CHINA CULTURE TOURS

A group of 4, my kids and I set off to Shanghai, Hangzhou, Guilin, Yangshuo and Guangzhou for a 12-day tour via China Culture Tours this December. This trip is a first for my children and they enjoyed the trip very much. Thanks to Catherine of Shanghai, Gerry of Hangzhou, Mike of Guilin & Yangshuo and Nancy of Guangzhou. All are helpful and friendly. Special thanks to Lydia for meeting up with us in Guilin despite her busy schedule that day. Lydia has been very helpful and assistive. She made herself available most of the time via Wechat to attend to my queries. I really appreciate her help, hospitality and generosity; and thank you so much for the gifts. I made a good friend in China. Thank you to Gerry for helping me with my online purchases. I really appreciate your help. And my sincerest thanks to Mike for making my kids so happy with the adventures and activities in Guilin and Yangshuo. Shanghai is known for its modern beautiful cityscape with some old structures as part of its tourist spots. Hangzhou, Guilin & Yangshuo has the best panoramic landscapes. Its beauty is uncomparable.

I had the pleasure to hire China Culture Tours. It was a wonderful experience, they really helped me to organize a great visit and suggested best places to go. I visited Beijing and Shanghai for vacation and Chengdu, Yibin, Naijing for business.
I highly recommend to avoid to plan a visit to China by your own, the visit requires a real knowledge to plan it accordingly.
Nora was a wonderful contact. She managed to put together a great plan, she spoke to drivers and tourist guides all the time to make sure that I was picked up on time and i was with the driver. Thanks for Nora for making feel so welcome in your country.

After much research we chose China Culture Tour for our two week multi-centre trip to China with private guides and drivers. Nora, our travel consultant planned the trip with superb efficiency and constantly excellent communication, meeting our needs and preferences with a varied and exciting programme. She also ensured that everything went well, and made some necessary adjustments while we were there. The hotels and restaurants were all very good, and all four of individual guides were delightful and intelligent young women who we enjoyed spending time with and who made our trip so very enjoyable. They were flexible, pro-active, knowledgeable and interesting. Olivia in Beijing set a very high standard indeed, giving us brilliant tours of the spectacular Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, Summer Palace, and local neighbourhoods which gave an insight into Chinese life. Sarah in Xian was energetic and lively, and our visit to the Terracotta Warriors was greatly enhanced by her knowledge and expertise. We visited a local family and made dumplings. Muslim street with its street food was also quite an experience! Linda, our guide in Guilin was exceptional, very caring, kind and interesting – the luxury boat trip to Yangshou on the River Li was stunning, and we also enjoyed visiting local villages, a tea plantation and research institute, the Daxu Ancient Town, the Longji terraced rice fields, and so much more. Fei in Shanghai was a delight and made several great suggestions to ensure that we experienced the best of the Bund, went up the tallest building, and saw the interesting Tongli Ancient Water Town. There were so many other highlights and we found that every single day was really interesting and enjoyable – not a single disappointment. On two occasions we took the suggestion of the guides and went to an evening show – both were superb. The guides really know their stuff and look after you well. It was brilliant to have private transport each day – the drivers never seemed more than a minute or two away. All the (potentially daunting) rail and internal air travel was made easy because the guides were always waiting to greet us as soon as we arrived anywhere, and took us to the furthest possible point when catching a train or plane. The strength of China Culture Tour lies in the very experienced and well organised planning, the attention to detail, the constant quality assurance throughout the trip – and above all the sheer excellence of the guides, their very high standards (and preparation), and their evident dedication and enthusiasm for their job. We felt that we were treated like VIPs – but by friends! We absolutely loved the whole experience and can recommend this company unreservedly.

This was absolutely the highlight of our China experience! While Guilin is exceptional in it's own right, our guide, Cory, made our trip one that will live in our memories forever. He was attentive, humorous, understanding and did everything to make our trip a trip of a lifetime. He changed the itinerary on the fly, listened to us, made sure we encountered locals, made sure we were comfortable every step of the way and truly made us feel like his family. There is absolutely not enough good things I can say about him or China Culture Tours. They were timely, totally tailored our tour to our wishes and professional. I can back up my review as 1) we also tried another agency in Beijing and 2) this was my second trip to Gulin. As to the former, our guide fell way below our expectation and while we saw the Great Wall, Summer Palace and Forbidden City, we walked away with a cold experience and not much extra knowledge. As to the latter, I saw places and did things in Guilin, that were not experienced before but surpassed all expectations. We actually met locals and were immersed with them and it made the whole trip spectacular. Not only would I not hesitate to recommend China Culture Tours!!!! But ASK for Cory- he is truly a wonderful man and so knowledgeable. He will take care of you from the beginning to the end and he will do everything to make sure your trip is a trip of a lifetime!

My wife and I had a great trip to China, everything went well, plenty of highlights- and no hiccups. The accommodation was excellent, food was very good and the itinerary covered all the things that we wanted to see. Thank you Nora!
The Yangtze River Cruise was truly spectacular, the ship, the meals the accommodation and the staff were excellent. Particular thanks to our wonderful host, Lawrence.
Our lakeside hotel at Guilin made our trip there very enjoyable, a beautiful city. The Yangshuo Mountain Retreat was also spectacular – beautiful rivers, mountains everywhere and peaceful countryside environment.
The 鈥渂ig鈥?cities of Shanghai, Xi鈥檃n and Beijing and their tourist attractions were unforgettable as well.
Our guides, Fei, Mike, Summer and Jin were friendly, knowledgeable and helpful – thank you. Our drivers were very good and got us to our destinations safely and on time. The bullet trains were terrific as well!

We (a group of 6 friends) have just returned from a tour of China organised by Nora of China Culture Tours. Below is our response to the company's questionnaire. We visited Beijing, Xian, Chengdu, Guilin, Hangzhou and Shanghai. The tour was well organised, the guides were very knowledgeable and spoke really good English, the hotels we used were really good and the food throughout was plentiful and tasty.

1. We have decided that the WOW on our tour included, The Great Wall, Reed Flute Cave and the visit to the family/dumpling making. The Karst scenery around Guilin was quite spectacular. It was also good to meet you.

2. It is very difficult to pick out one outstanding guide. Each of the guides had there own way of interacting with the group and all were knowledgeable. If we have to list the best, then perhaps we would have scored Cory, Clark and Jin slightly higher than the others, but this maybe because we spent more time with them.

3. We were all delighted with the food, both in the quality and amount. In all cases, there was always plenty for us all to eat. Breakfasts were varied, with both western and Chinese foods on offer and in general were very good. The only disappointing breakfast was at the Mountain Retreat, where we thought it was a little limited.
As far as hotels are concerned, they were all very good and were in really good locations. It is very difficult to pick out one above others, as the city hotels were so different from the more boutique style hotels. The Aroma Tea House in Guilin was particularly nice and had lovely views from the window.

4. Tell the guides what you like to eat and leave them to order the food for you. They always know best and introduce you to local delicacies and don't forget to ask for the local beers, they all vary in colour and tastes.

5. The train travel was really good and is an efficient way to get between cities. Our suggestion is to take plenty of food and drink onboard with you for the journey.
Additionally, it is our suggestion that you should not travel on the trains with aerosol sprays, knives, scissors or any bottles of shaving foam/deodorant/perfumes etc over 120ml in size. We were stopped at Hangzhou going to Shanghai and had lots of things confiscated from our bags. Maybe you could issue a warning to future passengers not to take any of the above.

6.We found your company on the internet and finally decided to use you on price, content of the tour, inclusions of travel/hotels/food/guides and most important to us was no free time during the daytime. We wanted to be busy at all times during the day, with free time during the evenings only.

7. We would be delighted to provide references to any potential customers and you have our contact details.

My mother and I had an incredible 10 day trip to China for just the 2 of us. The tour was booked and managed by Nora Zheng who created a tour that was customized to my individual interest for an Ancient China experience. She booked us in traditional hotels and later in luxury hotels. We had guides and drivers in each city. Our guide/driver in BeiJing was Judy and Mr. Zhang. Both of them went above and beyond their duties. They were kind and accommodating. Mr. Zheng drove safely and went to extra effort to drive down the narrow Hutong alleys in BeiJing. Judy was knowledgeable, spoke great English and entertained my mother, who who had mobility issues, when I wanted to run ahead and see the sites that were too taxing for my mother to get to. 鈥↖n PingYao, we had Peter as our guide and Mr. Cheng was our driver. Mr. Cheng also navigated narrow, ancient alleyways safely. Peter was incredibly knowledgeable about China, impeccably polite, great English and gave of himself graciously when called upon to help my mother up and down the ancient stairways. His presence was reassuring and he was absolutely charming.鈥↖n Xian, our guide was Lucas and our driver was Mr. Yang. Mr Yang was a safe driver and very friendly. I liked him a lot. Lucas was an incredible guide. He knew so much (all the guides did)! He downloaded his brain to me on subjects ranging from Daoism in ancient and modern times to the ancient poet, Li Bao – not to mention the vast amount of information he imparted on the sites we were attending. I thoroughly enjoyed his company and companionship – as I did all the guides. 鈥‵inally, we went to Shanghai and met our guide, Summer and driver, Mr. Xuan. Mr. Xuan was a safe driver and went to extra trouble to accommodate my mother's mobility challenges. Summer has an excellent command of English and made sure all our needs were met and that we had a good time.鈥↖ am misty-eyed upon writing this because I never expected the tender-hearted, personalized service from Nora Zheng and all the guides and drivers. These folks are going way beyond service. They are connecting as individuals from the heart. The only thing I could wish for my experience was that it had been longer.

My partner and I just finished a three week trip to major sites in China and thanks to Nora at China Culture Tour every day was an exciting adventure. We traveled from Beijing to Xian, Chengdu, the Yangtze River cruise, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Guilin, Yangshuo and finally Hong Kong. Nora worked with us to find a mix of 4 and 5 star hotels and in each city planned special activities, such as cooking lessons in local homes. She organized excellent and personable guides in each city, as well as private cars with experienced drivers. The restaurants selected offered excellent food as well as cultural experiences.

It's hard to single out the best guides–they were all great. In a couple of cases the English could have been better, but generally they were professional and enjoyable, adding to insights about China's recent past and present. It was almost like touring with a knowledgeable friend. I would give special nods to Sophia in Beijing, Jessica in Chengdu, Linda in Guilin, Fei in Shanghai and Cecilia in Hong Kong.

Recommendations: Book First Class bullet train tickets. More comfortable and more space for luggage. If you need to go by air, consider business class for flights over an hour and a half. Chinese planes don't have much leg room in economy and if you are average to large you will not be comfortable. When you arrive, book a five-star hotel to catch up with jet lag. In Beijing we stayed at the New World Hotel and it was top-notch and convenient for exploring on foot the central neighborhoods of the city. The four-star hotels she selected were all fine, but treating yourself here and there is a nice present to yourself. If you take the Yangtze River cruise, start from Chongqing and consider the Victoria Jenna and upgrade to an executive suite if you want a little extra room and your own table at dinner.

In Beijing take in the standard wonders–Great Wall, Forbidden City, Summer Palace, but don't expect to be alone. Chinese domestic tourism has exploded and the mass of tourists can be crushing in key tourist sites. Be ready for that and patient and you will still have a lot to marvel at. The 798 Art District is lively and fun and filled with young hipsters and artists. The same goes for the Terra Cotta Warrior site in Xian. Wonderful but crowded. A special treat there was a lesson in dumpling making and a marvelous home-cooked lunch in a private home. We adored our time with Lily and her family.

In Chengdu the pandas are a must. So is the Jinsha Museum if you have an interest in early Chinese history. And a trip to Leshan to see the giant Buddha was awesome. On the Yangtze cruise, take the excursions, especially the awesome Three Kingdoms evening spectacle at Chengdu. The trip up Goddess stream is not to be missed. In Hangzhou, West Lake is awesome both in the day and evening. Break out of your hotel and go to the light and water show on your own. We paid for an expensive tea but got a ringside seat at water's edge, rather than stand in the crowd.

Shanghai Museum is totally awesome. We had two hours there and only got through two of the four floors. Don't miss the Shanghai Acrobats. Ask Nora to include tickets in your itinerary. Amazing. Then taxi to the lively/trendy Xitiandi district for an outdoor meal and people watching. Maybe the highlight of the trip was the Guilin region, especially the cruise on the Li River. The scenery is so beautiful. End up at Yangshuo Mountain Retreat, isolated and rustic. If you have time for an extra day to relax, bike or hike, take it. There's another huge outdoor spectacle in the evenings there, which is worth seeing. Finally Hong Kong and the magnificent view from the peak. Although there's a lot of turmoil and unrest there, we didn't encounter any problems on our stay. Again, I couldn't recommend China Culture Tours (and Nora) more highly. They provided a flawless experience–a trip of a lifetime.

My husband and I just returned from a 26-day tour of China that was arranged by China Culture Tour, and all I can say is 鈥渨ow鈥? From start to finish, everything was flawless. Nora Zheng was amazing in helping us plan the trip, responding to our requests for itinerary changes and making sure that we had exactly the trip that we wanted. Her organization of the logistics for the trip (which included 3 domestic flights, 3 high-speed train rides and a river cruise) was outstanding, and everything went as planned. She was also in communication with us while we were in China to make sure that everything was going well. She is just an extraordinary travel planner.

Our trip included Beijing, Xi鈥檃n, Fenghuang, Zhangjiajie, Shanghai, Yellow Mountains (Huangshan), Guilin, Yangshuo and Hong Kong. All of the hotels we stayed at were great (5-Star or, if that wasn鈥檛 available, what was clearly the best hotel in the area). The guides that we had (Jennifer, Summer, Bree, Jack, Raymond, and Kelly) were wonderful. Their English and knowledge of the areas were excellent. Moreover, each had an engaging personality, and it was a pleasure to spend time with them. I don鈥檛 know how they managed to find such great guides!

We really can鈥檛 say enough good things about China Culture Tour (and their guides) and would highly recommend them to anyone who is planning a trip to China.

Everything ran like clockwork on our 30 day tour of China thanks to Lydia鈥檚 organisation and our wonderful tour guides and drivers. Even before we arrived we found Lydia to be thorough and flexible providing an inexhaustible stream of information and suggestions over the several months we were planning the trip. She also kept in contact all through our visit to make sure things were running smoothly.
We started with a fabulous 6 days in Beijing. Our guide, Tom, provided fantastic service all through our stay up to and including settling us into our seats on the train to Xi鈥檃n. His knowledge of Beijing, Chinese history, culture and food was impressive as was his ability to answer all our many and varied questions. As well as efficiently shepherding us through our itinerary (including a hike on the Great Wall) he also took time and effort to organise extra activities for evening events and helped us plan our free days – making suggestions, providing background, and explaining transport options. It was an absolute pleasure to spend 6 days with Tom and he made our visit to Beijing a great success.
Tom was followed by the wonderful Christina in Xi鈥檃n, Kevin in Chengdu, Brandon in Lijiang, Cory in Guilin/Yangshuo, Martina in Shanghai and David in Huangshan. All had first class English. Their knowledge of their cities and China was extensive and they could answer all the questions we threw at them no matter on what topic. They were always early and could cope with any unexpected turn of events as well as making great suggestions for our free time and making sure we could cope with public transport etc. Christina helped us squeeze in a visit to the tomb of Jingdi even though it wasn鈥檛 on our formal itinerary. We were very grateful not to have missed this wonderful site. Brandon, in Lijiang, coped seamlessly with the fact that 2 of our itinerary choices were unexpectedly closed. We were very disappointed that Tiger Leaping Gorge was closed but Brandon鈥檚 alternative itinerary was great and we enjoyed learning about Naxi culture from him and enjoyed his immense knowledge and sense of humour.
We were met in Shanghai by the delightful Martina who as well as being a lovely guide was passionate about Shanghai. As well as guiding, she shepherded us in and out of Shanghai through 2 stations and the airport on several occasions as we went to Huangshan for 3 days and returned. David provided expert guidance at Huangshan allowing us to maximise our time on the mountain. When we were due to leave Shanghai our flight was cancelled due to a typhoon and we had to stay an extra day which entailed an extra night at our hotel and changed travel to the airport all of which happened over the National Day holiday. Martina and the car company handled all of this without any bother.
We wholeheartedly recommend Lydia at China Culture Tours as an organiser and Tom, Christina, Kevin, Brandon, Cory, David & Martina for their willingness and ability to share their knowledge, enthusiasm, efficiency and friendliness. Our enjoyment and understanding of China would not have been the same without them.

We recently returned from a very enjoyable custom private tour of China with our extended family, covering Beijing, Xi'an, Chengdu, Guilin/Yangshuo, and Shanghai over a 2 week period. Ms. Nora Z. was our point of contact. When I first contacted CCT, Nora promptly called me first thing her time and things took off from there. She worked with me to customize the tour, offered feasibility guidance as we developed and fine tuned the itinerary over multiple iterations. We had multiple competing quotes from several nationally recognized tour operators and CCT rose above all of them with their highly competitive cost structure providing higher level services at every stop for nearly the same price as their competitors with no hidden fees. They provided all the documents required to get our visas on time from two different countries.

Throughout the duration of the trip, Nora was always available on Wechat to solve issues. When our flight in Guilin was delayed she offered us peace of mind saying if it didn't take off within the next hour, she'd reschedule on another flight. Nora gave us good advise when we asked "should we go to Tong Li, given that it was raining in Suzhou and we were getting delayed in Suzhou." She encouraged us to go to Tongli and took care of all the arrangements and we are very glad that we got to see beautiful Tongli because of her. We covered six cities and Nora set up the pick ups and hand offs seamlessly and we never felt lost of alone. She set us up with very friendly and competent English speaking guides in every city.

More than just a travel professional, Nora played the role of a local friend who you could rely on for support and advice. I would happily jump on a roof top to highly recommend China Culture Tours AND Nora to everyone.

Please forgive that this may be a lengthy post. I will start off by saying that this is my 3rd trip to China. Each summer I have been invited to give guest lectures in Shanghai; while in China I like to explore different areas. The first trip to China I researched tour agencies who could provide me with expertise and assistance in planning. I found China Culture Tour and read great reviews, so I contacted them. Nora planned my first experience and it was wonderful! I shared her contact information and my itinerary with colleagues who then contacted the company also with good results. The 2nd year my husband was able to travel with me. I contacted Nora and told her I wanted the exact itinerary from the first year, including the same guides because it was a wonderful introduction to Shanghai, Xi'an and Beijing. He had a wonderful, unforgettable experience. So, it was only natural that on my 3rd year invitation I contacted Nora again and asked her suggestions on new areas to explore. We worked together to come up with an itinerary to Chengdu and Guilin. Again, I could not ask for a better itinerary or better guides. The customer service is impeccable. As a woman traveling alone I felt secure and confident in the plan and company.
The experiences and itinerary were so amazing, I was able to experience pandas as a panda keeper in the panda keeper volunteer program; I took an amazing river cruise, biked through incredible countryside, took a cooking and painting class, and bamboo rafted down the Li river. All of these were suggestions from China Culture Tour and were unforgettable memory making experiences in beautiful parts of China. Their expertise and suggestions were better than what I could have created on my own. The guides are always enthusiastic and helpful. Jessica in Chengdu took so many photos and videos for me (without being asked to) which was so nice as I was traveling alone. Mike in Guilin was great in helping to finesse the itinerary times to maximize the best experiences.
But more than creating a great itinerary and tourist experiences, this company including people like Nora and guides like Mike are what makes them stand out. Their customer service is outstanding! There were a couple of time on my China travels over the last 3 years that I have had "bumps in the road" one was my first year where I had some difficulty in the airport before I could even connect with my guide and she was able to help me resolve my issue. The next issue came from this last trip where my own flight arrangements (that I made outside of the tour company) had a flight canceled and rescheduled for 2 days later to return to the US. Mike was with me and helping me to navigate the airline ticket counter, helping me to translate, and trying to find me another flight to Beijing to make my connection to the US asap, while I was on the phone to my airline trying to get assistance from them. Nora was trying to use her powers to help as well. Again, this was not their responsibility as these were arrangements that I made, but their extra time, support and resources helped me to not only negotiate a different flight for later that afternoon with another airline, but they also were able to negotiate on my behalf to have a complimentary hotel room and food vouchers while I waited until the later flight. Nora typically, from the very first trip, communicates directly with me during my tours to see how things are going and to make sure everything is just right. This last time was no exception. She continued to communicate with me to make sure I made it back to the US OK after my initial flight schedule difficulty. This above and beyond personal service is why I would recommend them to anyone and everyone! They will be who I call if I get another invitation to China, in fact Nora is already tentatively planning my next China Adventure and I completely trust her guidance and advice based on my experiences in the past with them. I can't wait to return and experience new adventures!

Nora was very accomodating & organized an amazing tour of all the highlights in Beijing. Our guide, Julie & our driver were puntual, patient, knowledgeable, so much fun & ensured that our stay in Beijing was just fabulous . They also provided prompt transfers to and from the airport and railway station.

The wonderful people of China Culture Tour truly delivered on their promise of "personalized luxury and quality" at every stage of our tour of southern China this July. Our travel advisor Ms Nora Feng listened to our wishes carefully and created super-quickly a detailed itinerary for a memorable tour complete with cultural heritage, natural wonders, historic sights, magnificent cities, rural ancient villages and hands-on experiences such as cycling in the countryside, picking tealeaves, cooking food, and even enjoying a private art lesson from a Chinese master. The most impressive and memorable part of our tour were our four absolutely fantastic, skilled tour guides. The fact that they all were locals and really knew the cities and regions where they lived gave us so much more perspective and insight than you would normally get as a tourist. All of them spoke perfect English, were very helpful, knowledgable and extremely flexible and attentive. It really felt that we were travelling with good friends! A big Thank You 鈥?Xie xie 鈥?to Ms Fei in Shanghai, Ms Fiona in Hangzhou, Ms April in Huangshan and Mr Cory in Guilin. You made our 30-anniversary trip a memorable one.

We are a married couple who selected China Culture Tour based on numerous excellent reviews, and they did not disappoint. We worked with our trip coordinator, Lydia Huang, from the very start of our planning process. She provided us with great suggestions and comments on our personal desires and interests. Together, we developed a customized itinerary which worked very well throughout our nearly one month in China. We could not have made it work without Lydia's input before and during the trip. She did an outstanding job of making our trip worry free and enjoyable.

We found China to be very safe. The people of China are very friendly and helpful even when they speak little English. We recommend that other Western visitors continue to plan and come to China. It is a fascinating country. Don鈥檛 let the unpredictable political climate intimidate you to not come to China. You will enjoy the adventure.

Our itinerary, which included a guide and driver at nearly each stop, started in Beijing where we stayed in a traditional style hotel, had a city tour, and hiked the Great Wall. Our guide, Jin, was outstanding, spoke very good English and was very knowledgable. He made us feel comfortable in China from the start.

We easily and comfortably travelled by high speed train throughout China. Our next stop was Xi鈥檃n where our guide Amy expertly showed us the sites of that area to include the Terra Cotta Warriors. We then took the train to Chengdu to see the Pandas. Our guide here, Donna Lin, was outstanding and the visit to the Panda Research Center was a learning experience. We quickly developed a comfortable friendship with Donna and other guides.

Having drivers in each location is a must. Driving (and riding) can be very stressful and having someone else do it was absolutely necessary. Money well spent!

Our next event was a 3 day relaxing cruise on the Yangtze River. The boat was comfortable and clean, and the food was very good. We made several new friends who were independently traveling like us. After the cruise, we flew to Hangzhou where we had one of our trip highlights. We visited a local Tea Village where we experienced picking tea leaves and had an elegant tea ceremony by Nana our host.

Another highlight of our trip was visiting the Yellow Mountains and hiking the long, steep staircase mountain trails. The scenery was breath-taking especially at sunrise. After leaving the rugged mountains, we stayed in a remote village, Xidi, at the Pig鈥檚 Inn. This was another highlight of our trip since we experienced a rural village where we picked and cooked vegetables from a local farmer鈥檚 garden. Even though the family did not speak English, we thoroughly enjoyed our interaction with the local family with our guide鈥檚 helpful translating. We highly recommend that others experience this rural adventure.

We visited Shanghai where our guide, Martina, and driver drove us to Suzhou to see the beautiful gardens and Tongli Water Town. Even though Shanghai is a big westernized city, we thoroughly enjoyed the city especially strolling at night along the Bund. We rode the very fast Maglev train to the airport for our flight to Guilin. The Maglev is a quick experience not to be missed.

Guilin is home to China Culture and we had the pleasure of meeting our tour coordinator Lydia. We enjoyed the city and its beautiful lakes and gardens. From here, our guide, Jay, and driver drove us to the Longji rice terraces for a day of hiking. This was another highlight of our trip. We also ventured down the Li River on an enjoyable cruise. We highly recommend that others consider these two side trips from Guilin.

From here, we took a high speed train to Hong Kong where we independently toured the city and sites for two days. We completed our China adventure on the 28th day by flying to Tokyo for another adventure in Japan.

We spent 28 days in China and thanks to China Culture Tour, our itinerary went exactly as planned from end to end. This speaks very highly of our tour company and coordinator who expertly exceeded our expectations. We thoroughly enjoyed our China experience and would use China Culture again if we return. We recommend that you use them too!

My family just returned from a 14 day tour (Shanghai, Guilin, Xi'an, Beijing) arranged by Lydia. From the beginning, Lydia had been extremely helpful, responsive, and adaptive to my requests and multiple changes in itinerary. Our group consisted of age range from teenagers to my father who was 86. The guides were fantastic, they were very knowledgeble and allowed us to tour at our own pace. A shout out to our tour guide Cory in Guilin who made every single person on the tour happy. Aside from the sights which speak for themselves, everything Lydia arranged was wonderful, from the hotels to the food to booking all the plane and train tickets. I would highly recommend CCT to anyone who wants to visit China on a private tour that is focused on culture.

I have been on 2 guided group tours with other companies before and was happy with both. I wanted to take my 14 year old granddaughter and was concerned about her being bored since tours of China tend to be older groups. I searched and searched reading reviews and decided to go with another company based on reviews and price. Twice the person I was speaking with did not respond to my emails for days and decided to go with China Culture Tours. I am so happy with my decision. I also chose a private tour for my granddaughters sake.
First let me say I worked with Nora and I changed my itinerary several times. Nora was completely accommodating. She made the changes and kept me informed on every level. Nora even checked on us making sure we were happy while we were on our trip. We decided to go with a private guided tour in Beijing and Xi鈥檃n since it is not easy to get around without one. We continued our trip without a tour guide in Hong Kong because we have family there.
The trip was perfect from beginning to end. Our tour guides Nancy in Beijing and Sarah in Xi鈥檃n were both very knowledgeable and helpful. They made sure we were happy with all. They were flexible and informed us of everything giving us options. Their English was quite good and we communicated with no problems. I would recommend both very highly! When a 14 year old tells you they will never forget the tour guides, that says a lot.
We opted to go with 4/5 star hotels and it was worth every penny! We stayed at the New World Hotel in Beijing and the Wyndham Grand in Xi鈥檃n. Wow, wow, wow! They treated us with 5 star class all the way through. The pool and breakfast buffet at the New World Hotel Beijing were over the top! The bed was a bit too firm for me but everything else made up for it. We were surrounded by shopping and restaurants for our leisure time and felt very safe.
The Wyndham Grand in Xi鈥檃n鈥榮 breakfast buffet was also amazing and the room was perfect. There is a street festival that is situated for blocks that is directly behind the hotel. It has music, street food, entertainment and shopping that was amazing. It was beautiful and super clean. There was something for everyone.
We took the bullet train from Beijing to Xi鈥檃n and loved it. It was a smooth clean ride and we saw China in a different view. We did not upgrade to first class and we were fine with it.
As for the Great Wall, Imperial Palace, Terracotta Warriors and all of the other places we visited they speak for themselves!
I was super skeptical and nervous about who to book with. I definitely made the right decision. Thank you China Culture Tours, Nora, Nancy (see you later not goodbye) and Sarah you made our trip amazing!
Highly recommend!!!

My wife and I (60 and 63), we are from Brazil, returned after 21 day trip to China, all organized by the China Culture Tour (CCT). I decided to hire a Tour Operator because there would be many cities to be visited (Beijing, Pingyao, Xian, Chengdu, Guilim, Yangshuo, Hangzhou, Shanguai) and the difficulty of language in making hotel reservations, transportation, tours. Normally I do not use it, I like myself to do all the programming and reservations, but it was the most accurate decision that I took to hire the CCT. I sent emails to several tourism companies in China, and the one that answered me most agile and tailored the program for me was the CCT. I was looking for a private trip, without running around and not having to go in "touristy" shops. Nora, who coordinated the whole trip, did an exemplary way, before and during the trip, keeping in touch with us almost daily to see if we were well and if we needed anything. In each city we had a guide and a driver to give us support: Tom (Beijing), Jonathan (Pingyao), Cristina (Xian), Ben (Chengdu), Cory (Guilin/Yangshuo), Derek (Hangzhou) and Catherine (Shanguai), all very helpful and timely. We felt very peaceful in arriving at the airport or at the train station and finding someone with a sign with our name or at the restaurant someone to help us choose the menu. The hotels, restaurants, tours, transfers, air and train tickets all booked by Nora. I was afraid to hire a chinese company from Guilin directly and have no way to complain if anything went wrong. But after this trip I highly recommend the CCT, we did 100% of everything that was planned! Nora and CCT, thank you for the unforgettable trip!

My wife and I recently came back from an 11 day trip to China to visit our son. We visited Beijing, Guilin and Hong Kong. I originally spoke to four tour operators before choosing China Cultural Tours. CCT stood out because, while all four tour operators seemed very competent, Nora was extremely responsive, patient and helpful throughout the planning stage. Additionally, CCT suggested a few things that the other operators did not (cooking lesson, local family visit, Hong Kong harbor sampan ride and a Yangshuo bike trip which unfortunately was canceled because of rain). I guess that is why they have "cultural" in their name – these experiences felt slightly less touristy compared to the more typical Great Wall, Forbidden City, Victoria's Peak parts of the trip. We are very happy that we picked CCT – our trip was nearly perfect in every way. We liked the activities, sites and the tour pace. We stayed at four excellent hotels which were among the nicest we have experienced. All restaurants that were included were very good. It was very convenient that CCT arranged for all transporation and admissions. The guides (Doris in Beijing, Mike in Guilin and Cecilia in Hong Kong) were all excellent. They were all informative, flexible and pleasant to spend time with. We had some rain in Guilin and Hong Kong and the guides tried, as best as they could, to rearrange the itinerary and work around the weather. They were mostly successful. The guides, as much as anything, made the trip very memorable. We strongly recommend CCT to anyone planning a trip to China.

My husband and I had talked about visiting China for several years. Finally, this Spring (early April to early May 2019), my husband and I along with another couple whom we have been friends with for many years, decided to write up a list of sights we wanted to see (Beijing, Datong, Pingyao, Xian, Chengdu, Chongqing (Yangtze River Cruise), Zhangjiajie, Shanghai, Xidi, Tunxi, Huangshang, and Hong Kong)and visit in the different parts of China.
We checked out the various tour companies, and based on the great reviews, we decided to contact China Cultural Tours via email to see if CCT would be able to provide an itinerary, at a reasonable cost, based upon the various sites we wanted to visit in China.

Nora Jung of CCT was great in providing us with a great itineary, at a reasonable cost. She even suggested to apply for a 10 year China Visa; as it was the same cost as a 1 year China Visa, which would allow us to visit China as many times as we wanted within the next 10 years. Nora also suggested setting up the WeChat app, to test between us before we left the US, as a way to communicate with her during our time in China.

Our trip was what I call "a trip of a life time!!!", one of the most memorable trips in my life. I attribute this to the excellent and seamless arrangements made by Nora Jung of CCT. Nora worked hard to make sure we were happy with the itinenary; both with the tours and the lodging. Nora gave us some very experienced and well informed tour guides with fluency in English. The tour guides were very helpful not only in arranging some fantastic restaurants where we could try some of the local cuisine, but also in actually helping us with the food selections.
Most notable among the tour guides, was Nancy in Beijing, whom I would highly recommend. She was very professional; suggested adjusting the schedule when the weather warranted it; willing to adjust schedule to meet our needs, etc. She even went as far as to take us onto the train, into our sleeper car, help put the luggage up, and provided us with a souvenir and snacks before seeing us off to our next stop: Datong and Pingyao.
The other tour guides that I would recommend are Jessica in Chengdu and Libby in Xidi,Tunxi, and Huangshang. Jessica was very enthusiastic and very helpful. She volunteered to take photos and videos during the entire time we spent in the Panda Preserve, working as part of the Panda Keeper Program. Libby was another very enthusiastic guide, who was very knowledgable of the towns of Xidi, Tunxi as well as Yellow Mountain.

I would highly recommend China Cultural Tours and Nora Jung of CCT to anyone who plans to visit China. I would definitely use their services again should we ever make a return visit to other parts of China.

I was trying to plan everything by myself and although I identified the "main" places to visit in each city (Beijing and Xian), I wasn't sure on how to plan for logistics such as transportation. As we had only around 6 days to visit two very important cities, we had almost no room for mistakes on transportation/planning.

I searched for tours online and found China Culture Tour to be the best rated on TripAdvisor in terms of quality and service. I sent an email to check it out and received a wonderful response from Lydia Huang. She was very flexible and fast in answering our emails despite the time difference. The schedule she designed for us also hit all the main attractions I had researched before and with someone explaining the history behind every place, we understood this country and its people better.

Both our guides, Amy in Xian and Sunny in Beijing, were amazing and spoke English perfectly. Amy was incredibly kind and friendly. We felt so welcomed and comfortable with her. As for Sunny, she was just awesome in every level as well. She gladly accompanied us to a place that was not on our schedule but that we really wanted to visit. Also, her knowledge and passion for the history of her country were very inspiring. We learned a lot from her! She even shared one of her copies of The Last Emperor with us. Amy and Sunny's company and guidance were the main reasons why this journey was a complete success and why we would recommend China Culture Tours to everybody!

Overall, my husband and I had an awesome experience. It really helps a lot to have a driver and a car around to go to the next place as soon as you are done with another. I think this was the key as to why we were able to go to almost all the main tourist locations in the cities we visited. Also, our tour guides chose amazing places for lunch! Other friends were travelling on their own and they didn't had the same experience we had. They weren't able to hit all the main attractions, did not know the history behind the places, got food poisoning and had no special experiences such as the calligraphy or the dumpling class. If you are going to China just invest in doing it the right way, with China Culture Tours!

A memorable visit to China.
Ours was a family trip of me,my wife and my daughter during the second fortnight of March 2019 when we visited Shanghai,Beijing,Xian and Chengdu.Largely made memorable due to the excellent and seamless arrangements made by China Culture Tour through their very efficient ambassador – Ms.Lydia Huang.She gave us some experienced and well informed tour guides with fluency in English and also arranged for some super restaurants to enjoy local cuisines. Notable among the tour guides was Linda in Beijing whom I could recommend to anyone – very professional,smiling and willing to adjust to your needs. I was a bit hesitant at first to contact a tour operator in China directly but as i exchanged messages with Lydia, my confidence in her and her Company grew and I no longer felt the need to go through an operator in London. Highly recommend China Culture Tours and we would certainly utilise their services again as we still have many places to visit in the Southern part of China including a visit to Guilin to meet their team – especially Lydia.Thank you China Culture Tours.

We had a fantastic private guided tour experience through China Culture Tour. We chose the six-day Picturesque & Rustic Guilin by Hiking & Kayaking tour. We worked with Grace to organize and customize our itinerary. She was highly responsive and professional to work with, always responding promptly to our questions. Grace even helped us with other parts of our trip (train tickets, admission tickets, etc.) going beyond the services involved with our paid tour. The company works with high quality hotels and offers lots of choice. We stayed at extremely charming hotels in both Longsheng and Yangshou, as well as a modern luxury hotel in Guilin. Car transportation was excellent, a very comfortable sedan, and the driver was skilled and very competent. And our guide Linda was absolutely a joy to travel with. She was extremely knowledgeable, doling out the history when needed but not more than we could absorb. She guided with passion, humor, and just plain fun. She adapted and adjusted our itinerary as needed based on weather (we had some rainy days) and traffic (we traveled during a holiday week), using her obvious experience, local contacts, and common sense. She chose local restaurants which she had clearly dined at herself and were here favorites. The food experiences during the tour were fantastic 鈥?must try the beer fish in Yangshou!

We highly recommend using China Culture Tour for you travel needs in China. We will certainly call on Grace on our next trip.

Right from the moment I first contacted Lydia Huang at China Culture Tour I knew we were in good hands. Lydia was very responsive when we were planning our trip – was efficient and planned a great itinerary while ensuring we were consulted about hotel choices and activities we wanted to engage in.
All arrangements went very smoothly – transfers were seamless and we had enough flexibility to make changes to the itinerary as we travelled. Hotel choices were generally close to attractions but offered a good place to relax and contemplate the day's activities. And Lydia was available on WeChat whenever we need her help while we travelled. However all the arrangements were so well organised that this wasn't necessary.
In Beijing our tour guide Eva was outstanding. She was very enthusiastic in sharing the history of the main sites – the Great Wall, Forbidden Palace, Tianeman Square, Summer Palace etc. She was also a great joy to travel with and made us feel very welcome. She was attentive to our needs and very open to changing the itinerary when necessary with no fuss. Her choice of restaurants was excellent and she ensured that we had a great selection of local dishes in restaurants where locals ate rather than the "production line" restaurants for tourists that we visited in Xi'an. With a great sense of humour and a desire to make our visit to Beijing special she was a hit with all our party.
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My wife and I have no reservations recommending China Culture Tours. We echo the other reviews of this company. Lydia, the tour company representative, was nearly immediate in her responses, flexible to our request for changes and stayed in contact with us during our 9 days in China (even on her own holiday!). Our guide in Shanghai (Summer) was very welcoming (especially important on that first day in a new culture after a long flight) and paced us just right for our jet-lagged condition. Linda, our guide in Zhangiajie National Park was full of energy and fit our needs there perfectly (she even sang to us on a long van ride). Tom, our guide in Beijing, was perfectly fluent in English and as interested in our point of view as we were in his. He also greeted us each day with a different bottled coffee for when we needed a lift! All the guides were flexible to the extent our schedules allowed and we called a few audibles. The drivers that ushered us around safely are also worth mentioning–we always felt safe in their vehicles. Finally, when all was said and done, we think China Culture Tours was a quite reasonable value for such a personalized experience.