China Supreme Travel

My husband, Joe, and I were to visit China, Oct. 26-Nov. 4, 2011, as part of our around-the-world tour. I was apprehensive about booking internal tickets, myself, because Chinese airline websites are confusing, and I was concerned about not knowing about flight time changes because of the language barrier.

We read in ITN (Feb. ’08, pg. 63) a recommendation for a tour guide in Beijing: Harry Sun Qingjun, who works with China Supreme Travel (Suite 12A01, Wing A, Kunsha Center, 16 Xinyuanli, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China 10027; phone 011 86 10 6466 4609 or 4610, ext. 16 or 18; e-mail songxl@chinasupremetravel.com).

I got in touch with Harry, who said the company’s owner, Wendy Song, could help us. I had to make many itinerary changes, and Wendy took it all in stride, answering e-mails immediately.

We were impressed by the following: all accommodations were as promised; all guides spoke very good English and were extremely accommodating and professional, and all transportation was in very nice cars with pleasant drivers. I was informed of flight time changes right away. We were always met at the airport by our guide and escorted back for our next flight.

The cost for touring, hotels, entrance fees, internal flights and some meals was $6,044 for the two of us, which I sent by bank wire transfer.

We had four nights in Beijing with a private guide, and I requested Harry Sun, who was simply amazing. We saw the major sights and took a hutong tour by pedicab.

The grounds before the Temple of Heaven were filled with “retired” Chinese (50 years old and up) and were quite a social scene. There were groups dancing and singing and people playing board games, plus exercise equipment. It was as interesting as the temple.

From Beijing we flew to Xi’an to see the terra-cotta warriors. Morning fog is a huge airport issue in October (and possibly November), and our flight had a 5-hour delay. By the time we got to Xi’an, I’d given up on seeing the warriors.

When we arrived at the airport, our guide, who had been waiting all day, greeted us with a big smile. In perfect English, he said we must rush. He drove us there in 45 minutes and was able to get tickets before they closed. We boarded the last tram to the site.

The huge building where the clay soldiers stood was practically empty. We had the warriors all to ourselves for about an hour. Our guide was amazed by the lack of visitors in late afternoon. He said that in the morning it’s packed — something to keep in mind.

We flew to Chengdu for two nights and visited the Panda Breeding Research Base. I paid extra to hold a panda. It was expensive (you had to bring RMB1,000, about $150, in cash) but worth it.

We then flew to Lijiang for a 3-night stay at the Banyan Tree Lijiang (Yuerong Rd., Shuhe, Gucheng District, Lijiang City, Yunnan Province, People’s Republic of China 674100; phone +86 888 533 1111, fax 533 2222), which I had booked online, as I was able to get a better rate than what Wendy quoted. Included in our package for $800 for three nights was breakfast each day and a one-hour massage.

I had mentioned that it was my 50th birthday, and they gave us a beautiful room with a direct view of Snow Mountain, plus a cake.

Our final stop in China with touring arranged by Wendy was Kunming. In China, the only thing I could have passed on and not been too sad about was Tiger Leaping Gorge in Lijiang; I didn’t feel it was worth such a long drive.

I think that for the quality of the guides, drivers and accommodations we had, we got a good deal. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend China Supreme Travel to anyone.

SARA KRAS
Glendale, CA