My Review on trip to Zhangjiajie, Hunan, Yangtze River, Chongqing with China Discovery

Hi Tracy,

Feedback for Zhangjiajie

o Guide: Lilly was a great guide, first she thought we will be quicker but with Ruby walking a lot or carrying her, we were slower than other groups. She adapted quickly and changed the plans according to our needs, which was really nice. She was a great guide with lots of knowledge, good English and she even took care of Ruby some times.

o Hotel: The Pullman, breakfast was ok not really good and as there were a lot of Chinese groups it was crowded. Room was ok but a bit outdated. The baby bed was not good, it was for really small babies (who cannot walk or stand) and one wheel was broken. We adapted it and it was ok for the 2 nights.

o Attractions: These two days were amazing, the glass bridge and the river tour was nice even the walk along the river was great. The national park (with avatar mountains) on second day was also really cool and Lilly also guided us through less crowded places. We were quite tired in the end but it was really worth it.

o Restaurants: Both were fine, we liked the second one better. The first one all dishes were cooked with lots of Oil. And actually for us it was way too much food. but maybe other people eat more.

o Car and Driver: Both were good and nice

Feedback for Chongqing

o Guide: Jim was always a bit stressful and hectic. His English was good. We think he really tried hard to satisfy us, but for us it sometimes felt too much, on the first night he arranged a hotpot for us which was great.

o Attractions: Houses in the Hill at the riverfront is really nice and actually I think lots of people would enjoy to walk down the stairs instead of taking the elevator. It would be nice to spend a little more time there and let people wander around. Monorail inside the building we think is ok to see but not really special, could maybe be skipped depending on the group speed. Old town was really nice, I think western people would enjoy to wander around, try food and drinks or buy souvenirs and not just rush through it. Museum is nice to hear and see something about the culture, but as this was our last stop in the city we were tired and had enough after the first floor with the information about the 3 Georges. We asked Jim if we can go to the boat now and he agreed which was great for us.

o Car and Driver: both were good

Feedback for Yangtze River Cruise

We spend a nice time on the boat, the food was good and the rooms were nice. First they just prepared a foldable chair for Ruby as bed, but after we asked for a real baby bed they put one in our room. That was great.

o Trips general: for us it was great that there were mostly two trips a day one in the morning and one in the afternoon. So Ruby was able to do her nap in the room. The service staff on the boat was great too, they always helped and suggested us if we should go on the additional trip or if it is better for us to walk around on our own.

o First day trip morning: We actually left the guide at the temple because the speed was also not suitable for us. And obviously the other part of the group was quicker than us with Ruby. But it was fine for us like this. We were able to look at all the things in our speed.

o First day trip evening (optional): We didn´t go to the show, because Ruby goes to bed around 7:30pm and someone had to stay with her. But we enjoyed the dinner and drinks and music in the bar.

o Second Day morning (optional): White Emperor city was not recommended to us, so we didn´t participate. We still left the boat and just walked around the harbor, there was also and old city wall and a white tower, which was nice to explore for 1-2 hours. Then we went back on the boat

o Second Day afternoon Boat trip: that was really nice and great to see. Ruby also enjoyed the ride a lot. The tour guide spoke great English.

o Third Day: Checkout, it was a bit surprising that we should give all our big luggage’s already the evening before we left the boat to the boat staff. Which was not possible for us, with having a kid. You have to pack in the morning. But we managed to keep one and give the other one already to the boat staff. Another surprise was that the room cards didn´t work after the breakfast on the last days, they just locked everyone out, so you had to get a staff member to open the door again. Would be nice to inform the people about it or have the room cards work at least until the time when everyone should leave the boat. least

- Dam: It is for sure impressive why they build it and to get to know some information about height and relocation of cities just for this. But to get to the top and walking around there was not really nice, way to many people, it felt like all ships had the same timing so it was super crowded. I think I would maybe skip that but also because we have a small kid and it was a bit overwhelming for her with all the people.

- Guide: Nancy spoke very good English. She was nice but not as friendly and helpful as Lilly

- Restaurant: Good and nice food. But we had to pay for water, but two bottles of beer were included. Which is a bit strange, as we were 4 people and especially one pregnant woman and a kid.

- Attraction: Cave and path around half island, that was nice to see and the good part was most of it was shady.

- Car: it was a fancy car, but too small to fit our luggage (4 Suitcases and a stroller) we had no issues with the other cars. So it was a bit uncomfortable to sit, as one luggage and the stroller had to fit in the area we were sitting

- Driver: Nice and friendly

- If there would have been a flight in the afternoon or earlier in the evening around 6pm that would have been better for us. So it was a really long day.

Whole trip: it was very nice and we would do it again, maybe with some small adaptions. Thanks for organizing it we took a lot of great pictures and created some really nice memories.

Best regards,

Fioni