Tours to China-China Odyssey, China Focus or China Spree
 

Have you used any one of these companies? Any thoughts?

Do a search. This has been extensively discussed here already.

thanks! will do.

In addition to the tour operator above you mentioned, here are others famous ones for your reference: Travel China Guide, China Highlights, Ctrip. They are also great.

Thanks for all the help! We have decided to go to Thailand this time. Maybe China someday soon.

My husband and I just returned from a 16 day tour of China that I took my 80 and 85 year old Mother and Father. First of all, I began dealing with Sophie Liu with China Odyssey over a year ago. I researched and received proposals from all the top tour companies but was most impressed with both Sophie's professionalism, responsiveness, knowledge and competitive pricing. I would consider myself a "difficult" client in that I am very detail oriented and want everything planned precisely. Sophie was there for me all the way. For one solid year, I tweaked and refined the itinerary.

Our first stop was Hong Kong where we met our guide Helen who we soon called our Angel. On our first day out, my Dad fell and severely lacerated his arm. Helen got us to the top hospital in HK and was there with us through the whole ordeal even bringing us sandwiches from the employee cafeteria. At first, we thought that we were going to have to modify our itinerary so Helen and Sophie got all the flights and hotels arranged and then when we learned we would not have to change our plans, got all of the modifications reversed. Helen was so set on us getting the full tour, she modified our itinerary and made sure we saw the most important sites in HK. She was truly an angel.

From there we went to Guillen where we were met by our guide Angel. She was a delight. Very upbeat personality with a great sense of humor and a love for her City. She always made sure my parents were comfortable and took us to some of the best restaurants in the City.

Shanghai was next and our guide was Chris. Chris is bright and extremely intelligent with a great knowledge of her City. Once she learned that my husband was addicted to Starbuck's iced tea, she made sure we always made an afternoon stop at one. She also overheard my Mom say that she liked a particular food and from then on the menu always included fried noodles.

In Xi'an, our guide was Stella. Because Xi'an has a large Muslim population, it was interesting to have a Chinese Muslim guide. She really gave us insight in to the various religious cultures of the Country. And her knowledge of the City and Terracotta Warriors was immense.

Finally in Beijing, our guide was Helen. I had some of the most interesting conversations with her from Fung Shue to Chinese medicine, the political history of the Country, religion. My Dad commented when we got back that she and I never stopped talking and he's probably right.

While I was in Xi'an, I left my toiletry bag which had all of my expensive cosmetics in it. I emailed Sophie to see if she could check with the hotel to see if they had found it and if so, could I get it mailed to me in the States. She did better than that. She had their tour guide in Xi'an pick it up and sent it with someone who was on tour there and was coming to Beijing. She then had the Beijing guide deliver it to my hotel. Unbelievable service!!!

I have nothing but the best to say about this Company. They do everything top quality. When a meal is included it is always at a top notch restaurant and is served in abundance. Their vans our new, comfortable and clean. Their drivers are amazing considering the traffic in China. I've already mentioned how great their guides are and of course Sophie is the best. I only wish that I would have had an opportunity to meet her.