Dear Grace,
We all had an absolutely wonderful time with Doris at Yellow Mountain.Please thank her again on our behalf.I will send to you a two pictures taken during our trip in another email. After our time with Doris we flew to Beijing and then joined another tour organised by an Australian company.This tour was also good although both Steve and I commented on how wonderful it was to experience a tour which was totally Chinese as we did with your company. Our Australian tour was with 4 Australian families and hence, much more western. Whilst our tour guide for this second trip was Chinese she did not know nearly as much about the Chinese culture, language and history as Doris did. Our two sons, Nicholas and Peter, along with myself, really enjoyed learning Mandarin from Doris - she taught us to count to 5 which was a considerabel achievement given we had no idea how to use our toungue to make the sounds. Finally - I am sorry we both were not fully well. I had collected an upset stomach the first night in Shanghai which Stephen then collected in Yellow Mountain. It was a one day effect but meant Steve was poorly for the second day in yellow Mountain. This made it difficult for Doris but she coped very well. You should realsie from our comments that we still enjoyed our visit with your company very, very much. I will answer the questions below now - but thank you again. I can assure you I have recommended China Highlights to a number of people now.  Yellow Mountain. May I also say - our 1 day in Shanghai proved a real highlights well. Peter and Stephen went up to the observation deck in the Shanghai Financial centre and loved the view. Doris was exceptional. She had a thorough, detailed knowledge of Chinese history and culture. She could explain architectural features and link them into the history. She could identify plants and imaginative features in the wilderness. She was kind to the children and related very well with the children. After we finished we continued to talk about Doris and wondered what she would have said when we visited places. She was aware of the group needs and led accordingly. We felt privileged to haver Doris as a guide. We loved the hotel in Tunxi. It was clean, beautiful and served wonderful food. I have mentioned to friends that maybe in a few years time they return to China with us in a tour organised with China Highlights. Would it be possible to stay the first night or two at a hotel which supplied western breakfasts. We found the Chinese food, especially breakfasts quite different and it took awhile for us to adjust. At the same time, having a complete Chinese experience especially with the food was a highlight so I make this comment with a littel reticence. Yellow Mountain plus the two villages we visited - Hongcun and Xidi - are absolutely not to be missed. We also really enjoyed the New Shanghai circus visited in Shanghai. Also - the lunch meal in Hongcun was superb. I am sorry we were not feeling well and could not enjoy fully but we still appreciated it immensely.
Stephen & Philippa

• Client's Information: Philippa Joan, Melbourne, Australia
• Tour Starting Dates: September 16, 2008
• Tour Itinerary: 4 Days Shanghai, Yellow Mountain, Beijing Tour

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