My Review on trip to Beijing, Xian, Shaanxi, Guilin, Yangshuo, Guangxi, Shanghai with China Discovery

I decided early on I would use a tour operator for my first trip to China. I was 60, traveling alone, female, and only spoke a little Mandarin. I actually chose another China-based agency first, one with glowing reviews like China Discovery, but quickly dropped them after sluggish response from my assigned tour consultant. What a contrast when I reached out to China Discovery. Wonder Wang, my assigned consultant, reached out pretty much as soon as the time difference allowed. This was consistent throughout our correspondence. We spent a good few weeks going back and forth tailoring my trip, which I wanted to be focused on history, so I requested tour guides who could speak to that. Wonder was game to any request I threw at him. We had one hiccup in planning that he quickly fixed right before my departure- a reminder to me that it's important to be clear about what you want in every detail. I received a confirmation letter that I used for my visa application (though an invite letter was not a requirement at the time). I also received a file with good-to-know's for traveling through China (tips, currency etc). You can choose to have China Discovery handle every arrangement or part of your trip (e.g. if you want to handle hotels and/or domestic transportation yourself). I asked for a different hotel in Beijing because I wanted something more traditional - a siheyuan in a hutong neighborhood- and that is what I got. All the hotels were different and all had their own appeal. I really loved going from something that was 100 years old to ultra-modern to rural retreat.

I also specified I wanted to go first class on the bullet train between Beijing to Xi'an (minimal price difference) and to ride the maglev to the Shanghai airport. In addition, because I was only bringing carry on, I wanted to upgrade seats on my two domestic flights. All were handled by Wonder.

In each city, I had a different tour guide and a driver. Except for one, each guide was fluent in English which allowed for some great conversation. The tour guide would meet me at the train station or airport upon arrival and then see me off to the next city, taking me as far as possible- to my seat on the train or to security at airports. They helped with check-in so I didn't have to navigate around the language barrier. They even carted my carry on for me.

Before this trip, I’d never traveled with a personal guide before. It was really liberating to not have to sweat the details, worry about getting lost, or navigate a foreign airport. In the past, working through these challenges was part of the attraction of traveling, because I wanted to learn to navigate like a native. But this time, I’m very glad I chose to go the route of a customized tour and grateful that Wonder and all the tour guides were there with me. I’d recommend them to anyone, especially anyone with any trepidation. You will be cared for.

If you are a first timer headed toward China, here are some tips you may find useful:

1 Get an esim before you leave. Aeralo worked seamlessly for me and I used my iPhone throughout my trip (data only) and had access to my email, texting (iMessage should work everywhere since it’s not SMS), and apps.

2 Sign up for a couple of VPN’s before you leave. As what works constantly changes, do your research on travel forums

3 Set up Alipay or Wechat before you go on your phone. Alipay worked sometimes for me, sometimes not. I didn’t try Wechat. Cash will do if you’re okay with a chance of not receiving change. Credit cards will work only at hotels or places that cater to foreigners. I needed very little spending money (Breakfast and lunch were covered by the tour).

4 You will encounter squat toilets. Some places will have both squat and sit so check all the stall doors if your heart is set on a sit toilet.

5 Bring toilet paper or tissue with you when you go out and remember to throw it in the bin, not the toilet.

6 Accept it will be very, very crowded at any of the standard attractions if you’re going during tourist season. Watch out for the heat at top attractions.

7 When you go through airport security, take out your electronics and that includes any power banks you packed. Make sure your power bank rating is marked or it will be confiscated, plus it has to fall below the limit. I didn’t have to take off my shoes or take out my liquids bag.

8 If you’re bringing carry on, check the limitations. Some airlines limit carry on to a single 5kg item and if you want more, you have to upgrade your seat. Whether they check carry on is your risk, but if it’s 5kg, it’s probably easy for them to guess by sight if you’ll be over

9 Lean on your tour guide. They will bend over backwards to help you. Thank you, Kai, Waldner, Daniel, Qi, and Liang. Thank you to my ninja drivers. And thank you, Wonder. I collected a lifetime of experiences in ten days thanks to you all.