..Steve, Sofia and Jade they were full of knowledge making it easy for use, we also had Eddie as the start to finish guide who also was fantastic, they attended to our every need, the amount of behind the scenes work done to make our trip extremely enjoyable was amazing, my sincere gratitude to theses 4 staff. The food and accommodation was excellent. I would highly recommend Wendy Wu tours , im already looking at another tour with this company .
I hope Wendy Wu keeps these four staff then everyone will enjoy their trip as much as we did...

Ticked almost everything on the bucket list for China. It helped that all of guides were excellent and adjusted the tour based on the groups suggestions. Visited Great Wall, Bejing sites, Xian and the Terracota Army, Guilin and Li river Shanghai and much more. Great introduction to chinese food from the regions.

From the moment we met our group and our guide “Stone” I knew our first China experience was gonna be exciting and fun and it certainly lived up to expectations
The “Stone family”made this holiday working as one unit making sure no one’s left behind on the fast pace itinerary which included Shanghai, Ciqikou, Chengdu, Xian, Beijing
With full pack days, seeing all the sites Shanghai at night on a river cruise
Four nights on a river cruise on the Yangtze River gardens, temples, pandas terracotta army the Great Wall of China that’s not to mention shows why you’re having a meal in the evening dressing up as Emperor and Empress jumping on a plane four in the morning the experience being on the bullet trains to your internal destinations the food was incredible so many different varieties of Chinese food.
There is so much to see and do on this China experience there is not enough room on this page
If you want to experience China, this is the trip for you
A big thank you to Stone our guide and our local guides and to Wendy Wu for making this the best holiday for us

Really good and well organised tour. From the moment you arrived, with someone waiting for you, to the point you were returning home, somebody was there to walk you through process to get you checked in. "Frank" the tour guide was very, very good. Very knowledgeable, always approachable, and very helpful.
The places of interests on the tour were well chosen. Hotels chosen were clean and modern, with the staff very friendly...no complaints at all.
Traffic in Shanghai and Beijing at times was heavy, (even from somebody comes from London), but that's obviously out of Wendy Wu's control.
Would definitely recommend Wendy Wu, and this tour. Go for it.

An amazing full on experience that surpassed my expectations.
We travelled from Beijing to Shanghai escorted by our national guide Louis and a series of local guides. Our group of 14 (from Australia, New Zealand and UK) travelled by coach, boat, bullet train, high speed train and internal flights. Our hotels were of a very good standard, the food was plentiful and excellent but limited in choice for vegetarians.
Bucket lists were ticked at the Forbidden City, The Great Wall, the Terracotta Warriors and let's not forget the Pandas.
Particularly memorable were a Drone spectacular by the river in Chongquin, a lakeside show in Guilin overlooked by the amazing illuminated Karst rock formations and the walled city of Xi'an as beautiful by night as it is by day.
China is an enormous country in the tiny bit we saw a country that although proud of it's heritage and ancient buildings does not dwell in the past. Parts of Shanghai resemble sets from a science fiction film - ultra modern, clean lines and very high tech.
My lasting memories will be of an amazing country with gracious, welcoming people. Would I go again - definitely if it wasn't quite so far away.
I ❤️ China

Grand Tour of China - April 2025
This was an exceptional tour, with a wide variety of sight seeing to suit all tastes - cultural, natural, historical, shopping and so much more.
Our group of 15 ranged from early 50's to 80 and all managed the level of activity because there were options at each site based on ability. That said there are quite a few steps wherever you go in China.
We really felt that we'd been able to experience the culture (and sub cultures of each province) on this tour and it very much lived up to expectations. If you can take the time out to do this - absolutely would recommend.
It was very well organised and our national guide - Ryan - was brilliant, and the local guides (one in each location) added local flavour and information.

Some hints & tips if you're thinking about booking this trip
* Flights - If you can, upgrade to Premium Economy, it's worth it for the long flight. Also, check the flight times you're provided and make sure they're suitable. We ended up with a midnight flight home, and the tour officially finishes at breakfast on the last day, so we arranged a visit to the zoo ourselves, but otherwise we would have been hanging around at the hotel until collection at 7pm
* Packing - get out what you think you need then reduce by at least a third. All the hotels have laundry service and one even had self-service free washers/dryers and detergent provided. It's very casual, and sometimes you go straight to dinner from touring so you don't need clothes to change for dinner. If you can pack in a medium case (instead of large) you'll find it easier when you're moving around between locations, and packing cubes are a god send.
* Internal transfers - these were smooth, flights, trains and coaches. Train stations in China are like airport terminals, you're scanned on the way in (and your bags are too). Also don't get caught out like we did - on trains you're not allowed any pressurised containers over 150ml (and they will pick you up on it), so think deodorant, hair spray, shaving gel - travel size is best
* Staying connected - we used an unlimited data e-sim from Holafly, £60 each for 30 days. Worked like a dream. Some others used VPNs but these were patchy. Without either of these, even with hotel wifi you won't be able to connect to Google, What's App, Facebook etc
* Food & drink - We never went hungry. Breakfasts are mainly asian, but also some western options (fried/boiled eggs, toast, croissants). Lunch and dinner are all chinese, family service. You will eat a lot of rice, noddles. There was lots of fresh veg as well, and a fish eating veggie in our group was well catered for. There is limited choice for drinks, most of our group had local beers (about £1.50 on average per 500ml bottle), soft drinks you could have coke or sprite (or coconut milk/water). These again were about £1 for a 330ml can. Don't expect diet alternatives.
* Mindset - don't think of this as a "holiday" that is restful. Think of it as an adventure. Some days we walked over 20,000 steps, other days only 4,500. Some mornings we met in reception as early as 7am, others not til 9.30am. One flight meant leaving the hotel at 4.30am (as it was the only flight from that city to the next - one flight a day)! Temperatures ranged from early 30's to mid teens, and we were blessed with only two drizzly days. Some locations have high humidity. You also need to be ready to be considered unusual - a spectacle - by the locals. Not all the places visit have lots of western tourists. I don't think I've had my photo taken by as many people in my entire life as I did in these 4 weeks. From school children in a museum being fascinated with us, to adults in the street wanting selfies (or trying to take them on the sly) - go with the flow and you'll enjoy it.
* Crowds - some of the places we visit are very crowded (partly due to the increase in domestic tourism in China), and they don't have the same culture of queuing/patience as we might have in the UK. They travel in large groups, and are often very noisy (large tour groups using loud speakers), Our guides and the timings we had for visits made the most of trying to avoid this, but you do need to think differently when in a crowd if you want to get to "the front" to see something!
* Optional extras - the night tour in Xian is an absolute MUST, we did some of the evening shows and not others depending on how tired we were. If you're a train fan, the optional trip on the MagLev in Shanghai was worth it.