Fantastic trip!
Itinerary was jam-packed with great sights and activities that gave us a taste of both ancient and modern China, while still leaving some free time to explore on our own; excellent value. All the hotels were very good (luxurious for Exodus), with the Tianfu Sunshine in Chengdu being stand-out for...
Most Inspirational Moment
So many! A few highlights: the night-time river cruise in Shanghai, with all the lights of the Bund and Pudong (currently optional, but not to be missed!); Yuyuan Garden, Shanghai; arriving in Xi'an, to feel the very different (more characterful and "Chinese") vibe after Beijing, enjoying the Muslim Quarter food street there, street markets in the Sanxue Historic Conservation Area, and exploring the City Wall; the charming People's Park in Chengdu and visiting the Sichuan opera. And watching the many young women out and about in Manchurian or Han dress in the northern cities, posing for photos at the tourist attractions - a social media phenomenon!
Thoughts on Group Leader
Sunny was very well-organised and made sure everything went according to plan. She was a fount of information about the various sights on the itinerary.
Advice for Potential Travellers
This is a great trip that covers a lot of ground. You do need to be fit to manage the various transport options, while handling your luggage - stations and airports are very spacious and well-designed with escalators and lifts, so you don't have to lift things much, but you do need to be nimble for timings (and to get a good space for your luggage on the bullet trains) and able to wheel your luggage to and from the minibus, which may be parked some distance away. Take note of the restricted items on bullet trains and planes and be careful to keep batteries and power banks in your hand luggage and plug adapters in checked luggage; don't take any kind of aerosols, not even mini bug spray or deodorant, into tourist attractions - security is very tight at attractions and entrances to stations and airports, with everything being thoroughly scanned; you may be asked to fully unpack your bag if anything at all suspicious shows up. Get a good eSim with unlimited data, so you don't have to rely on hotel wifi, which can be very slow and blocks some Western sites; I had a Holafly eSim (installed before departure), which allowed me to use all my normal apps, including WhatsApp and Google Maps, which was a godsend when navigating around Chengdu and Shanghai on my own in free time. The Chinese app, Alipay, is commonly used by locals for all things, to pay by phone in shops and restaurants like Apple Pay, order food, buy transport tickets, order taxis, and to translate, but beware that it doesn't work with all UK bank cards; I had pre-installed it with my Barclays debit card, but it only worked once, and thereafter I had huge trouble with Barclays trying to get me to verify every single transaction, even £2 ice cream, even though I had tried to tell them in advance I would be in China on those dates; nightmare! Visa debit and credit cards did seem to work directly though in major outlets, with chip and PIN, but not contactless, and for cash withdrawal in machines (the machine returns your card after the cash, not before as in the UK, so don't panic!). Cash was generally acceptable in most places and is easier for splitting food bills and paying for excursions and tips, so take plenty of cash and a bank card. Pre-install WeChat for the trip's group chat. The included excursions (and optionals, such as the stage shows and river trip) were all great, but if you have time, it's worth exploring a bit further on your own, e.g. the historic areas of Xi'an and Chengdu (Kuan and Zhai Alley, about 40 mins walk from the Tianfu Sunshine Hotel, is a refurbished area of historic buildings, similar to Covent Garden, pleasant for a wander and buying gifts and souvenirs). Not much English is spoken, even at reception in the hotels, so try and work out how to use translation apps before you go (translation is included in WeChat and Alipay). Squat toilets are common in public places, so don't be surprised; there's usually at least one Western toilet as well, but you may need to queue for it - and have a good supply of tissues, as loo roll is not always provided or available inside the cubicle. Just book this trip - it's amazing!
