Reviews

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.

Very extensive, well planned, but exhausting tour. Little or no free time.
Up at 06:00 to 07:00 back to hotel ~ 20:00 to 21:00.

Great guide David, caring, conscientious & kind, nothing was too much trouble for him.

Would have preferred to visit Shanghai's colonial era streets than cross the river to the newly developed area.

Boat tour in Wuzhen would have been more interesting than in Suzhou

I'd have been happier had our tour ended in Xian

High points
1 Evening tour of Xian city centre, full of life, festive lights everywhere, older people dancing on a wide pavement, we all joined in, young singers busking, such a joyous atmosphere.

2 Three great shows,

3 Great Chinese cuisine throughout

4 Jinling Shihu Garden Hotel, Suzhou - beautiful hotel

Low points
1 Beijing first day, thousands queueing in 35°C heat to enter Tiananmen Square, a horror show ! two separate securety passport checks then a further face scan before we could enter. Could hardly see the square for people, who went on mass to the Forbidden City where the crush was even worse - an exhausting, utter waste of time. We'd have been better off looking at a move tracing the history with aerial photos etc in air conditioned comfort. A tour of the cities shopping or embassy area would
have been more interresting & enjoyable

2 Hotels in new high tech areas Chengdu & Beijing, remote from
city centres. Dull surroundings, not that we had much time to explore

3 Dinner at "Irish Pub" in Guilin. Very poor quality food compared with excellent Chinese cuisine throughout. To be avoided.

4 Waterfall Hotel in Guilin - only two functioning lifts for 33 stories. Very stressfull mornings not knowing when a lift would arrive & when one did
if there would be room to get into it. Otherwise a fine hotel, well located.

I think that's enough to be going on with !

This was our first trip with Wendy Wu tours and it’s worth every penny.

They did everything they could to make this tour as memorable as possible, from personal pick up and drop off at the airports, arranging all the best sights, transport, food, knowledgeable local tour guides and just making sure that every single minute was a pleasure.

We started in Shanghai, then flew to Xian and finally took the bullet train to Beijing before coming back to the Uk via Hong Kong.

All credit to Louis, our hugely knowledgeable tour guide, photographer, interpreter and nanny. His hard work made this tour run like clockwork and we always felt safe and looked after where ever we went.

Go to China, the people are friendly, welcoming and they truly love their country and it’s amazing history.

Incredible First Tour Experience – Highly Recommend Wendy Wu!

I called Wendy Wu office to book directly was very easy and quick. All my questions answered.

I joined the Wendy Wu tour of China from 9 May to 19 May, I added 2 extra days in Beijing which I was pleased as had free time to get over travelling. I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better first tour experience!

From start to finish, everything was seamless and exceptionally well organized. Our main tour guide, Susan, was absolutely fantastic—so caring, knowledgeable, and efficient. We were also lucky to have amazing local guides: in Beijing and Chengdu, who added local insight and personality to the trip.

We had a small group of just 13 people, which made the experience feel more personal, relaxed, and enjoyable.

Our itinerary included:
• 3 days in Beijing, where we visited iconic sites such as Tiananmen Square, the Great Wall, and the Summer Palace
• 1 day in Xi’an, featuring the unforgettable Terracotta Warriors and a stay in a fantastic hotel
• 3 days in Chengdu, home of the adorable giant pandas and vibrant local culture

We traveled between cities on two high-speed bullet trains, which were smooth and efficient. I also received a free business class upgrade on one of the flights, and paid to upgrade another leg—absolutely worth the additional cost for the extra comfort.

One of the highlights of the tour was the food. All meals were included, and we dined together as a group in traditional Chinese family-style, sharing a variety of delicious local dishes at each meal. It was a fantastic way to experience the cuisine and bond with the group.

What made the trip even more memorable was the wonderful group of fellow travelers. We shared great moments, plenty of laughs, and created memories I’ll treasure for a lifetime.

If you’re considering a trip to China, I highly recommend Wendy Wu Tours. This was an unforgettable journey, and I wouldn’t hesitate to travel with them again!

Excellent guides, knowledgeable, friendly and very helpful.

Content of tour is very good, it covers all major sites, but felt too much is squeezed into the time allocated resulting in long and very tiring days. This relates primarily to the first few days in Beijing and Xi’an. The tour from the Yangtze through to Shanghai was perfect.

You need to be very aware of the physical requirements of this tour particularly if you are of more mature years as we had an elderly person who struggled to keep up and actually missed out as he couldn’t do some of trip..

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

Our guide George made our holiday a success. He was desperate to make sure we were all happy and did everything he could to help from carrying our bags to buying from the vending machine on our behalf when it only accepted Alipay. George was always on hand and tried his best to ensure we had a great time. His instructions were sometimes confusing, telling different people different times to meet. On a few occasions George would say he would wait for people or with the bags but he left.
Our best local guide was Jasper in Chengdu.
It was frustrating that we had no free time to explore Chongqing as George got lost.
The food was very plentiful and tasty but it was very difficult to identify vegetarian options.
George was poorly for several days but soldiered on, making sure it didn’t spoil our trip, however he had no idea of personal space which was very uncomfortable, especially when he was clearly unwell.
The optional excursions were not explained very well in the Wendy Wu literature and it was difficult to decide which to go on.
George’s lesson in Mah-jong on the boat was an added bonus.
Having done just one excursion with ‘young George’ I found him to be more informative and willing to talk about real life in China.
I was disappointed not to spend longer with the pandas. We did not need an hour and a half for lunch, we would have been happy with a sandwich at the train station.
The trip is very intense with so many amazing things to do, when travelling from Xian to Beijing with had no activities at all and I know the group would have preferred a later train with the opportunity for a lie in.
In Xian we were deposited at a pottery and lacquer shop for nearly an hour to be sold to and similarly I would have liked longer at the Wall and to have skipped the Jade hard sell. At the Terracotta soldiers we were told to stay together and that there was no time to visit the gift shop or the market but then proceeded to stand around for at least 15min waiting for something? It would have been nice to be treated like adults a little more, be given a time and location to meet and spend our time as we wished. This happed at the Great Wall and everyone got to do what they wanted.
Whilst the hotels selected were generally fabulous their locations always seemed to be a long way from any life (shops & bars) so we were a bit stuck in our rooms when not on excursions.
These are all areas I think the tour could be improved but it was still a once in a lifetime experience!
Well that really was amazing. Phenomenal sites including the Terracotta Warriors, the Great Wall, 3 Gorges Dam and Giant Pandas old and young. We met loads of locals who love to meet a ‘big nose’ foreigner and have a photo. I ate my own body weight in boiled rice! We made some new friends and have some. Very special memories.

A fabulous tour incorporating all the key elements of China in one tour. It’s an action packed itinerary taking in all the key sites and carefully managed by your national guide, with local guides at each other main location to assist.

We had 24 on this tour group and everyone got on pretty well. Our National guide George took great care of us - he was super organised and his level of English was really impressive. He diligently catered for the various dietary requirements within the group and gave us rich insights into how China is. My last trip to China was in 1992 and the advancement is amazing! Certainly the standard of food and service facilities have improved massively!

There are several early morning starts but all understandable given that we had to cover vast distances using the various transport options - bullet trains, internal flights, cruise boats and we took a ride on the maglev train in Shanghai too! Beijing and Xian were amazing and stepped in history of course but beware that it’s full on with lots of walking as the sites are vast. The Great Wall is spectacular but that is pretty steep so those that are super for can get a challenge!

If would have been good to have a little break or chill day but we used the first day of the Yangtze River cruise to do this. The optional excursions are good - especially the acrobatics show and the night performance in Guilin if the weather permits it - go! We had a mini heatwave whilst we’re were there this March so be prepared and bring summer clothes!! Or buy some at Yangshuo!

Would highly recommend this tour and will definitely go with Wendy Wu Tours again.

A truly incredible trip to China with Wendy Wu travelling from Beijing to Xi’an and Chengdu. A busy itinerary from early morning to evening with three fabulous local tour guides ensuring we made the most of their individual cities and everything on offer.
The Great Wall, the terracotta warriors, the Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven, mandarin ducks, acrobatic and Tang Dynasty shows and entertainment and of course two days seeing Pandas as well as sharing in with some of the local culture. I’m well travelled but this trip was an absolute highlight. Thank you

My trip to China was a very interesting experience.
I was impressed with the extraordinary history, culture and how advance the modern cities, the fast train, the roads and highways.
The trip was a real success because our excellent guide Betty. She was so aware of our security and needs. Besides her perfect English, her interesting anecdotes made our long bus journeys pleasant. Very grateful with her
The food was delicious and nice to go to local restaurants to see the real way of eating of Chinese people.
The fast train was amazing to ride. The train station so clean and organized
Impressed me the cleanliness and organization of the cities in general
The others guides and bus driver were very nice too, specially Tony in Beijing and Johnny in Datong etc…
Thank you to Wendy Wu tours for perfect organization of my tour to China

A truly magical trip inside a magnificent country.
The trip from start, Beijing and finishing in Shanghai we covered vast distances ( quickly I my say) and saw a wonderful array of sights never to be forgotten.
This is ablely managed by Jason our magician of the tour guide , who is then further assisted by local guides you are extremely knowledgeable of their region to help you grasp the current region or historic issues and enhance your enjoyment, which they certainly did. Jason just makes all the various things that need to happen with the group, happen, he does professional behind a extremely well organised iternary and trip.
Well done Wendy Wu

We purchased the Silk Road Explorer trip in February 2024 at the destination show and we are a group of 5 friends from UK. We met at the airport and was really looking forward and excited for the flight to Xian transit at Beijing airport. When we landed at the airport we had to fill in transfer forms and there was a long queue of travellers at passport control. We only had one hour to catch the connecting flight to Xian so we missed the late afternoon flight. That caused a lot of anxiety and we were rushing at the airport looking for information. The staff at the counters were very helpful and we managed to catch the late evening flight to Xian. We would have like to leave London on an earlier flight to give more time for transit.
There were 18 of us in the group and our national guide was Hoffman Huo. We felt very safe in his care and nothing was too much trouble. He provided us with information on each day of the iternary of the places we were to visit . He was always at the back counting and making sure that we get on the train and coach safely. We were his family and felt sad when he waved us off on the last day. Well done Hoffman and we hope to get a guide like you on our next trip to China.
We have enjoyed this long journey on the Silk Road. The places on the iternary were historical , educational and interesting. The sceneries of the sand dunes on the desert and changing colours of the mountains were spectacular. The highlights were the art gallery at the Magao caves and the camel ride at the Gobi desert. What a great experience!
Well done Wendy Wu and staff for organising this amazing trip .
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We had been to Hong Kong & Beijing before, but the Grand Tour was a whole new level of understanding of China. The trip organisation by Wendy Wu was faultless & our national guide, David He, was exceptional, showing patience & understanding where needed plus a great knowledge of China. He worked hard to satisfy Gluten / Veggy food needs – not always easy with this style of meal service. Local guides in each town were also really good. Hotels varied from good to great, with priority usually being location. The Yangshuo hotel, for example, was a bit older but we stepped straight out onto West St, and breakfast was simple but had an exceptional view. There is a lot of travel involved with 3 each internal flights & trains, but Chinese trains & airports put the UK to shame! Overall the food was at least good sometimes great. Breakfast did not always include a wide ‘Western’ selection but then we were foreigners in China - How many foreign breakfast options do UK hotels have? Bus management was brilliant – a snap of the electronic fingers & it was there. We had not done a ‘follow the flag’ holiday or used Wendy Wu before. We will definitely do both again. Thanks again David. 

If you are considering a long trip in China for the first time – lessons we learned:
> Grand tour lunch & dinner is 26 days of Chinese food, with set dishes, off a lazy susan except for a few packed lunches & the Yangtze cruise. Some of the dishes may not be to your taste – be flexible.
> You will need to handle your luggage – journeys involve suitcases + escalators + airports & stations
> Out walking at night in China - this is the safest I have ever felt either at home or travelling.
> Don’t think too hard about the tip pot, it just works, saving time & hassle.
> Alipay attached to your UK credit card is super quick & easy to use if you have an active phone.
> Install Wechat to contact family in case you cannot get Whatsapp to work – basically the same (Family will also have to install).
> VPN’s did not reliably work. But they do have 30 day money back warranty. I tried Express / Nord
> If your phone accepts e-sim, get one. Ours gave us access to Western websites with no VPN and always worked.
> You may be sharing China with lots of domestic tourists – check when their major holidays are.
> The Yangtze cruise was great & we are happy we did not upgrade either room or meal options. Upgraders were equally happy with their choice - do not worry about it.
Totally recommended.
Paul & Tracy

On this tour we covered a lot of ground and felt that we saw a huge amount. Our National guide Ivan was outstanding and worked tirelessly the whole 21 days to make sure we were happy and well looked after. The local guides were also brilliant. The hotel standards were all excellent and all the transfers were well managed and comfortable. We should have looked more closely at our flights as we arrived very late ( 11pm) after 24 hours travelling and had an early 5.30am start. We let Wendy Wu arrange the flights but I think if we had looked closer we could have chosen different flights and would have flown direct to Beijing a day earlier to help with the 7 hour time difference. The food was interesting at the start of the holiday but became monotonous as we had a lazy susan of similar dishes presented to us for lunch and dinner every day. It would have helped us all if the guides had taken us to an Italian or other western food restaurant occasionally. The 3 night cruise on the Yangtze River gave us a break from the lazy susan Chinese food and white rice but we had to pay for that as an upgrade.
The holiday schedule was very full and busy with very little time to relax, but we really saw and experienced a lot of China both on an off the beaten track. We had an amazing time with our 24 travel companions and I would recommend this holiday as great way to visit China.