Guest Comments

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{Editor's note: The review below is from a wonderful lady who had originally booked a group tour with us all the way back in 2017, but upon arrival in China there was a family medical emergency and she was unable to proceed on the tour with the group. After many false starts due to the COVID-19 pandemic that closed borders and cancelled cruises, Pat was finally able to put together another tour group of 8 great people. 7 years later she and her husband were finally able to visit China with us.}

March 13, 2024

Hi Jeff

Just want to say the tour was great!! Everything went smoothly and all 3 guides were incredibly knowledgeable and personable. Lei Lei and Wendy went out of their way to ensure we had an experience we would never forget even making sure we got on the trains safely. I would recommend your company anytime the entire trip was awesome. Thank you - Pat (Canada)

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July 12, 2019

Hello. We were very happy with our tour guide, Jasmine and our driver, Mr. Gu. They were both very nice and we loved our tours. Thank you for setting up our travel to Xi’an and we were very happy with our tour guide and driver there also.

Many thanks,

Diana L. (USA)

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November 3, 2018

Hi Jeff,

Just wanted to let you know that our group had a great day with Happy in Dalian.

She was a great guide, very friendly and engaging.

She shared a lot of information with us and asked us questions about our country.

Happy kept us moving at a lively pace but was flexible enough to give us some more time when we needed to do some shopping. 

We loved Dalian and thought it was a beautiful city. Happy's enthusiasm made it even more so!

Thank you Jeff for making the booking and planning process so easy!

Best,

Esther (USA)

{Esther was the leader of a group of 14 people from the USA and Canada that toured Dalian with us on a cruise ship stopover at Dalian Port.}

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June 6, 2017
Hi Jeff,
Just wanted to send a thank you for our great trip on Sunday. We really enjoyed the unrestored Simatai section of the Wall! Very different from my experience at Mutyianyu. We loved the rickshaw ride through the hutong as well and the guide that met us there was fantastic and explained all about the history of the hutongs and the style of the house.
We truly had a wonderful day!
Thanks so much for everything.

Tracy and Ray (Canada/Beijing)

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April 24, 2017
Jeff,
I just wanted to say thank you for the service today. I had a great day with Leo and the day trip was exactly what I wanted. He did an excellent job of balancing good info on the sites we visited but leaving me alone enough to explore on my own too.
I didn't want to come this far to China and not squeeze in a bit of Xian. Thanks again. You and your team provide a very nice service. Keep up the good work.
Regards,

Bryan (USA)

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March 20, 2017
Jeff
Wanted to drop a quick note to say how amazing my guide was.
Prompt
Professional
Talkative and very knowledgeable
Best guide I have ever had.

Chris Osmon (USA)

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October 21, 2016

Jeff -

I just wanted to express how pleased we were with our trip to Beijing. Everything exceeded our expectations and we will gladly recommend you to others. We especially enjoyed Alan on our first day, he was especially helpful.

Thank you-

Valerie (USA)

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March 27. 2016

Hi Jeff,

Thank you so much for all of your help. I am going to recommend you and your company to my friends when they travel to China. We did not see enough!

Thanks to both you and Andy for all of your help.

My sincerest thanks.

Regards,

Fran Funtleyder (USA)

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March 20, 2016

Hi Jeff

Many thanks for providing us with a great one day tour of Shanghai. Very enjoyable and excellent guide Tom and driver Gin. They were most helpful, friendly and gave us a wonderful day.

Best wishes

Garry and Jenny (Australia)

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February 15, 2016

Dear Jeff, I would like to thank you for your services.

We enjoyed our time in Beijing, (now I’m back to work).

We really appreciated the tour, Andy is a great guide, very professional!

If I’ll come back I will contact you, for sure.

Regards

Andrea (Italy)

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September 20, 2015

Dear Jeff
I would like to say how much my sister and I enjoyed our holiday in China. All the places of interest that we visited were magnificent. The Great Wall, the Yangtze River Cruise, all the various monuments and other places of interest were magnificent. Our tour guides and drivers were excellent and come highly recommended. Our last tour guide Susan Yu was exceptional. Our one disappointment was the Days Airport Hotel - the standard was not 4 star. However we have very pleasant memories of our stay in China and already some of my friends are asking for the details of your tour company which I am delighted to pass on to as many people who would like to have it. Best wishes to you and your company. Keep up the good work. Gillian (U.K.)

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April 26, 2015

Jeff:

Just a quick note as we are about to leave for the cruise. Everything was excellent - the guides, the sights, the weather. Thanks for everything. We will put an excellent review on trip advisor, frommers, etc. when we get home.

Mike, Pat, Denise, Maryann (U.S.A.)

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April 16, 2015

Hi Jeff and Andy,

I just published the review of our wonderful trip and great tours with Andy. It is at www.thepreismans.com.

Mike (U.S.A)

(Editor’s note: Mr. Preisman has an absolutely fantastic cruise & travel blog filled with very detailed descriptions and beautiful pictures of all of his many journeys around the world.

His review of our services can be found on the following web page: http://www.thepreismans.com/china_japan_page1.htm

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April 5, 2015

Jeff and Andy,

Thank you for the great tours you arranged with Mike Preisman. Everything went very smoothly and we saw so many wonderful sights.

A very large thank you to Andy for arranging for a rental wheelchair for Doug, pushing that chair so many times and for buying the great chair for us before we left Beijing. Thanks Andy. You went above and beyond. We so appreciated it!

Regards, Cherie (U.S.A.)

June 23, 2014

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Hi!

Thank you for arranging a wonderful trip. I really enjoyed my stay & am delighted with the professional & quality service provided from start to finish.

Your guides & drivers are excellent (: I will recommend you to anyone travelling to China.

The local knowledge of the area was also excellent including directions and recommendations re things to do after the tour along with shopping and dining information. The restaurant recommendations were excellent.

Andy let me know what that amazing flower & bean starter dish is called?

Many Thanks & Best Regards

Suzanne (U.S.A)

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March 18, 2014

Hello Jeff,

I'm more than happy to give you feedback from me and my wife.

The sites were very well-chosen, I don't think we missed anything on the top of anyone's list.

Allen did an excellent job as a tour guide, he appeared to know a lot about the sites that we visited and somehow he always got us into the shortest lines or no lines at all. This was particularly true at Tiananmen Square where we seemed to breeze through security. (Allen should work on his pronunciation a bit, in particular the pronunciation of consonants; some members of our group had difficulty understanding him.)

We greatly appreciated the adjustment to the schedule on Monday, the first day when the Forbidden City was "closed" due to visiting dignitaries and we quickly went to the Summer Palace, which was on the Wednesday agenda. Don't know who made the quick adjustment or call but it worked out well.

I didn't get the sense of things getting a bit hectic at times.

In the context of candid feedback, a couple of observations:

1. We had a couple of "slow movers" in the group plus what I would call "photo op wanderers" (me included). There were times when by the time everyone caught up with the group, Allen was halfway into his description. For those of us who wander, that's our fault if we miss information. For the "slow movers", it might be good for the tour guide to wait the minute or two until they catch up to the group.

2. While we don't know China policies, the driver the first day used his cell phone, answering calls while driving the bus. We are sensitized in the US about the dangers of driving and talking on a cell phone (unless hands-free) and texting, and his actions upset a few people.

You've probably heard this from others in the group, but there was confusion about the dinner in the hutong of Mr. Wong. We were expecting dinner at a local restaurant for a traditional jiaozi/dumpling dinner, not a dumpling dinner at a local family's home. Nonetheless, Mr. Wong's cooking was excellent, he was a very gracious host, and it was a very interesting experience. {Editor’s note - this was a mistake on the part of our company - we had promised dinner in a local restaurant - so we refunded money to each couple for the mistake}

On the last day, Andy took us to the zoo and the airport - he also did an excellent job but how do you tell that to the boss? ;-)

All of the pre-visit correspondence with you was excellent, timely, and well-understood (except for the dinner issue). Responses were prompt, It was easy to make payments when needed and confirmation was prompt. Well done, thanks!

We did enjoy our time with you and I would recommend Beijing Discovery Tours without hesitation.

Hope that helps, let me know if you have questions.

 Best, Frank (U.S.A.)

{Editor’s note - We had asked Frank to give us his candid feedback and he was gracious enough to give us his very thoughtful and detailed comments. We have used his comments to improve our training and services, and we greatly appreciate his candor with us. We are always trying to get better and feedback like this helps us tremendously!

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March 11, 2014

Hello Jeff,

We enjoyed our tours very much. Our guides Sally and Angela (Wei) were both excellent. The drivers were also good, we did have a couple of instances where they did not pick us up at the time instructed, but we understand that can happen. Thank you for your prompt service we enjoyed it very much.

Angela Fischer (U.S.A.)

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March 8, 2014

Jeff,

I have engaged many tour companies in my group travels but your company is the best. Many companies deliver a good product. But, superior companies show themselves when things do not work out as planned. I was so impressed by your flexibility in adding additional participants and accommodating with suggestions to make a better itinerary and then when disaster struck, you adapted and met our needs. Our group was traveling on the Azamara Journey (Feb 17, 2014 cruise Hong Kong to Shanghai) and the ship suffered propeller damage and the itinerary had to be altered. You were amazing in adapting to help us so that we could still have our shore excursion and airport drop off in Shanghai. The guide, Jocelyn, was terrific and was responsive to our requests and input. I would say it was the best day of our cruise trip, in terms of excursions. I cannot recommend you and your company more highly. You are professional and ethical and that means a lot in this industry. I look forward to future China trips and will always seek your company first because you are the best.

Kind regards, Patrick Mulcahy (U.S.A.)

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May 1, 2012

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December 3, 2010

Hi Jeff,

Just wanted to say a massive thank you! My family returned home yesterday and they had a fantastic time!

I personally just wanted to say thank you for all your help and assistance you have been amazing.

I will reccomend you to all my friends and customers.

I hope you are well??

Many Thanks

Best regards

David (U.K.)

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November 5, 2010

Hello Jeff from Lorraine Clark - Melbourne Australia

Just a short email to thank you and your company Beijing Discovery Tours for a wonderful 4 day stay. Your service was great and we would not hesitate to recommend your company to our friends/family etc who might in the future visit Beijing. A special thank you to Regina our guide and our driver for their wonderful, friendly and faultless service - nothing was too much trouble. The Huabin hotel was lovely and room excellent - well located so we were able to walk to nearby shops and Tia'anmen Square etc

With our best wishes

Lorraine & Graham Clark (Australia)

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October 19, 2010

Hi Jeff,

Let me thank you for first-class services provided by the Beijing Discovery Tours (my guide David was excellent), I’m gonna recommend your company to my friends :-).

Kind regards

Petr (Czech Republic)

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October 5, 2010

Hi Jeff,

Miguel and I want to thank you for the enjoyable time we had. The guide and driver were both very nice, helpful and highly recommended. Due to our time constraints you were very helpful with recommending a nice tour and overnight stay at The Great Wall. Your quick responses to all of our questions was very much appreciated.

We will definitely recommend you to our friends!

Thanks again,

Tanja and Miguel (U.S.A)

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September 28, 2010

Our 3-day Beijing Tour with Xingang Port Transfer was greatly enhanced by your service--Beijing Discovery Tours. Andy and our driver exhibited exceptional professionalism. Andy is kind, knowledgeable, and very accommodating. He accomplished all our tour requests in a timely and enjoyable manner. After 3 days, we considered Andy a member of our family.

Sincerely,

Ann and Bud Hyduk (U.S.A.)

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September 14, 2010

Jeff

Just wanted to let you know Angela is an excellent tour guide. She is very outgoing and great with people. Angela is well informed on Chinese history and told us exactly what we needed to know without overwhelming us with information. We also wanted to let you know both drivers were nice and very accommodating as well. You are lucky to have such excellent employees.

Thank you again!

Philip & Michelle

Yorba Linda, California U.S.A.

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August 29, 2010

Dear Jeff and Andy:

Thank you very much for putting together my travel arrangements in Beijing last month. Regina did a very good job as my guide (and her English is very impressive). The service at the hotel was excellent.

Best regards,

Eric

Eric T. Laity
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of Law
Oklahoma City University School of Law (U.S.A.)

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August 8, 2010

Hi Jeff,

just wanted to let you know that I really enjoyed my tour today. Regina is a great girl and guide and speaks English very well. It was a very pleasant experience!

Thanks,

Timothy Steleman (U.S.A.)

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July 15, 2010

Jeff,

Thank you very much for providing us with a very enjoyable tour service during our stay in China last week. Although you were not there in Beijing during our stay but we appreciated your well thought out plans and organization for our tour. 

Our tour started off very well as soon as we landed in Shanghai on July 5. Jenny Zhao was waiting for us at the airport, and attended to all our needs. We found Jenny to be knowledgeable, courteous, hard working professional who went extra miles for our comfort. Thank you Jenny, we really appreciated your service.

Although we spent only part of a day in Xi'an, Daisy there was very impressive too. I have misplaced Daisy's e-mail address. Please forward this e-mail to thank her and to let her know how much we appreciated her service.

Finally Andy in Beijing. Andy and Gao (the driver) were simply excellent. The traffic in Beijing will test anybody's patience but both of them were cool as cucumber. Thank you Andy and Gao for going the extra miles for us.  We really appreciated it.

One sour note at the end though. On our last day in Beijing, Andy didn't come to the hotel to pick us up for the airport. Gao came by himself with another driver for the 2nd van to carry our luggage. They dropped us on time at Terminal 3. We didn't know any better so we didn't check before he left but we found out Delta did not fly from Terminal 3. We assumed Andy had checked and advised Gao the terminal he should take us to. Anyway, we found out to our dismay that Delta actually flies from Terminal 2 which is miles away. Someone advised us to go downstairs and take a shuttle bus which we did. However, Terminal 2 being so far away, it took nearly 30 minutes to get there, and we were sure we were going to miss our flight. Fortunately we didn't miss the flight after all although we all were out of breath. This is not a complaint - just a lesson learned.

Thank you once again for your service that we hope to use again during our next trip. Best regards.

Asok Sengupta (U.S.A.)

{Editor’s note: The wrong airport terminal drop-off was definitely our mistake - almost all international flights fly out of Beijing from Terminal 3, but with Delta Airlines’ merger with Northwest Airlines, they now fly out of Terminal 2 - we have expressed our sincere apologies to Mr. Sengupta and have promised to make it up to him and his family and friends on their next visit to China.}

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July 9, 2010

Jeff,

With apologies for the delay in this note. We have been "on the road" a lot since returning from Asia at the end of April

We wanted to let you know that the tour you arranged for us was TERRIFIC. Our only regret is that we did not plan to stay a few days in Xi'an, which was a big mistake. It is a lovely city; one which we will return to if we ever get back to China. In addition, your & Beijing Discovery Tours' provided very efficient and courteous services. It was a pleasure making arrangements through you.

I also wanted to give you feedback on our tour guide--Katie. She was the best we have ever had--very personable, intelligent, and packed in more activities than I thought possible within our short stay in Xi'an. She even accompanied us in the evening. She (and the driver, Trevor) were always on time and also willing to make adjustments throughout the day and evening. We highly recommend her to you; she is an excellent marketing asset for Beijing Discovery Tours.

Sumi (U.S.A.)

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June 15, 2010

Hi Jeff - I’ve talked with both John XXXXXXX and Daisy XXXXXX since their trips and they both said ”trip of a lifetime.”  They said you did a terrific itinerary for them, the guides were great, food was interesting and tasty and all was well. Congratulations on such a well run agency. We talk you and China up every chance we get. Take good care -

Dorothy (U.S.A.)

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May 26, 2010

Jeff,

Just wanted to let you know my parents and I had a wonderful time on the Olympic Tour with Andy on Sunday.  Andy was so friendly and helpful!! We learned a lot from him and he was an excellent guide!! Will refer friends to you if I know of anyone traveling to Beijing!

Thanks again! Take care!

Nicole (U.S.A./South Korea)

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March 31, 2010

Hello Jeff

Just got back from an EXCELLENT Tour of Xi'an. The Driver who transported us to Beijing Airport and return was superb - he was very prompt and a good driver.

The driver in Xi'an was BRILLIANT his driving skills were magnificent - we had a very comfortable journey to all our places of visit.

Our Tour Guide - COOKIE - was absolutely FANTASTIC, her ENGLISH was exceptional and her knowledge was ASTOUNDING !!!

You are so lucky to have a person of her ability at the disposal of your company. Our party were full of praise for her.

She made our Tour of Xi'an a very memorable occasion. 

Please pass on our grateful thanks to her.

Your company came very highly recommended to me and the arrangements for our tour were exceptional.

Many thanks !!

Kind Regards

Mike (U.K)

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March 30, 2010

Jeff,

Just letting you know that we are now safely tucked up at home and that we enjoyed immensely the service provided by your driver and guide.

Brendan Blott (Australia)

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March 20, 2010

Hello Jeff,

Thank you for taking us to the Great Wall/Ming Tombs/Olympic Park yesterday and to the acrobat show in Beijing this evening with Andy as a fantastic tour guide. We were very happy to have chosen your company and will recommend your tours and Andy as tour guide to everyone who is going to Beijing.

Best regards,

Eckardt

International Business College, Aabenraa, Denmark

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January 6, 2010

Dear Jeff,

I just wanted to write to say that all in all we were extremely pleased with our travel in China. All our guides, Andy in Beijing, Katie in Xi'an and Jack in Chengdu were knowledgeable with a very pleasing attitude towards meeting all the objectives of our travel. We had a tremendous time. Weather was great - a little chilly in Beijing and Xi'an but nothing to stop a Canadian! Even the slight drizzle in Chengdu did not put a damper on the Panda visit. I think Jack should get a little extra accolade because not only did he have to meet us at the airport much later than expected due to a delay out of Xi'an, he also was the only guide that took our request to take us to a Starbucks seriously and came through for us. My children collect the Starbucks coffee cups and collector set in all the Asian cities they have been to and were quite distressed that they did not have an opportunity to purchase these in Beijing and Xi'an. In fact, they came back to Hong Kong madly searching the internet to see if they could purchase them online which did not turn out easy as they thought it might be and have now given up.

My son thought the Great Wall was the highlight of his trip and my daughter definitely was leaning toward the visit with the Pandas and we were all in awe of the terracotta warriors.  By the way, we could not leave the Panda reserve without the children having a photo with the baby panda. An experience of a lifetime for them. The acrobatic show in Beijing was superb!  Quite a group of talented people. The Olympic site was very memorable and I could go on but suffice to say that the arrangements were first class. 

Again thank you for the professional services we received and I would have no hesitation in recommending your tour company to anyone looking for a nice vacation in China. In fact I have passed your name, website and information you provided to me to an American colleague.

All the best for a very happy and prosperous New Year.

Brenda (Canada/Hong Kong)

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December 24, 2009

 Hey Jeff, 

How are you? This is Peter from Semester at Sea. I really enjoyed the trip that you had planned for us and was very happy with all the arrangements. I was so happy that I had told my friends about Discovery tours. I would like Itineraries for trips to give my friends and they will connect with you. They will be in Shanghai on February 16 and need to be back in Hong Kong before February 23. Can you send me an itinerary similar to the one i had and another one that will take them to Terracotta Warriors. 

Thank you, 

Peter Abualzolof (Semester at Sea)

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December 15, 2009

Hi Jeff, a quick note to let you know the tours went well. The McQueen's really enjoyed their trip to Xi'an on Saturday. Their flight to Xi'an was delayed 90 minutes, but there's nothing anyone could have done about that. And they still managed to see everything they wanted to in Xi'an. They were also very impressed with their guide (David?).

  The tours of the Great Wall and the Beijing highlights were also enjoyable. The weather was cold, so we decided to cut things a bit short, but Andy and the driver were very accommodating and adjusted the schedule to make the most of our time.   

  Thanks again, and I'll keep you in mind next time I or someone I know need to book some tours in or around Beijing.   

  Cheers,  

  John (Canada) 

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December 12, 2009

Subject: AWESOME trip!

Hi Jeff,

Greg and I returned Thanksgiving from the Orient and then I had a cold for a week. Just now getting to feel normal.

Wanted to let you know that we were so pleased with the tours. Everything went off without a hitch. We did not ever have to wait for the driver and guide and they delivered us where we needed to be on the spot!. Also your choice of guides is to be commended. Angela in Beijing especially was wonderful. Such a charming young lady. She really wanted us to enjoy our stay and we did. We had the greatest trip ever and want to thank you for your diligence in planning. It couldn't have been more perfect! We certainly will recommend your operation to anyone going to China.

Thank you again, Jeff, for a wonderful experience.

Marci (U.S.A.)

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November 24, 2009

Hello Jeff

Well we are back in Montreal after our trip to China. I just wanted to tell you that we enjoyed our tour of the terra cotta warriors with Kelly. She was very knowledgeable and her English was excellent. We were fogged in unfortunately and didn’t fly back to Beijing when scheduled. Kelly was very helpful and stayed with us quite sometime at the Xi'an airport to try and help us re schedule our flight.  

We had a very frightening trip back to our hotel that night, the fog was very bad and visibility was very small, our driver was magnificent and I honestly don’t know how he managed to get us there in 1 piece. Honestly if we had known how bad it was we wouldn’t have asked Kelly to send him out for us.

Thank you to all the staff again 

Helen (Canada)

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November 24, 2009

Hi Jeff,

Just arrived back from our trip to the Far East. Wanted to thank you for arranging the pick up from the airport at Beijing etc. Both the driver and the guide were excellent and really made my party feel important. Will recommend your company to any of our friends who visit Beijing. 

Regards Cyril (United Kingdom) 

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November 17, 2009

Hey Jeff,

On behalf of the people in my group, we would like you to know how great of a job Matthew did for us. He was more than accommodating to our requests and and he spoke great English. He was also very knowledgeable about all of the places we visited. My only suggestion to you is that picking better restaurants to eat at would have been greatly appreciated. That was out of Matt's control though so we do not hold it against him. Other than that, in my own honest opinion, because of my group, tour guide, and sites visited, China has been the most fun. So thank you for that. Hope all is well. 

Sincerely, 

Dave Schutt (U.S.A.)
Executive Student Ambassador for Semester at Sea Fall 09
Biology Major, Pre-Med
Gustavus Adolphus College 2011 

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November 14, 2009

Hi Jeff

Thank you for a good tour under less than favourable weather conditions.

We waited on the plane for 2 hours then flight was cancelled 

Rang Kelly at Midnight and she then arranged a hotel and driver to pick us up.

Your driver should also be congratulated for coming out at 2:00 am in heavy fog to pick us up.

Kelly picked us up when we arrived and gave us a great tour. She then stayed with us for 3 hours in the Xi’an airport to ensure we got checked in OK. Flights had been delayed and cancelled all day and the airport was full of lots of angry people.

We were very pleased with Kelly she was very informative, with excellent English and made sure our tour was as pleasant as possible. 

Many thanks to you and your excellent staff.

Helen & Robert McMellon (Canada)

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October 28, 2009

Hi Jeff

I hope that you are well. My family had a really great time with your one day trip to Xi'an - in fact this was the highlight of my father-in-law's whole 5 weeks in China. Thank you once again for organising this tour for us. 

[Questions about an upcoming tour deleted for privacy] 

Amy (Australia)

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October 14, 2009

Hello Jeff. I just wanted to send you a quick note to let you know how much Steve and I appreciate you and your company. We had an amazing time in Beijing and sleeping out on the wall was incredible. Our guide Angela was wonderful. I cannot say enough good things about her. She is extremely knowledgeable of Chinese history, and could not have been a nicer travel companion. Please let me know if you would like me to post a review anywhere.  I would be more than happy to do so. Thanks again and keep up the good work.

V/R,

Alison (U.S.A./Singapore) 

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October 13, 2009

Jeff

We wanted to send a quick note to thank you and Andy for showing us so many wonderful things in Beijing. Everything was perfect

One quick question. Do u offer any tours in hong kong?

Thanks

Bonnie and Bob Thomson (U.S.A.) 

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September 14, 2009

Jeff

As you heard, we had an “interesting” time on the wall. For me, it could not have been better sun in the evening - good photographs - a good meal with Mr and Mrs Wang - a short but good night - a great hike - and thanks for the lunch at Simatai.

Bob (U.S.A.)

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August 24, 2009

Dear Jeff,

  Just writing to let you know we were very very happy with our tour of the Terracotta Warriors. 

  Our guide was excellent and we would certainly recommend your company to our friends. 

  Regards, 

Dianne (Melbourne, Australia)

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July 15, 2009

Jeff,

Thanks so much for all of your assistance with our recent trip to China, We had a delightful time, and our son, Matthew really enjoyed all of the tour managers. We feel that the tour guides really knew so much about each destination, that it truly added to our trip in so many ways.

We will definitely recommend your organization to everyone we know,

Sincerely, Leslie and Kevin Anderson (Maryland, U.S.A.)

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June 28, 2009

{This comment is regarding a last minute marriage proposal event that we set up for the happy couple, the 3rd successful marriage proposal that we have been a part of so far!}

You are a STAR!!!!

Dear Andy,

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for these wonderful days and the very very special event you arranged!

Your creativity and organization was exceptional!!!!

Linda will never forget this day in her life and I am still touched by this wonderful setting.

The food was delicious and the music so just perfect.

It would be great if you could sent us your pictures, since most of ours are actually not focused, as I made a mistake in the camera settings.

Please let me know what kind of reference letter/ picture you would like!

Looking forward hearing from you,

Christoph & Linda. (France)

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June 28, 2009

Hello Jeff

This is Ully Fleck, my sister Christine and I spend 10 Days with Beijing [Discovery] Tours. Thank you, we had a wonderful time. Frank, our tour guide was very knowledgeable and friendly, easy to communicate with, it was a pleasure to meet him. I wanted to thank him personally, but lost his e-mail address. Could you send this request to me? Great matching guest with driver and guide. We did like Kelly, but she was not as personable. She was too much on her cell phone when we walked through areas and was not willing to talk to us except for knowledge of history. But this could also be a cultural difference. Thank you again for the great experience, and we will surely pass your agency to others if they want to experience Beijing and area. Thank you to Andy for picking us up and taking us to the Train station. Greetings from Ully and Christine (Oregon, U.S.A.)

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June 19, 2009

Hi Jeff,

I'm sorry it's taken me so long to contact after our weekend in Beijing but wanted to thank you for all of your assistance. My husband said it best when he commented that it was the best weekend away he's had in years. So, kudos to you and Andy.

I wish you continued success and I've passed on your info to some good folks at the Canadian Embassy in Beijing as well as the consulate in Shanghai.

Thanks for an awesome weekend!

Rachael Kyte (Hong Kong)

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June 16 & 18, 2009

Jeff, 

{Sentences with payment information omitted - this comment combines 2 separate emails} We really had a terrific time and were very happy with the service. It’s a bit scary booking things over the Internet, because you never really know what you are going to get. But it has all been over and above our expectations. With our short amount of time, we were able to see everything we wanted and wasted no time making arrangements, waiting for buses or trying to figure out where to go. We loved that those details were all taken care of and we could maximize our time here.

{Paragraph with payment information omitted}

The gorge was amazing!! Very beautiful. It was a nice change from the city sights and history sights. It made for a good mix of sights in our 3 days in Beijing. I would recommend it to other tourists.  My daughter and I did the zip line over the gorge!! Scary at first but worth it!! It did rain some, but then stopped, so it was fine.  I got my fortune told by a Buddhist monk - and then he hit me up for a candle to burn year long for 1600 RMB. Very funny. I bought the small candle for 100 RMB. I didn't think a candle would really help me that much, but the fortune was quite interesting and worth 100 RMB :)

  All in all it has been a terrific trip. You have a very good company!! 

One recommendation for folks going to the gorge - it’s quite a bit cooler there, so they should dress for it. We only had shorts on and light shirts. Luckily we were able to buy sweatshirts and I found a rather dorky looking red pair of sweat pants for $5.00 to buy. But they were warm and I was happy for it.

  Thanks again for a terrific trip!! 

  Regards, 

  Judy (and Bill and Natalie) Nagengast (U.S.A) 

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Hi Jeff,

A quick note to let you know we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly both days. Both Frank and Andy were great guides, very knowledgeable and easy going. They both hit it off well with our daughters, which helped keep them entertained during the dull parts, like driving to/from the Great Wall, sitting in traffic, walking the sites, etc. Needless to say we were all exhausted at the end of each day, and that's a good sign.

The only constructive criticism I might offer is we found the hutong tour a little disappointing. I realize the hutongs are quickly vanishing and many that remain are undergoing restoration, but we felt like we were touring a construction site rather than an area occupied by actual residents. And I also realize that it would be difficult to make arrangements on such short notice and on a public holiday, but the family home we visited felt more like a tourist site / gift shop than an actual residence, and there wasn't much opportunity to visit with the actual residents. It didn't feel very authentic to us, but then again, that may be the way it is.

Thanks again, and we'll be sure to recommend your firm to others travelling to China, and we may be calling you again in the future.

Cheers,

John (Hong Kong)

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May 21, 2008

Jeff it has been a great pleasure working with Beijing [Discovery] Tours. I admit I was a little hesitant doing business online, but you always responded when I emailed you questions and the staff "Cookie" in Xi'an and Alan in Beijing were excellent tour guides. Of course you know we utilized another tour company ([XXX] Tours) for some of our tours in China. Those tours were already booked by our travel agency. Unlike the other tour agency, we very much appreciated the fact that we were not pressured to buy things. We just wanted to appreciate the beauty of China without having to spend money at every tour site or on the way to a tour site. We also had a wonderful time visiting the Terracotta Soldiers. At first I thought flying over to Xi'an from Shanghai to see the soldiers and return the same evening would be difficult, but everything turned out as planned and the price for the flights was very reasonable. We also enjoyed the inside tour of the Water Cube and the Bird's Nest. In fact we went back to the Olympic Park the next evening and enjoyed the beautiful lights from the structures and took many more pictures. My only suggestion would be to do a late afternoon inside tour of the Cube and Nest and finish off with dinner and an evening of photos at the Olympic Park. We are heading back to the USA today and we will definitely refer our friends to Beijing [Discovery] Tours. Great job! Lovetta

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May 8, 2009

Jeff,

Thank you for your company's outstanding service during our time in Beijing and Xi'an.  Deborah and I had a wonderful time learning about China's history and culture with the help of Anna and Andy. They were both interesting and knowledgeable tour guides and made sure we were always comfortable and having a great time.  Feel free to use any of our comments and I would gladly recommend your company to anyone traveling to Beijing.  I have attached a picture of Deborah and Andy as well as a picture of me and Deborah on the Great Wall after I proposed.  This was a obviously a very special trip for us and thank you again for helping it go so smoothly!

Jay (U.S.A.)

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May 4, 2009

hello Jeff... this is to let you know we had an "excellent time” in Beijing... You supplied US with an excellent tour guide, Andy ..

He was very good and gave us what we wanted to see... His English was good and he was able to communicate with one of our friends in "Mandarin".... that way things were exactly what we wanted to do and see. He is a VERY GOOD GUIDE... and very pleasant... You will not go wrong with keeping such a fine gentleman... his attire was nice and neat .. casual but nice. He greeted us with a "SMILE" and answered our questions with a "SMILE"... If we ever come to Beijing again, we will certainly request ANDY again ... hopefully you will still have him working for you... probably promote him soon in your company.

Thank you again, Jeff.. for making our stay in Beijing perfect.. Andy also recommended an EXCELLENT RESTAURANT for us to finish off our evening... and he made sure the Restaurant Manager got a TAXI for us to take us back to our HOTEL..

The Darwin Lees, U.S.A. 5/01/09 - 5/02/09

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February 14, 2009

Hi Jeff

So in fact we had a great day. The weather, Andy, the driver, and of course the sights were outstanding........... We just had a wonderful experience and everything went according to plan. Good planning and certainly any Beijing clients shall be yours. 

Just a little reminder, when Andy left us I wanted a copy of the credit card charge slip, which would be my invoice and he was going to bring me a copy. If you should speak to him I would appreciate reminder.

One last question, do you do anything in Shanghai regarding touring?  I have contacted some guy which I found on the internet {name deleted}, seems a little confusing and thought if you do Shanghai, we will be there Feb. 23 for 1 nite and thought we would like to see as much as we can as well.  I know that the sights are not anywhere as exciting, but being guided is a treat. Let me know.

Thank you again and we will see Andy at 1 p.m. today as he and we felt that it will give us ample time to get there without rushing.

Thanks Miriam.

(Travel Consultant, Montreal, Canada)

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January 6, 2009

Dear Jeff and Andy,

We just got home! This has been a loooong Monday! You two made our trip. Thank you so much! We would have never sent Shanti ahead without Andy there. Even though we did a lot on our own (kind of our family custom) we would have never gotten to see the Ming Tombs and Great Wall without you two (and a very good driver, too)! Chengdu and Beijing has whetted our appetite to see more of China. We will be back. And we will certainly recommend you if the occasion arises. Thanks again.

Prakash and Sherry and Shanti

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December 30, 2008

Hi Jeff,

We just got back from a really GREAT day with your tour guide Frank. He did a great job and we all enjoyed ourselves very much. We saw everything we were expecting to see and they were all amazing. We did take the cable car up the wall and then when we saw how far it was to the toboggan down we all quickly decided that the cable car back down would be perfect!

The Kung Fu show was much better than the Acrobat show we saw a few days ago. We all enjoyed it very much. Oh and lunch - my son-in-law has eaten almost no Chinese food while we have been here and today at lunch he ate a lot and said he really liked the food at lunch. 

I did talk to Frank about the airport on Jan 2nd and your company will pick us up about 10 a.m. That will end a wonderful trip for this time. I will tell anyone I know that may go to China about your company and the Great job all the people have done. 

Thank You

Merri

(Darnestown, Maryland USA)

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December 19, 2008

Hi Jeff,

I had intended to write to you sooner but things have been so hectic since our return from a most amazing holiday with wonderful friends.

We want to thank you for one of the highlights: the trip to Xi'an and the warriors was truly unforgettable and they have to be seen to be believed.

Everything was so well organised and Cookie, our guide, was an absolute delight and so knowledgeable. It was all we could do to stop the men from popping her into a wheelie bag and taking her home!!

I hope the stalling of our bank card did not give your rep a heart attack. It was merely a security move as a result of a whack of funds leaving our account at the end of the cruise. A phone call quickly rectified everything.

We will certainly recommend you to anyone travelling in China and for our part, Martin and I hope to have a more extensive tour some time.

With all best wishes for Christmas and 2009.

Christina.

(Swaziland)

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November 19, 2008

Hi Jeff,

We got back from China last night and just wanted to let you know how pleased we were with our trip. Andy in Beijing was awesome, as were all the other guides and drivers. Everyone was where they said they would be when they said they would be. We never had to worry about a thing, they took of everything. It was an amazing trip! 

{Paragraph with questions about an upcoming tour omitted for privacy} 

Thanks,

Renae & Heather

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October 11, 2008

Dear Jeff,

Thanks for arranging a marvelous set of activities in Beijing and Xi'an. Andy and Selena were excellent guides! We will highly recommend your guide service to our friends.

Igor Fedoroff

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October 3, 2008

Andy,

I just wanted to thank you again for the great tour. I couldn't fully participate all of the activities but I enjoyed it.

Keep in touch!

Yue (with the baby ;-)

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September 23, 2008

Jeff,

I've been meaning to sit down and e-mail you to tell you "thanks" for all your help and providing such a great experience at the Great Wall. Andy was very nice and did a good job explaining some of the history of the Great Wall (not something our history classes covered much). It ended up being a busy day at the Mutianyu section due to the Harvest Festival holiday (I don't know if this is what the Chinese really call it but this is how the hotel staff explained it). One thing that might make the experience more informative is explaining some of the things that you pass on your way to the Great Wall. I know we passed a large agricultural area and it would have been nice to know what was grown or who tended to the fields, etc. But in all honesty Jeff our experience was very good.

I'm glad to hear that you made it to the Wheelchair Rugby events. My friend Trisha that traveled with us is married to the US assistant coach of the Wheelchair Rugby team. He was the gray haired guy sitting on the sidelines in the wheelchair and they are the reason we came to Beijing. We figured supporting our friends, being in Beijing for such a momentous occasion and helping out with their twin 4 year old boys was a once in a lifetime experience. :) If you want to watch a great documentary about Wheelchair Rugby rent "Murderball". It was done quite well and even was nominated for an Oscar.

Thanks again for helping us enjoy our visit to China! I will definitely recommend your company to any friends that travel your way. Thanks again for all that you and Andy have done. Your attention to detail, quick follow up, professionalism and insight on the Great Wall were awesome.Take care, Caroline (San Francisco, California U.S.A.)

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September 23, 2008

Dear Jeff,

Thank you so much for reminding me and sending this message. In fact I too were thinking to write a few lines to you. We really enjoyed the tour in China a lot, seeing all the places visited and it is more than the the value of the money we spent for it. I think it was because of your arrangements and your staff, worked so well for us.

As you say it would have been very nice if we had some more chances of meeting each other to associate much closer like we did once at a dinner time. Any way hope to see you again in China, alone or in a group to have a better company with you.

I thank you again for reminding us and sending a message.

Hope you are doing well and wish you good health and good business.

Please convey our best regards to Tonny and Leven who helped us in various ways to make our tour a sucsess. All our familly group members talk of every good of them.

Best regards.

Sam (Sri Lanka)

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September 22, 2008

Jeff

Thanks for following up and for all your help. More than happy to give you my thoughts (I am a marketer after all - we do love our feedback).

At a top line the thing that really impressed me was the personal, flexible approach which gave me huge confidence that I would have a tour tailored to my needs and that I was dealing with humans as opposed to a computer! The mix of American and Chinese contact was also a real benefit for me personally as it gave confidence that your company gets the needs of tourists as well as gets the country - so often it can be skewed to one or the other. The swift follow up post my request was great (implied action orientated company) and having a person and mobile to call in case of issues was great in a country when you don't speak the language.

In terms of the tour itself it was great - very much felt like being with a local rather than a stuffy tour guide. Frank was good - friendly, professional, flexible, interested, informative and very personable. If giving any builds it would probably be for him to probe a bit more in terms of priorities - eg we rushed through the Forbidden City and were at the end before I realised and I would have liked to have seen a bit more variety within it so asked and we went back in for a while and maybe give a bit more information on things - he did have loads of knowledge but I felt there were more fascinating things he knew that would have been great to know.

Finally the tours were easy to find on the internet and the flexible approach did come through. Only thing that would have been helpful is a non USA number to call as couldn't get through on this.

Think that's about it. Had a great time and have got some great memories so much thanks. Would definitely recommend your company to friends / colleagues.

Thanks

Catherine Archer

(Singapore)

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July 27, 2008

Jeff-

Both of you did a wonderful job. The weekend was crammed full, but as you recall I was the one who asked for all the activities. I think that your observations are all correct. I would have liked to eaten before 9 PM, at least one of the nights---but the Hot Pot was well worth the wait!!

I agree that the Kung Fu show was a bit anticlimactic, but I think that in part was attributable to the fact that the show was not what the students expected it to be. Several students mentioned that it was more of a dance program than a martial arts performance. In any event, the acrobatics show is a definite must in all future programs.

We used another agency for the past 2 years. They were fine, but had limited flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances. Both you and Andy made adjustments where necessary. It was much appreciated. Your service was also much more personal than our prior experiences.

I was quite pleased with the trip, and my strong recommendation to Dean Hellman is to continue to work with you in the future.

It was a pleasure to meet both you and Andy.

John F. Cooper

Associate Dean of International and Cooperative Programs

Stetson University College of Law (Florida, U.S.A)

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July 22, 2008

Dear Jeff,

Thank you so much for your mail. Although I wanted to call you and thank you, before I left China for the nice arrangement made by you to do this tour so safely for every body, I couldn't do it since I had run through the phone credit. It reassures me that you are a gentleman who does not forget people after a business is already done and finished. It was a very nice tour and every one in the group were very happy about your arrangements. Mr. Andy and Mr. Leven were very friendly and helpful for every member took part in the tour. I too have a too busy time after I came back from China. I am trying so hard to cover up the work I missed in the last week. I will contact and write to you in future to build up tour business as soon as possible. I thank you again for your effort to make our tour a successful one.

Convey my best regards to Mr. Andy and Mr. Leven.

Best regards.

Sam (Colombo, Sri Lanka)

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July 3, 2008

Hi Jeff,

I've been so busy writing to friends and family about what a wonderful Beijing trip we had -- I almost forgot to give you some feedback! We can't thank you enough for the excellent guide and the excellent planning from start to finish. You've been wonderful to communicate with, and your guide, Tina, and driver Mr. Gao were just fantastic. Tina found us easily at the rail station in Beijing, and from that moment forward everything went smoothly. Tina went way out of her way to ensure a special experience for us: she even taught us some useful Chinese in the van as we drove out to Mutianyu, and she had several very interesting stories to tell us as we toured the Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, and Ming Tombs. The experience of walking on the Great Wall at Mutianyu was truly a memory of a lifetime for us, so thank you for helping make that happen. Tina even helped us by procuring some tickets for the Flying Acrobats one night, and she and Mr. Gao stuck around to ensure that we were picked up immediately afterward and transported safely to our hotel. I just can't say enough about how much they helped us and how incredibly patient and kind they were with us and our children. 

I have had such a wonderful experience riding the night train to Beijing and touring through your company that I am planning to pass on your company's name and website to my program manager back in Wisconsin -- we plan to bring students to China every summer, and very likely all of them will visit Beijing. We hope this is the beginning of a very good relationship with your company! 

Please let Tina and Mr. Gao know that we will cherish our memories of Beijing, and thanks to both of them for being GREAT! 

Best Wishes to your company, and very good luck for China at the upcoming Olympic Games, 

Laura

Laura Grossenbacher, Director
Technical Communication Program
Engineering Professional Development Department
College of Engineering, UW-Madison (Wisconsin, U.S.A.) 

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June 9, 2008

Jeff,

My friend and I had a great trip ... great weather, great experience ... Thanks for the help while I was in Beijing ... much appreciated.

I just went through my pics, looks great!

David - from the USA

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May 21, 2008

Hi Jeff, thanks for your note advising me of the refund, that's great. I had a great time in Xi'an and Beijing. I am sorry I didn't call you but my host kept me so busy in Beijing I was busy all the time. I LOVED Beijing and hope to go back and found your other suggestions interesting so may look at them when I return, which I hope to next year. I have told everyone about you and how you planned a great time for me in Xi'an. You may hear from Rachael, she was asking if I recommended you and I do, you certainly made my first visit to China, being Xi'an, an amazing time. Thanks for everything. I did manage to see Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, a Prince's garden close to the Hutongs and I can't remember the Prince's name. The guide who took us on Rickshaws through the Hutongs took us to a couple of homes which were very nice, one with a lovely courtyard and the other not so grand but nice anyway, the couple made green tea for us and sat with us and we had a great chat thru my English speaking guide. A young lawyer from our Vancouver office was there working with our Beijing lawyer who was my host and he went with me on the tour. Bob and his wife arranged it as my time was so short, on looking back I stayed too long in Hong Kong and should have spent longer in Beijing. We had lunch at a nice restaurant which overlooked the Prince's garden and then on the Royal Palace. That was Saturday, on Sunday we went to the Great Wall to the gondola, I would never have got up there without it and I walked on the great wall for a couple of hours, just amazing. Not a Sunday hike but an endurance test, amazing. Terminal 3 at Beijing Airport is spectacular, so big and so efficient. All in all everything was great, thanks to you and my hosts in Beijing and I will be sure to recommend you to anyone who asks and may be in touch next year, I really want to go back and my hosts have invited me back any time I want to go. 

I followed the news on the earthquake on the English speaking channel CCTV9, I was still in Beijing for the remembrance 3 minutes at 2:28 p.m. yesterday. Tiffany and I had just left the silk market and noticed all the staff coming out from the hotel we were parked at. I thought it was a photo they were lining up for, then the horns blasted and we realized what was happening and participated, I'm very touched to be part of it all. My return Air Canada flight took donations for the victims and were doing so for 3 days, I was happy to give them my left over Chinese money and help a little. 

Best Wishes and many thanks. Brenda

(Toronto, Canada)

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March 31, 2008

Hi Jeff,

All was perfect! Thanks a lot!

Kind Regards,

Sebastian Jansen

Cologne (Germany)

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March 14, 2008

Andy,

Just wanted you to know that Renee, Alice and I had a wonderful trip throughout Beijing. The Great Wall was definitely the highlight, but the Summer Palace and the Acrobat show were also awesome!  We appreciated the great care and personal attention that you provided during our five day adventure. I have traveled to over a dozen different countries and seen many exciting places. Your tour of the many wonders of Beijing ranks at the top. Some day we hope to return to see the Yangtze River and Tibet!

Thank you so much,

Brian Leeson

Slinger, Wisconsin (U.S.A.)

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January 13, 2008

Subject: A picture and our thanks for a great tour

Hi Jeff,

We had a great time in China. All the tour operators were great. Andy wanted me to send a couple of pictures.  

Thanks for everything!  

Austin (U.S.A.)

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November 28, 2007

Again, thanks for showing us a great time here in Beijing and allowing us to learn from your culture. Good luck with your business and let us know whenever you come to visit California.

Best Regards, 

Wolfgang & Carmen (U.S.A.)

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November 7, 2007 

I returned safely last night and Mom and Rodney just returned a couple of hours ago. I called and Mom was raving about your warm and fun hospitality. You made the tour something special for all of us. You know how difficult my mother can be. We love her dearly but there are times . . . but you made those times easier to deal with. We really had a great time due to your kindness and patience.

I hope the driver is doing better. It was hard to spend our last day without him.  

Keep in touch.  

thanks rikki

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August 10, 2007

Hi Andy!!

Just a wee note to say thank you for the tour of the Simatai section of the Great Wall. I had an amazing time and the scenes were so much better without all the tourists and touts! The zip-wire on the way back down was also something i will never forget! The free lunch and massage back at the hotel was also a bonus (for anyone reading this, it is not Andy who does the massages, but a lady who speaks no English but is very good at what she does!!).

Hope there are many more to benefit from your tours!

Lisa 

Lisa Frankllin 

England

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July 24, 2007 

I just wanted to thank you for the great time that I had in Beijing, you were an excellent tour guide. The history behind the Temple of Heaven and the Forbidden City was very interesting, I was amazed at how much you knew. I'm also very impressed that you were able to learn English on your own, now only if I could do that with the Chinese language. :-) I'd definitely recommend you to anyone as a reputable tour guide. 

Thanks, 

Leanne
Leanne DeBourke
St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada