“Only You” - Couple’s Resounding 69 Days Private China Journey

How long will you need to travel around the world? And how long will you need to travel around China? I never know since I have never tried to do in my vast country with countless attractive destinations. But it will be particularly unforgettable and wonderful for anyone, particularly with your beloved soul mate of life.

Never thought of, but true. I have helped a couple from Belgium customize a private China trip of total 69 days to travel around the very large China to its south, north, east and west. From Mr. Elie and Marie’s email of a more than 50 day trip, I was super excited because we usually customize trips some more than 30 days but never beyond 50. That was a big gift to know the brilliant charm of my beautiful country and also a big challenge during my work as a China travel consultant.

However, challenges help one to make progress! That new and super long trip making is a great chance to help me gain a lot of precious knowledge and experience for my career. And more importantly, I have known two really nice friends from Belgium, another beautiful country!

During the nearly 10 week long China trip, Elie and Marie visited 32 destinations and enjoyed the quite different but rich culture, profound history, pleasant scenery, interesting ethnic highlights, nice close up to local people, and more. About this exceptional trip for couple, Elie shared their experience and feeling as:

Elie & Marie Enjoyed Their 69 Day China Trip from Beijing in September, 2019 (Mutianyu Great Wall and Temple of Heaven)

“A very successful 69 day private tour to discover a lot of China”

The context and planning of the trip

Our intention was to have a Chinese travel agency organize a “private tour” for the two of us in order to discover China in a relaxed way (no mad rushing from one place to the next one). After consulting a number of Web sites, we sent a mail to China Discovery stating our requirements about one year before our expected departure date.

The next day, we got an answer from Mr. Wonder Wang, who would be our travel consultant for the proposed trip.

After no more than 7 or 8 e-mail exchanges (during about 10 days), we refined and adjusted the itinerary and received a full proposal, including a quote, which we decided to accept.

The trip would include a number of “free” days (as requested) and would have a total duration (not including flights to Beijing and from Shanghai) of 69 days (32 stages), starting September 4th, 2019. We frequently heard from our various guides that such a duration was very exceptional: most trips they were involved with lasted between 21 and 30 days.

The responsiveness of Wonder, his ability to understand and fulfill our requirements and his ability to suggest various alternatives during the planning phase were perfect.

Changes before and during the trip

Since we started planning more than one year in advance, a number of adjustments had to be made to the itinerary due to changes in plane or train schedules or to the availability of hotels, etc. Here again, Wonder’s proposals were entirely reasonable and well thought out and we accepted them readily.

One item could only be resolved after our arrival in China: Jiuzhaigou National Park was closed during two years after a major earthquake and it was not known when it would reopen. Our visit to the Park was scheduled for October the 4th and we were glad to hear from Wonder a few weeks before that the Park would reopen on or around October 1st !

Even during the trip, a few changes had to be made and, again, we accepted Wonder’s proposals without qualms. When one of our 10 internal flights was cancelled due to bad weather, Wonder managed within a couple of hours to whip up an alternate solution to have us driven back the 450 km from Jiuzhaigou to Chengdu by a “long distance driver” (a somewhat fearsome experience over mostly narrow and winding mountain roads during a light drizzle).

Itinerary:

(1): the choice of places to visit was based mostly on what we read in travel guides and on China Discovery’s own Web site. Even though some of the descriptions verged on the hyperbolic, almost everything lived up to our expectations with two main exceptions:

• The stay in a yurt in Inner Mongolia was marred by lousy weather (cold and foggy) and sub-par food (a rarity in China !), which is obviously nobody’s fault.
• The “cruise” along the Yangtse river was disappointing. It is advertised as a 4-day, 3-nights cruise, but the first day starts at 6 p.m. (dinner not included) and the 4th day ends at 8 a.m. just after an early breakfast: it would be fairer to advertise a 2-days, 3-nights cruise ! Besides, we found the scenery during the first full day to be rather dull and rainy weather didn’t help to make the cruise more enjoyable.

(2): the overall organization was perfect: everything ran smoothly and we never had to worry about what would happen next, when we would get the necessary train or plane tickets, how we would be handed over from one guide to the next one. Our travel consultant Wonder provided us with a list of guides with their phone numbers for every stage of the trip. We had to call a few of them mostly when we arrived in large train stations with several exits.

Accommodations:

The choice of hotels and (twice) hostels corresponded perfectly to what we requested and expected. When reading reviews on TripAdvisor, one is often surprised that foreign tourists expect everything to be exactly the same as in similarly named hotels in the USA or in Europe, thus forfeiting the pleasure of discovering the specificities of traveling abroad… China is different: one should get used to it (or stay at home).

We appreciated the fact that the somewhat laborious check-in process was greatly facilitated by the systematic presence of our guide (the same is true for checking-in for trains or flights).

Train

We had a total of 9 train rides, which allowed us to experience "hard sleeper class" and "soft sleeper class" in conventional trains and first class in high speed “bullet” trains. It is worth mentioning that not all train stations show their schedules in English… some clever pattern matching between the ticket and what is shown on the departure board may be needed to find the boarding gate (yes: there are boarding gates in train stations !) and the platform.

One thing we were completely unprepared for (and which should have been mentioned explicitly during the preparation) is the (for us unheard of) high level of security one has to go through when entering a train station (and sometimes inside the station when traveling to a “sensitive” destination or during a “sensitive” period such as before and during the National Holiday week). The rules which apply to cabin luggage in airplanes apply to all luggage in trains. This led to the confiscation of a knife, of a small bottle of (Chinese) medicinal alcohol and several arguments with security officers to be allowed to keep an innocent pair of scissors.

Planes:

Besides the one trip which was cancelled (see above), everything else ran (or rather: flew) smoothly. One should be aware, however, of the rather strictly enforced weight limit on checked luggage (20 kg) and of the almost total disregard for the weight of cabin luggage (nominally limited to 5 kg, but very seldom checked in our experience). All luggage goes through an X-ray machine when entering the airport, checked luggage is X-rayed a second time right at the check-in counter and, in case of doubt, one is invited to open the suspect piece of luggage and have it go through yet another X-ray machine. Security is no laughing matter in China!

Guides:

All of our 21 different guides were sufficiently to very knowledgeable about the region and the places they were guiding us in. Some spoke almost perfect English, some were initially quite hard to understand. It seems that, in China, the teaching of the English language to future guides is far from optimal. Those guides who spoke better English had all made the effort to watch English language programs (series, films, news) on TV or on the Internet. We feel that all guides should be encouraged to do so.

Drivers:

Out of our 21 drivers, all were technically excellent, but only 2 drove according to Western standards, i.e.: following the rule of law. The vast majority drove on a spectrum extending from dangerous to reckless, but so does apparently everybody else in China…

Meals:

Besides breakfast, always included with the accommodation, many lunches were included in the itinerary. We specifically requested from all our guides to eat local food in local restaurants (and thus avoid the touristy places serving mostly sweet-and-sour pork). We found the food excellent and plentiful, if sometimes a bit too spicy despite our explicit requests…

One issue which we would like to be addressed once and for all is the issue of having the guide (and possibly also the driver) eat with us. Meals are an important moment to promote bonding between the tourists and their guides, which makes for a much nicer relationship during the days we spend together.

We’ve learned that guides have a different budget for their customers’ meals and for themselves and the drivers. They tend thus to help us order and then disappear somewhere else to have their own lunch.

We’ve had to insist (not always successfully) to have them share our (overly copious) meals by indicating that we would pay a complement if over budget. We recommend to provide an option for the sharing of meals (at least with the guides) during the preparation phase of the trip.

Tipping:

This turned out to be an annoying issue during the whole trip. No guide and no driver ever asked for a tip, but China Discovery provided explicit suggestions for tipping.

We are used, when tipping, to give a certain percentage of the amount spent to reward performance. Since we don’t know what the daily salary is for a guide and for a driver, we don’t know if the suggested tip is, in fact, a necessary part of the base salary or, really, a gratification on top of a decent base salary for the quality of services rendered.

In our opinion, not all guides and not all drivers provided especially outstanding services, but we didn’t want to penalize them by withholding part of their base salaries, hence we felt we had to tip everybody.

We recommend that the price quotation for a trip includes full salaries for guides and drivers, in order for tipping to truly represent a supplement as a reward for noteworthy services.

Conclusion

We had a great trip, we saw a lot of interesting and beautiful places, we learned a lot about China and about Chinese culture and customs. As expected and planned for, this was a discovery trip rather than a mere holiday.

We gratefully acknowledge the essential contributions of China Discovery and, more specifically, of our travel consultant Mr. Wonder Wang, to the resounding success of our 10-week journey through China. We came back tired, but very happy !

 

69 Days’ Trip Itinerary of Elie & Marie

Day 1-2 - Arrival in Beijing & Visit Beijing

Arrive in Beijing and be met by our local guide and driver. Enjoy some interesting and harvestful visits to Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City and Temple of Heaven to marvel at the excellent ancient architectural arts and feel the royal quality of Beijing, the great ancient capital in China.

Day 3-4 - Visit Beijing

Take a fun hike up to Mutianyu Great Wall to learn the building story of this world miracle and visit Ding Tomb of a 13th century emperor, etc. t. Have a class look of the Bird Nest and Water Cube from the outside, which was the site to hold the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008. Enjoy a free day in Beijing by them own.

Day 5-6 - Beijing to Hohhot & Visit Hohhot

Take a flight to Hohhot and visit Dazhao Temple the cherished silver statue of Buddha, etc., Five Pagoda Temple with the world best material of astronomical phenomena in Mogolian, and Mongolia Museum with deep introduction of Inner Mongolia.

Elie Enjoyed Cultural Highlights in Inner Mongolia

Day 7-8 - Huitengxile Grassland & To Datong

Go to Huitengxile Grassland to experience grassland sightseeing, local food, bonfire party, visit local herdsman’s family and experience staying overnight in the yurt. Embrace the grass sunrise. Transfer to Hohhot and take a train to Datong.

Day 9 - Visit Datong

Enjoy a historical and cultural visit to Yungang Grottoes reputed as the UNESCO World Heritage site dates back to 5th-century, Nine Dragon Screen Wall being the biggest and oldest dragon wall in China. Then, go to visit Huayan Temple having the biggest Buddhist shrine preserves the original relics from Liao Dynasty, and Shanhua Monastery being the now existing most complete and large scaled temple cluster from Liao & Jin Dynasty.

Elie Visited Yungang Grottoes in Datong

Day 10-11 - Visit Datong& To Pingyao

Drive to visit the unusual Hanging Temple of more than 1500 years old on the cliff. And then, go to explore Yingxian Wooden Pagoda that is the world tallest wooden pagoda of 67.31 meters high. Take a train to Pingyao.

Elie Visited Magnificent Hanging Temple in Datong

Day 12-14 - Visit Pingyao & To Zhengzhou

Have an architectural and historical stroll at Pingyao Ancient City to see its city wall, city temple, old streets and shops. Drive to Taiyuan with a middle visit Qiao’s Family Compound of a previous famous financier and Jinci Temple with fascinating ancient buildings of Daoism, Confucianism and Buddhism. And take a high speed train to Zhengzhou.

Pingyao Ancient City in Shanxi, Photo Shared by Elie

Qiao's Family Compound in Shanxi, Photo by Elie

Day 15-16 - Visit Luoyang & To Xian

Drive to admire Shaolin Temple and its Pagoda Forest and the excellent Shaolin Kung Fu performance. Visit Longmen Grottoes listed as UNESCO World Heritage Site with a rich collection of Chinese art from 316 AD - 907 AD. Take a high speed train to Xian.

Elie Enjoyed Shaolin Temple Kung Fu Performance in Luoyang

Elie Visited the Impressive Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang

Day 17-19 - Visit Xian & To Dunhuang

Savor the impressive history and culture of this famous ancient capital of 13 past dynasties by first visit to world famous Terracotta Warriors. Shoot Xian cityscape at Bell & Drum Tower Square, walk at Muslim Street and the respectable Great Mosque. Lear more Xian and Shaanxi history at Shaanxi History Museum with a great display of outstanding relics, visit Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, and walk at the great Ancient City Wall. Take a flight to Dunhuang.

Elie Had a Close Look at Terracotta Warriors in Xian

Xian Ancient City Wall, Photo Shared by Elie

Day 20-21 - Visit Dunhuang & Jiayuguan

Have a natural enjoyment at Yardang National Geopark created by wind and rain. Visit Yumenguan Pass, Echoing Sand Hill, and Crescent Lake. Drive to Jiayuguan and admire the awesome at Mogao Grottoes famed as “Louvre of East”.

Elie Visited Yardang Natinoal Geopark in Dunhuang

Elie Visited Echoing Sand Hill in Dunhuang

Day 22 - Visit Jiayuguan & Zhangye

Go to Jiayuguan Fort and walk on the ancient city wall, Visit Great Wall Museum to learn the history of Jiayuguan and the Great Wall in China and then marvel at the colorful Danxia Landform at Zhangye Danxia National Geopark.

Elie Visited Jiayuguan Great Wall

Elie Enjoyed the Splendid View of Danxia Geopark in Zhangye

Day 23 - Visit Zhangye & To Xining

Visit Giant Buddha Temple built in 1098 AD and take a high speed train to Xining.

Day 24-27 - Visit Xining & To Lanzhou

Appreciate Qinghai Lake with fascinating sightseeing. Visit Taer Monastey, Youning Monastery to learn more story and culture of Tibetan Buddhism and local belief. Learn some culture and history at Qinghai Museum. Drive to Kanbula National Park for the typical Danxia landscape with nice waterscape. Drive back to Xining and take a high speed train to Lanzhou.

Elie Visite Taer Monastery in Xining

Elie Visite Beautiful Kanbula National Park

Day 28-29 - Visit Lanzhou & To Chengdu

Visit Bingling Temple with an exciting experience of a local yacht on Liujiaxia Dam that is a major hydroelectric dam on the upper Yellow River. Take a flight to Chengdu.

Bingling Temple in Lanzhou, Photo Shared by Elie

Day 30-31 - Visit Huanglong National Forest Park & Jiuzhaigou Valley

Flight to Jiuzhaigou Valley and visit Huanglong Temple, Five-Color Ponds, etc. at Huanglong Park. Catch the fairyland like landscape of Jiuzhaigou at its Shuzheng Valley, Zechawa Valley and Rize Valley. Fly back to Chengdu.

Huanglong National Forest Park in Early October, Photo Shared by Elie

Jiuzhaigou Valley in Early October, Photo Shared by Elie

Day 32 - Visit Chengdu

See closely the giant pandas at Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Base, feel the quiet atmosphere at Wenshu Temple and enjoy local leisure lifestyle at Renmin Park with a enjoyment at a teahouse. Hang at the well-known Jinli Old Street for the antique wooden buildings and jubilant feeling.

Elie Enjoyed a Close Look at Giant Pandas & Red Pandas in Chengdu

Day 33-36 - To Chongqing, Enjoy Yangtze River Cruise & To Zhangjiajie

Take a high speed train to Chongqing and transfer to Chongqing Chaotianmen Port for embarkation on Yangtze River cruise - Century Diamond.

Relax with the ship trip with great admiration of Three Gorges, interesting visits to Shibaozhai Pagoda, Shennv Stream, and a series of entertaining and activities onboard.

Disembark the cruise to visit the superb world hydropower project - Three Gorges Dam. Transfer to Yichang and take a train to Zhangjiajie.

Elie Visited Three Gorges Dam during Yangtze River Cruise Trip

Day 37-41 - Visit Zhangjiajie & To Kunming

Hike at Zhangjiajie National Forest Park and admire the pleasant view at Huangshizhai and Golden Whip Stream.

Visit Yuanjiajie and see closely the Avatar Hallelujah Mountain inspiring that great Hollywood 3D movie and also experience the superfast Bailong Elevator. Then, Go to Tianzi Mountain to meet the fantastic sceneries of thousands of pillar peaks

Enjoy a day trip to Tianmen Mountain and experience its famous Asian longest cableway, walking on the thrilling Glass Sky Walk, cliff-hanging Walkway, seeing the Karst Tianmen Cave, and transferring back via the 99 turned Avenue toward Heaven.

Take a flight to Kunming.

Mysterious Pillar Peaks in Zhangjiajie Wulingyuan Forest Park, Photo by Elie

Day 42 - Visit Kunming

Go to West Hill to admire Dianchi Lake from top and visit Dragon Gate. Have a leisure walk at local Flowers & Birds Market to see Kunming people’s daily life.

Day 43 - Visit Stone Forest & Jianshui

Drive to Kunming Stone Forest to see diverse odd stones forming a large forest and listen to the famous story of the lady - Ashima. Drive to Jianshui and visit Jianshui Old Town to see its ancient buildings, Confucius Temple and Zhu Family Garden.

Elie Visited Kunming Stone Forest in October

Elie Visited Top Highlights in Jianshui

Day 44-45 - Visit Jianshui & Yuanyang

Visit Twin Dragon Bridge & Tuanshan Village.

Drive to Yuanyang and enjoy a scenic hike to Azheke Village to see the adorable old mushroom houses and admire the lovely countryside view at Laohuzui Rice Terraces.

Day 46-48 - Visit Yuanyang & To Dali

Drive to visit local Laomeng Market that brings 13 different ethnic groups together, and Pugao Laozhai Village of the Hani people.

Go to see countless amazing and graceful rice terrace fields at Duoyishu Village and Jingkou Village, walk by local mushroom houses, and also enjoy the sunset at Bada Rice Terraces.

Drive back to Kunming and take a high speed train to Dali. Enjoy some free time hanging in the Dali Old City.

Hani Ethnic People and Rice Terraces in Yuanyang, Photo by Elie

Day 49 - Visit Dali

Visit the landmark of Dali - Three Pagodas of Chongsheng Monastery of over 1800 years old, and boat sightseeing at Erhai Lake. Driver to Dali Old Town and feel its ancient charm at Wuhua Tower, etc.

Elie Visited Three Pagodas of Chongsheng Monastery in Dali

Bai Ethnic Woman in Dali, Photo by Elie

Day 50-51 - Visit Dali & Shaxi

Go to discover the old beauty of Xizhou Ancient Town, enjoy its morning market and drive to visit Shaxi Old Town on the Tea & Horse Caravan Trail.

Visit Shibaoshan Mountain to discover the Karst sightseeing and its famous sites including Stone Bell Temple, Baoxiang Temple, Ancient Grottoes, etc.

Nice Cultural Atmosphere at Shaxi Old Town, Photo by Elie

Day 52 - Shaxi to Lijiang & Visit Lijiang

Drive to Lijiang and make a classic trip to Lijiang Old Town by visiting the Lion Hill, Wangu Tower, Mufu Palace, Sifang Street Square, etc.

Elie Wathched Naxi Ethic Women Dancing at Lijiang Old Town

Elie Visited Mufu Palace at Lijiang Old Town

Go to Yuhu Village at the foot of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain with great visit of local Naxi unique stone houses and step into the Former Residence of Joseph Rock. Then, have a worthing visit to Baisha Village to see those Baisha Mural Paintings, immerse into the well-preserved streets and houses at Shuhe Old Town, learn Dongba culture and the mysterious language at Naxi Dongba Museum, take a gentle walk at Black Dragon Pool for the best overlook at Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.

Drive to Visit First Bend of Yangtze River with 180 degrees and nice scenery, Visit Iron Chain Bridge in Shigu Town closely, and enjoy a hike along Upper section of Tiger Leaping Gorge.

Explore Lijiang in a full day on them own.

Day 56-57 - To Guilin & Li River Cruise to Yangshuo & Visit Yangshuo

Take a flight to Guilin.

Sail from Guilin to Yangshuo by a classic Li River Cruise with hundred-miles’ Karst landscape of mountains and water. Explore famous and interesting West Street after arriving in Yangshuo.

Day 58-59 - Visit Yangshuo - To Xiamen

Have a fully wonderful and memorable countryside visit in Yangshuo with optional outdoor cycling or sightseeing to appreciate the idyllic rural sightseeing at Yulong River and Ten-mile Gallery. Take a flight to Xiamen.

Elie Enjoyed Top Hilights in Guilin in Late October

Day 60 - Visit Xiamen

Visit Hulishan Fortress from Qing Dynasty to learn the war history during the 1900s. Take a ferry to Gulangyu Island listed as UNESCO World Heritage Site to admire its precious world styled buildings and literal romantic place.

Transfer to Putuo Temple to marvel at its Buddhist cultural collection and enjoy a bird’s eye view of Xiamen University and Xiamen Port.

Xiamen Gulangyu Island, Photo by Elie

Day 60 - Visit Nanjing, Xiamen

Drive to Nanjing County to see the most famous Tianluokeng Tulou Cluster with four round and one rectangular earthen houses, Yuchanglou Building from 1308 AD being the oldest existing one, and Tiaxia Village built along the bank of a clear stream.

Elie Visited Tianluokeng Tulou Cluster in Nanjing County, Xiamen

Elie Visited Tianluokeng Tulou Cluster in Nanjing County, Xiamen

Day 62 - Visit Yongding, Xiamen

Transfer to Yongding County to see Gaobei Tulou Cluster with the most famous Chengqilou Building, Hongkeng Hakka Cultural Village with Zengchenglou Building, and Nanxi Tulou Cluster reputed as the “Great Wall of Tulou” with over 100 earthen houses in valley stretching for 10 kilometers.

Elie Visited Nanxi Tulou Cluster in Yongding County, Xiamen

Day 63-65 - To Hangzhou & Visit Hangzhou

Drive back to Xiamen and take a flight to Hangzhou.

Experience the beauty of Hangzhou by first visit the symbolic West Lake along its Su Causeway, Bai Causeway, and more. Visit Lingyin Temple and Feilai Peak to see the interesting Buddhist grottoes on the hill and rich Buddhist culture in the large temple cluster. Then, drive to Meijia Dock Longjing Tea Plantation to please eyes in the emerald field of Longjing Tea and have a refreshing sip. Enjoy a full day on them own.

Elie Enjoyed the Peaceful View at West Lake in Hangzhou in Early November

Elie Visited Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou

Day 66-69 - To Shanghai & Shanghai Visit & Fly off China

Take a high speed train to Shanghai. Take a wonderful visit to Shanghai Museum to have a close look at the thousands of outstanding historic relics telling the Chinese culture and history. Wander at Yuyuan Garden to have some different but great feeling in the antique pavilions, corridors, gardens and ponds. Be sent high up to the 100F Observation Deck at Shanghai World Finance Center to have a panoramic view of the modern Shanghai. Walk from Nanjing Road to the Bund to stroll along the gallery of dozens of old international architectures telling the past history of this city and enjoying the contrast fabulous skyline of towering buildings at Lujiazui proving the modern development here from dusk to evening. Enjoy a full day discovering Shanghai and fly off China.

Elie Visit Lujiazui Skyscrepers from the Bund in Shanghai

Elie Enjoyed Panorama of Modern Shanghai High from Shanghai World Finance Center

 

The China trip of Elie and Marie has completed successfully and resoundingly, and I feel really glad to know that they had a happy experience in a country in the orient! What Elie shared about our service and more aspects during the traveling helps us know more clearly of our professional abilities, and also the specific short parts need further improvement. It is highly lucky to meet Elie and Marie who have an important draw on my page of work and inspired me to deepen further my love to the dear country!