Reviews

What a fabulous tour! All our guides were brilliant, with special mention for Aimee who was with us for the whole trip. The hotels were all of a very high standard, as was the Victoria Jenner, the ship we sailed the Yangtze river on. The organization was perfect, everything went according to plan and we had the most amazing group of people to share our holiday with. We had some delicious meals in some very interesting restaurants and private houses. It really was the holiday of a lifetime and the memories will stay with us forever.

We had a fantastic holiday with a great group of people. Everything was organised for us, so all we had to do was turn up at the appointed time each morning and the whole day was planned for us.

Our main guide was lovely and stayed with us throughout the trip, including at the hotels. We also had a different local guide at each destination, all of whom were extremely knowledgeable about the local area and its history.

The food was plentiful, although don’t expect it to be anything like your local Chinese takeaway!

A few things worth knowing before you go:

You do need to be reasonably fit for this trip. There’s a lot of walking and I’ve never climbed so many steps in my life! Invest in a good, comfortable pair of walking shoes or trainers.

Don’t expect Western-style toilets when you’re out and about. Most are squat toilets, which take some getting used to. Take your own toilet paper or wipes, as supplies can be in short supply outside the hotels. I’d definitely recommend practising your squats at home!

Language can also be a barrier, as not many people speak English outside the hotels. I found a translation app invaluable, particularly when I picked up a nasty cold and needed to visit a local chemist.

If you want to keep in touch with home, you’ll need to use the hotel Wi-Fi or buy an eSIM before you travel, as making calls and using mobile data can be expensive.

There’s no need to pack lots of dressy clothes. Apart from the Yangtze River cruise, there’s very little need for anything particularly smart, and even then, anything goes! During the day it was generally shorts and T-shirts, with lightweight clothing for the evenings. Quite often, though, we’d go straight from a day of sightseeing to a restaurant without having the opportunity to change.

Be prepared for some long and tiring days, especially when you’ve climbed hundreds of steps and walked miles. There isn’t a huge amount of free time for shopping or wandering around the markets selling the usual cheap tourist souvenirs.

Laundry facilities were also limited. I only found one hotel with a self-service laundry, which was free; the others offered a drop-off and pay service. By the end of the trip, we were running short of clean tops and having to wear some things more than once, so pack accordingly!

My highlights:

There were so many, but my absolute highlight was the Great Wall of China. When we arrived and I looked up at the section we were going to climb, I honestly wasn’t sure I’d make it to the top. The steps are all different sizes, and some were quite a challenge. However, nobody rushes you. You go at your own pace and stop for a rest whenever you need to.

The people coming down were so encouraging, cheering everyone on as they made their way up. I did make it to the top! I kept telling myself to keep going because I’d regret it if I didn’t get as far as I could. And it was absolutely worth it. The views were something else, truly amazing and something I’ll never forget. Just thinking about how all those people built it is remarkable.

Another highlight was the Terracotta Warriors. You really do need to see them in person to appreciate just how magnificent they are.

We were really glad we chose to do an organised tour, as I think trying to arrange everything and navigate the country ourselves would have been quite stressful.

Would I recommend Wendy Wu Tours? Absolutely!

From the initial booking right through to the end of the holiday, they’ve been brilliant. Any questions we had were always answered promptly, politely and in a very friendly manner.

All in all, a fantastic holiday, wonderful experiences and some very special memories. I’d thoroughly recommend it!

We thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience, and our group of 19 were lead by Jackie with great efficiency.
The local guides were excellent and provided us with historical and local information in great detail and, in most cases, humour.
Our accommodation throughout the tour was very good although we did have a few technical issues in Tibet. Lhasa Snow Paradise Hotel had recently been refurbished and has installed high tech systems in the rooms, including a toilet which automatically lifts the lid and self flushes, if it works properly that is! We had to get assistance twice during our stay. Also the lights, curtains and tv were voice activated through a smart speaker but only accepted Chinese commands.
We treated the Yangtze River cruise as a respite from the travel schedule and were pleased that we upgraded our on board package. It came at a good time in the tour. The à la cart menu was a change from the lazy Susan meals we had been given on a daily basis, although the quality of those meals were always first class.
If we were to advise people about this tour, we would certainly recommend it, but we would say to go to Beijing a day earlier than when it starts as you do hit the road running on day one!
We saw all the sights, had a proper introduction to China and its’ people and cultures and our group were a great bunch of people. All in all a great experience and there wasn’t a single hitch in the travel arrangements and accommodation.
Thank you Wendy Wu.

We were on the Majestic Yangtze tour with Wendy Wu Tours for 14 days in mid-September 2026 and what a trip it was!

All the way from Shanghai to Beijing and so much in-between from a night cruise in Shanghai to such "wonders of the world" as the Terracotta Warriors and Great Wall of China, the cities of Chengdu and Xian as we flew through China's vast countryside on bullet trains and sat in awe of how much and how fast this vast country has changed in the last thirty years. Cities of twenty million or more, sky high apartment buildings adorning every city skyline and hotels as classy as any western ones with the latest technology from robot room service to AI loos with handsets to warm them up or flush everything away. All top class- apart from one or two issues flights with Turkish Airlines and stopovers in Instanbul.



The real highlights however weren't the vast distances we travelled but the people we travelled them with-our multinational group from the UK, Australia and USA-and the entertainment we enjoyed on our gorgeous four night cruise on the Yangtze River sailing through the Three Gorges Dam with the staff providing the evening entertainment and even the Captain joining in, the tours of silk and jade factories, the Forbidden City & the gorgeous Sacred Garden by day and Xian's medieval City Walls lit up by night as well as delicious Chinese food every day served on our "Lazy Susan for all to share. We got a full-on taste of China, its rich medieval heritage and its people today not as we might portray them from western media but as a people as welcoming and friendly as anywhere else and apart from Tinnaman Square free to say-often in English and always very respectfully- what life is like in China today.



It was everything we hoped for -and more. But the Star of our Tour undoubtedly was our main guide Gary (all Chinese guides it appears have an English name) who not only kept us all on time and in line with phrases such as "Gary's Family", "Follow the flag", Sticky Rice (keep together) and "One Dollar" (someone is missing)/ "Two Dollar" (everyone's here) but with his "Chinglish", his inexhaustible good humour (at least one joke a day) and his genuine concern for and attention to detail with all 23 of us. This was more than a 'personal touch' or company training. This was Gary, knowledgeable, caring,funny and always smiling; one, if not, the best tour guide we have ever had and a huge compliment to Wendy Wu who it seems sets the standard as all the guides we met seem to know her personally. Gary and Wendy Wu made our tour of China both special and memorable and for that my wife and I are extremely grateful.

Although I really enjoyed my time- I did feel for me personally that this tour was really rushed and that you didn’t really get to experience China, it felt pretty westernised.
It felt pretty rushed and I feel I spent more time travelling then soaking up the local culture, I wish we had more time in Beijing, could have seen Xian at night all lit up. Also Yu gardens at night is also meant to be really pretty, I also felt the Yangtze River cruise was a bit long winded and felt that that could have been done in 2 days and could have spent an extra day in Chongqing. I also understand for practical/comfort reasons some out of way hotels were chosen, but I honestly felt we should have stayed in hotels more central, especially in Beijing and Shanghai. All the tour guides however were really amazing and helpful. However I do know for next time I think I will do a private tour, as I have lots of places I want to see that were not on this tour.
I do also feel that. The food was genuinely good, however I did sort of feel as the tour went on it became a bit repetitive, and honestly felt it could have been a bit more diverse (i.e regionally) experiencing hot pot would have also been a nice touch.
Overall I was satisfied with my experience but I do know that if I was to do this tour again I would make some changes- I would also rightly encourage your staff when people are enquiring about your tours to maybe ask what type of experience are they after.

We had a great time on this tour. It met all our expectations as described in the intinerary. We were a group of 23 aged from 22 to mid 70s and we all got along well. Loved having Jesse, a national guide, throughout the tour who was informative about China and who was calm and organised with the travel arrangements.

The food was good but I felt it was spiced down for western tastes, I would have preferred more authentic local flavours with more spice. The food around Beijing after a couple of days felt bland.

We always had a wide range of food dishes/ choices. So we had a small amount of many dishes. I would have preferred more of fewer dishes.

Enjoyed the optional tours, especially the Romance of Three Kingdoms show on the Yangtze River cruise - a must see show.

China is a huge country, so some travel times are long.

Loved Tibet. Be aware of the impact of high altitude.

Overall a great tour and would highly recommend.

We chose the Enchanting China tour for our first taste of China - to see some its most incredible sites and most interesting cities, but without too intense an itinerary and with some free time to explore on our own.

First of all, our national guide Frankie was an absolute superstar! He looked after us so well, made everything interesting and was very engaging and knowledgeable. His organisation of the group when getting on and off trains and buses, crossing busy roads and queuing at the busier sites, put everyone at ease so we could just enjoy it without the worry of working out where you needed to be and when. Frankie is so approachable and friendly, it really felt like having him with us throughout the trip was a big part of what made it so fun.

Also a special mention to the fact that he had pre-arranged with every restaurant we ate in as a group, for vegetarian dishes for my wife - having eaten out a few times by ourselves during the trip, we knew this wasn’t always easy to get right, so having Frankie sort it out was really appreciated. She had some amazing food - one of the highlights being a special vegetarian platter of beautifully presented, colourful dumplings after the Tang Dynasty show in Xian.

The local guides we had with us in each city also added an extra level of insight and detailed local knowledge, that helped us get the most out of each place we visited.

Each city offered something entirely different, and the Yangtze River cruise was a welcome relaxing few days to help break up the busy schedule - the service on the ship was also fantastic.

Overall we’d absolutely recommend the Enchanting China tour to anyone visiting China for the first time.

Everything from Wendy Wu in terms of communication, their booking of flights and transfers, and customer service was excellent - we would definitely go use them again for future trips.

We have just returned from 21 days exploring the fascinating country of China.
This tour enabled us to see so much, we walked the Great Wall of China, saw the terracotta warriors, sailed the Yangtze River through the three goorges, fell in love with Lijiang, were evacuated from an outdoor concert in a lightning storm, reached 3400 meters above sea level on the magnificent Jade snow mountain, saw pandas in their conversation environment, explore the stone mountains, visited Tiananmen square, seen the metropolis of Shanghai.
We loved discovering its rich history, its food and the welcoming kind helpful people of China.
We travelled by bullet trains, planes, buses, local trains, cable cars and river boats.
All the hotels we stayed in were of a good standard.
And all this was possible by our amazing guide Allison, she made everyone in our group feel special. She taught us about her loved country, she made us laugh, took care of us, especially when someone on our trip was poorly. She referred to us as 'Allison family' and by the end of the tour that's just how we all felt. Thank you Allison for making such special memories for us.
One piece of feedback, Allison introduced us to the foods of the different regionals we visited, which was great but we just found the format of 'lazy susan' lunches and dinner twice a day a bit repetitive.

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.

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

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 wonderful introduction to China with a great group of well travelled people. Our guide was helpful, informative and interesting and the tour was a good mixture of busy sightseeing days and more relaxed days on the Yangtze river where we could enjoy the beautiful scenery as well as the talks and entertainment on board. Everything was meticulously organised and we were given enough free time to explore on our own. I would thoroughly recommend this tour and can think of no negatives at all.

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.

Excellent trip. Britney, the tour guide was superb. Hotels were very good with Western and Chinese breakfast buffet. Very tasty Chinese lunch and evening meals.
Well organised visits to lots of iconic places such as Tianimum square, Great Wall, Terracotta warriors, Giant pandas.
Stunning scenery along the Yangtze river and especially in Guilin and along the river.
2nd tour I have done with Wendy Wu and would strongly recommend them.

This has been the most amazing experience, truly a holiday of a life time.
Such a well organised tour, which included so many aspects of China, including historical landmark sites like the Terracotta Warriors, The Great, to the wonderful outdoor landscapes and the hussel and bussel of the beautiful Old Town of Lijiang which was magical and excellent for shopping. The tour gave a real insight to China as a country and the people their selves who were so very friendly. The days were long and busy, and therefore tiring but it made the most of the time we had in China. The Yangtze River cruise was a great way to wind down from this spectacular holiday. The hotels were very good, the food was excellent and plenty of it.
Our tour guide Gary Guo was excellent and made our holiday. The poor man met us at Beijing air port only to be greeted by us, very upset as both mine and my husbands cases had not arrived at the airport as British airways has failed to put it on our flight. We were most distressed as we had no clothes etc and due to the language barrier we were uncertain that Beijing airport understood us and all the information was correct. Gary was very calm and soon had us reassured that he would follow this up and sort it out, which he did. he kept us updated each day and made sure they were delivered to the hotel in time before we left for the next destination. making sure personally to deliver the cases to our rooms.
Gary was very knowledgeable and we learnt so much about the various places that we visited but also about Chinese people, their customs how they live. He was constantly taking care and watching out for us and the whole time in China we felt very safe in his hands. so travelling around the country went very smoothly as the holiday was arranged so well and because the guide put a lot of effort into taking care of us at tarain stations and airports, having our tickets ready to hand and making sure we were on time. A number of us on the tour fell ill with chest infections and Gary made sure to get us to a pharmacy and translated for each of us what symptoms we were experiencing so that the pharmacist could give the correct medication. He made sure we were drinking plenty of fluids and brought food to the rooms for those who were unable to make dinner. Even now a month on, he is dealing with the fact that our silk pillows which we had purchased from the silk factory, accidentally had not been included with the rest of our purchases. He has kindly arranged for the them to be posted to us, and kept us updated on their progress. We have now received the pillows. We can not sing Gary's praises enough he has gone far and beyond what we would expect of a guide, such a lovey caring man with a great sense of humour too. he really brought the group together. The best tour guide ever and we hope one day to be able to return to China, so long as Gary will be our guide again.
Just loved everything about the holiday.