# China Tour Review – A Wonderful Country, but a Tour That Felt Too Rushed
I would highly recommend visiting China. There is so much to see and do, and it is an incredible country to explore. However, having completed this tour, I felt the itinerary was just a little too much, with very little time to relax and enjoy the experience at our own pace.
### Flights and Transfers
We flew into Beijing airport but had an internal flight to Shanghai to begin the tour. You need to be prepared to manage this transfer yourself, as you are not supported until you arrive in Shanghai. The airport is huge, and we had to navigate our way to another part of the airport to catch our connecting flight. A translator app is essential.
If you have the option of starting the tour in Beijing and finishing in Shanghai, I would strongly recommend doing so. Shanghai was the highlight of our trip, so it would have been lovely to finish there on a high. The weather also tends to get colder as you travel north towards Beijing, so ending in the warmer south was another advantage.
We flew with Air China, which does not allow online check-in from the UK. As a result, by the time we checked in at the airport, most seats had already been allocated, and my husband and I ended up sitting apart on the next two flights.
On arrival at Shanghai airport, we were met by a taxi driver who contacted our guide via his phone. She explained that she would not be meeting us at the airport and that we would see her at the welcome dinner the following day. Wendy Wu had not made us aware of this arrangement, so it was unexpected. On our return flight home, I asked our guide to help us check in, and I had to pay extra to secure seats together.
### A Very Full Itinerary
Most group tours offer a balance of excursions, free time, shows and relaxed evening meals. Unfortunately, this tour offered very little downtime.
Many days started with an early excursion, followed by lunch, perhaps a five-hour bullet train journey, and then straight to dinner. There was often no opportunity to shower or change clothes, meaning we were expected to go to dinner in the same clothes we had worn while sightseeing all day.
There was rarely even enough time to freshen up, and the constant rushing became tiring. Much of the itinerary involved travelling, and although we saw a lot of the country, we spent most of our time with the group, leaving little opportunity to explore independently or simply relax.
You also spend a considerable amount of time waiting for other group members during meals and toilet breaks, which adds to the feeling that the days are rushed.
The train toilets were not particularly pleasant, and the squat toilets proved difficult for some of the less mobile members of the group. On one occasion, I asked whether we could use the toilets at the train station before setting off on an hour-long coach journey, but we were told there wasn't time. It all felt unnecessarily rushed.
### Food and Drink
Meals were included in the tour, but most evening meals took place in restaurants rather than at the hotels. Drinks were not included, so you had to pay extra for everything, even a glass of water.
Bottled water was not provided during excursions, so make sure you take water from your hotel room each morning.
The theatre show was an excellent performance and well worth seeing. However, the arrangements felt rushed and disorganised, with problems seating people. Catering for vegetarians also seemed to be a recurring issue.
### The Great Wall and Weather
Unfortunately, the weather was dreadful when we visited the Great Wall, with torrential rain leaving us completely soaked.
Other tour operators changed their schedules to take advantage of the better forecast the following day, but our tour continued as planned. By the time we returned, we were all so wet and miserable that we decided not to go on the next excursion to the Summer Palace.
It was disappointing, as these are some of the major highlights of visiting China. I appreciate that the weather cannot be controlled, but a little more flexibility with the itinerary would have made a real difference.
### Hotels
Overall, the hotels were very nice. However, the Mercure in downtown Beijing was disappointing in terms of storage. We stayed there for four nights, but there wasn't a single drawer or shelf in the room. We had no choice but to live out of our suitcases for the entire stay.
When you are travelling for an extended period, little things like this can make a difference to your comfort.
### The Pandas – A Highlight with a Catch
One of the highlights of my trip was seeing the pandas in Chengdu. I had been really looking forward to this, but we only had two and a half hours in the park, much of which was taken up with toilet breaks.
The park was extremely crowded, and visitors were channelled through the panda enclosures, with staff encouraging everyone to keep moving. We only managed to see around a third of the park and a handful of pandas, which was disappointing given how far we had travelled to see them.
We subsequently visited Beijing Zoo, which was a completely different experience. We used a Didi taxi, which cost around £4, and entry was approximately £4 for the two of us. It was easy to get to, there were no crowds, and we had plenty of time to explore at our own pace. We were able to do this because we had paid for an extra night in Beijing at the end of the tour.
In many ways, this independent visit was far more enjoyable and relaxed than the organised panda excursion.
### Would I Recommend This Tour?
China is an amazing country, and this tour allowed us to see a great deal of it. The hotels were generally good, the sights were impressive, and the theatre performance was excellent. However, the sheer pace of the itinerary took away some of the enjoyment.
If you are confident using a translator app, Alipay for payments and Didi for taxis, I would seriously consider organising your own trip. Transport, entrance tickets and taxis can be surprisingly inexpensive, and we found the local people very helpful. Travelling independently would give you much more flexibility, allowing you to spend longer at the places you enjoy and avoid the constant rushing.
If you are less confident travelling independently, or you are a solo traveller who would prefer the reassurance of a group, an organised tour could be a good option. However, I would look carefully at other tour operators and choose one that offers a better balance of sightseeing, travel time and free time.
**My overall advice:** China is absolutely worth visiting, but don't underestimate how tiring a packed itinerary can be. You may see more on a busy group tour, but sometimes having the freedom to slow down and enjoy the experience makes for a much better holiday.
