Evelyne and Bernard – Discovery of China (19 days)

Beijing & the Chinese Wall – Xi’an – Guilin – Yangshuo – Ping’an – Kunming – Dali – Xizhou – Shaxi – Tiger Leaping Gorge – Shangri La – Lijiang – Beijing

 

Hello Paul,

We returned safely from our trip, tired but delighted.
We thank you for the excellent organization that allowed us to discover the country from different angles:

Avis evelyne et bernard Chine

· The great classics: Beijing and Xian

· Guangxi with the discovery of spectacular landscapes: The Li River and the Longji rice fields

Avis evelyne et bernard Chine

· Finally, the ancient towns and villages of Yunnan: Dali, Zhoucheng, Xizhou, Shaxi, Lijiang and Shangri La…

Avis evelyne et bernard Chine

Guides and drivers were punctual, efficient and friendly, some better than others… Many thanks to Philippe for his professionalism and erudition.

The hotels were comfortable and well located, however we regret the lack of refrigerators in the rooms and a “very simple” breakfast at the Fairy Land Inn in Dali.

Avis evelyne et bernard Chine

 

The shows in Xian, Yangshuo and Kunming were of high quality.

We particularly appreciated:

· Cycling from Yangshuo to the villages of Fuli and Jiuxian, and from Xizhou to Ehrai Lake.
· Hiking in the Longji rice fields, where we passed through minority villages and met Yao women.
· Hiking in the Shibaoshan Mountains.

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· Meeting a Tibetan family in Shangri-La where we tasted Yak tea and butter cheese as well as Tsampa.

· Shaxi, a small village from another time

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· Xizhou more authentic than Dali where women dance in the evening in the square.

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Since everything can’t be perfect, here are some areas for improvement:

In Beijing,

The tour of the Summer Palace was very quick, and the guide dropped us off at a shopping mall to finish the afternoon.
The rickshaw ride through the Hutong district consisted of a quick round trip to a local’s home for lunch.
Since the guide didn’t accompany us to a local’s home, we had lunch alone, with no opportunity to interact with our hostess.

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On the road from Shaxi to Shangri-La

· the stops are of little interest: we saw nothing of the stages of pottery making…

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If you wish, you can add our comments and photos to your “Guest Stories” section.
This trip to China has made us eager to learn more, and we’ll likely come back to you with a new project.
Sincerely,

Evelyne & Bernard