About China Highlights
China Highlights is the online travel service platform operated by the team of professional travel consultants at CITS Guilin. Started in early 1998, it was one of the earliest "China Travel" web sites. The brand name "China Highlights" has come to mean a reliable company. We have provided thousands of customers their unforgettable "China Experience".
Under the brand of "China Highlights", we have built 10 other web sites with different themes of their own:
www.mybeijingchina.com - (Beijing Travel)
www.shanghaihighlights.com - (Shanghai Travel Guide)
www.tibettravel.info - (Tibet Travel Guide)
Our History
Guilin China International Travel Service Ltd. was established on October 20th in 1959(see the early history of CITS GUILIN). It was operated until October 2006 as a State Owned Enterprise (SOE) owned by the Guilin Tourism Bureau. It was part of the CITS Group nationally.
The company stopped its business in 1966 because of the launch of the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), which temporarily paralyzed China's economy including its infant tourism industry. CITS Guilin resumed its business and changed its name to Guilin China International Travel Service in 1974. Since then, the company rebounded to a new stage of prosperity.
CITS Guilin was rewarded in 1987 and 1988 by the China Tourism Bureau for quality service provided. They were the earliest rewards given by an authority at national level. Its reputation had been established, and more recognition was given over the following years. The company was awarded the title of Most Advanced Tourism Company by Guilin Tourism Bureau in 1991, the earliest award issued by an authority at municipal level.
Katherine Flower - Hostess of famous English TV program "Follow Me" - traveled in Guilin with CITS GUILIN. Photo by Zhang Gaoyong in 1983.
CITS Guilin in 1992 established Guilin Aviation Travel Service in cooperation with the Guangxi Branch of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). CITS Guilin was successively chosen as one of the top 100 travel companies in China from 1993 to 1995, and was awarded as one of the top ten travel companies in Guangxi in 1996. It became a member of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) in 1987. From 2001 to 2008, the company was successively selected as one of the top 100 international travel companies in China. Now, it ranks 10th on the list of 16,000 travel companies in China.
CITS Guilin was privatized in October 2006, as part of the Central Government's plan to divest itself of most of its SOE's throughout China. As a profitable and well run company, CITS Guilin was particularly easy to sell.
The company has endured the great affects brought by the outbreak of SARS in 2003, and Sichuan earthquake in 2008. It has walked out from the difficulty caused by the global financial crisis in 2009. It has become a leading travel service in China, and is ranked 7th among all travel companies in Guilin.
The company held its first general meeting of shareholders in August 2006, and completed the restructuring of the company that year. The company was then renamed as Guilin China International Travel Service Ltd, with registered capital of 39,800,000 yuan.
The China Highlights division came into existence in 1998 when the company realized that the future of travel lay in the internet. China Highlights was born and has grown from small beginnings to be the leading online China tour operator and an innovator in the online Chinese travel industry. China Highlights has a staff of more than 70 travel professionals, IT and support staff who service our English, German, Japanese and French departments.
How are CITS and China Highlights related?
China International Travel Service Limited (CITS) was founded in Beijing 1954 as state owned enterprise. It is China's largest and most influential travel related group and the only tourist enterprise on the list of the country's top 500 enterprises. CITS has 14 foreign subsidiary companies around the world and total assets of 5 billion yuan. CITS has over 20 regional branches around China, and CITS (Guilin) is one of them. Some years ago, as a result of the economic reform strategy of the central government, all regional branches were privatized and established as private companies.
CITS Guilin (the official website is www.citsguilin.com, not www.cits.net or www.bestourchina.com) is now an independent company and operates its own multi-language websites with the main website being www.chinahighlights.com which services the English market. www.chinarundreisen.com services the German Market, www.voyageschine.com services the French Market, www.viaje-a-china.com specializes in Spanish market, and www.arachina.com is the Japanese website.
Our Awards
| Year | Honor | Awarded By |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Vip Users Awards for The Year of Tiger new | PayPal |
| 2009 | Most Advanced Tourism Development Company | Guilin People’s Government |
| 2009 | Top 8 Guilin International Travel Agencies | Guilin Tourism Bureau |
| 2009 | Top 10 Guilin Travel Agencies | Guilin Tourism Bureau |
| 2008 | Most Advanced and Highest Quality Tourism Service in Guangxi | Guilin Tourism Bureau, Guilin TV Station, Guilin Radio and TV Newspaper |
| 2008 | Top 10 International Travel Agencies in Guangxi | The Tourism Bureau of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region |
| 2006 | Faithful and Honest Tourist Enterprise | Guilin Prefecture Tourism Administration |
| 2006 | The Travel Agency with The Best Credit | Guilin Tourism Development Company |
| 2000-2005 | Top 7 Guilin International Travel Agencies | Guilin Prefecture Tourism Administration |
| 1998, 1999, 2007 | Top 8 International Travel Agencies | The Tourism Bureau of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region |
| 1997-2007 | Top 100 Chinese International Travel Agencies | The National Tourism Administration |
| 1996, 1997, 2000, 2004 | Top 10 Guangxi International Travel Agencies | The Tourism Bureau of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region |
| 1996 | Most Advanced International Travel Agency in Guilin | The Tourism Bureau of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region |
| 1994 | Most Advanced Company in Guangxi Tourist Industry | The Tourism Bureau of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region |
| 1994 | Most Advanced and Highest Quality Tourism Service in Guangxi | The Tourism Bureau of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region |
| 1993, 1994, 1995 | Top 100 First/Second Class Chinese Travel Agencies | The National Tourism Administration |
| 1991 | Most Advanced Guilin Travel Agency | Guilin Prefecture Tourism Administration |
| 1991 | Guilin Travel Agency with The Highest Quality Service | Guilin Prefecture Tourism Administration |
| 1987 | Most Advanced Chinese Tourism Service Company | The National Tourism Administration |
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Our Services
China Highlights provides a China travel information center, a consulting center, and an online reservation center specializing in providing personalized travel service. We will do our utmost to design tailored tours for singles, couples, families and groups. Our goal is to deliver Usability (web site), Reliability (company), Flexibility (itinerary) and Unbeatable Price.
Our Cars, Buses and Vans
