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On this page, I have collected some of my customers' testimonials, articles and photos. I'm very proud to serve customers around the world, and with China Odyssey Tours, I'm able to tailor services to meet your specific needs.

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China in my eyes! - My customers' travelogues

My customers enjoy their time in China

You are not alone in China! - What my customers say!

dd

Jack,

Huangshan, a wonder land of
mountains, mists, and colors

Thank you for your Greetings.

We will be celebrating Christmas at home with a gathering of the family, daughters, their husbands, grandchildren and Great Grandma. It is a festive occasion and I am sure we will eat too much as usually happens, but will try and not drink too much, as the grandsons will want to have me out playing cricket or kicking a football.

We have spent a lot of time since returning from our wonderful China adventure visiting family, or I have been playing golf, despite my foot still injured. Still sorting through photos, which has been delayed due to computer PC crashing and needed to be replaced. When finalised, will send photos to you.

We again thank you and your Company for making our trip wonderful, and we have recommended you to everyone thinking about going to China.

We trust you and your family are well, and that the year ahead will be wonderful in every respect. Please keep in touch.

Kind regards,
Adrian and Sue
(December 21st, 2010)

dd

Jack,

Thanks for the greeting. I understand that our friends arranged their tour through you. They would have arrived in China by now. If you see them, please send them our regards and take care of them.

And a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you too. Hope that one day you will come to understand the meaning of Christmas.

Cheers,
Ooi
(December 20th, 2010)

dd

Jack,

Leisurable Li River Cruise

Just a follow up email to let you know that our trip to Guilin was GREAT!!!

Sophia was a really good escort and took good care of us.

Thank you for setting it up for us.

I will definitely use your services again and will recommend you to friends who travel to China.

Carl & Susan
(November 4th, 2010)

dd

Good Evening Jack,

We have now back in beautiful Paris and I would like to express our great thanks to you and all the guides and drivers for our truly succesfull visits in your country.

Everything went extremely well and we are greatful for it. Every visit was a highlight and a superb experience. As soon as I get around, I will probably write a little overview of our experience in Internet. You may use us as a reference and I'm happy to provide you with more info if you wish.

Once again many many thanks!

Best Regards,
Bernadette and Hartmut Harm from France
(October 7th, 2010)

dd

Dear Jack,

We have just looked through our holiday photos after return from our trip. What a fantastic tour you organised for us. We very much enjoyed every moment of our stay. China was a wonderful country and everyone we came across made us feel very welcome. We will definitely recommend to any of our friends who would like to visit China to book with you. The service is second to none.

We would like to contact Andrea the tour guide we had in Xian, she was an amazing guide, but we still had her tip envelope when we got on the plane so would very much like to send her the money. Please could you send us her e mail address?

Thank you for everything!

With Kindest Regards,
Suzanne, Simon, Sophie, Lucy and Will
(September 9th, 2010)

dd

Dear Jack,

Leisurely cruise at the picturesque
Zhouzhuang Water Town

Finally back to Spain! I write you because I want to thank you for all you've done for our group... I would like to let you know that we are very happy and satisfied with the journey to China. You guys are really professional people and I have no doubt to arrange another trip with you again!

Please tell Tony that it was pleasure to meet him, we are very very thankful for all he has done for us according to passport problem!

This is all I can say... THANK YOU AGAIN!

Best regards
Alicia Chang from Spain
(August 31st, 2010)

dd

Jack,

Rene posed before a huge elephant statue
of the famous Sacred Road, Beijing

Got back from Shanghai last Friday. Had a really great time in China and everyone wants to go back.

Nancy, Tracy and Chao (Michael) were wonderful guides and very flexible with our requirements.

We took the Maglev train to Pudong New District in Shanghai which was an nice experience. Our free days in Beijing were taken full advantage of. We made many discoveries, including some great restaurants (Da Dong is pricey but definitely has a better duck than Quanjude). Fangshan is great despite some poor reviews on the internet, the Tan cuisine at Guo Yao Xiaoju in a hutong and the discovery of a cafe in Liulichang that was visited by Sun Yat Sen and has been in the family of an imperial official for years- Nancy knows about the latter- added interest to the trip, etc., etc.

Thanks for helping with the arrangements. We might not be able to travel in an equally big group in the future because of the college kids' schedules and the fact that August is too hot and humid. Would you be able to help out in the future if this was the case?

Cheers!
Rene from United States
(August 17th, 2010)

dd

Jack,

Claudia, Nabih, Nashla and Myself wanted to thank you for your help with our trip to China. We had a wonderful time thanks to your professionalism and that of your guides and company. We hope to see again in the future and to use again the services of your company.

Best regards,
Samir
(August 9th, 2010)

dd

Dear Jack,

I am Rani's dad. we toured China from June 22 to July 11 as per your excellent tour guides 7 the very nice arrangements you all made for us.

It is a very memorable trip for all of us. we enjoyed the trip & hospitality of your country very much. We will not hesitate recommending the China Odyssey Tours to our friends.

Thank you!

Sincerely,
Vijayasimha & Aranjyothi Kotha
(August 9th, 2010)

dd

Hi Jack,

A typical pavilion inside Xian Grand Mosque

I am sending you 2 emails: 1 with comments and 1 with a couple of pictures and comments that you are welcome to use on your website.We, too, were sorry that we could not meet you while in Guilin. And, actually, Guilin was our favorite stop! Not only did we enjoy the area but also our guide (Sophie) was wonderful.

We enjoyed our entire trip and especially want to compliment the guides. Without them, we would not have been able to comprehend so much of China's history and culture. Our guide in Xian (Andrea) even taught us a bit of Chinese!! Having our guides speak English with us was so appreciated by both Dave and myself.

The only improvement we care to mention is the schedule we had in Shanghai. Our guide (Jimmy) was very good, however, he did move 2 scheduled events from the day we were leaving to the only day we had to tour in Shanghai. This made for a very long day and we do not feel that we absorbed or appreciated Shanghai as much as we could. With that said, we enjoyed the Chinese acrobatic Show plus seeing the city.

The Yangtze River was most impressive and we also enjoyed Beijing (again, our guide, Sally, was great). Thank you for putting together an excellent trip that was memorable and and thrilled that we were able to travel to China.

Sincerely,
Katie Olsen
(August 2nd, 2010)

dd

Hi Jack,

The panda inside the Seven Star Park, Guilin

Thanks so much again for all of your help. Sorry about the phone call the other night because the guy at the Chun Shen Jiang hotel didn't believe me that you were my travel agent.
It was great to meet you in Guilin. That was a fantastic tour. I'm so glad I finally went. I've wanted to visit Guilin for years. It's so beautiful.

I'm in Nanjing now. I will write more soon about the trip. I just wanted to forward you an email from my sister Elli.
Jack seems like a stand up guy. Sounds amazing! (Quote from the e-mail.)
I sent her my itinerary. She is a graduate of Harvard Business School and was very impressed with the confirmation letter. Maybe you can guess what "stand up" means if you don't know.

Well, I hope you have a great weekend and thanks again for being so kind and helpful to me.

Abbi Kaplan
(July 3rd, 2010)

dd

Hi Jack,

With our clients Kirsti and Matti

Now that some time has passed since our visit to China in December, it is time to send you our greetings from Finland.

You prepared an unforgettable experience for us. The itinerary was very well put together, with a great variation of history and present, old and new, culture and scenery. We never had a dull moment. And the food was wolderful!

Everything was also perfectly organised. Your guides and drivers were first class professionals who attended our needs and knew their territory from every aspect. They even took care of our extra wishes with a flexible and friendly attitude. They all were very good, but we must say that Emily in Beijing was our special favourite with her warm and delightful presence and devotion.

Of course the highlight of our tour was to meet you in Guilin. We were so happy to be able to thank you in person for all the work you had done for us. We know now that we have a real friend in China.

Enclosed you find a couple of photos of our encounter as a souvenir.

Winter is now over in Finland and spring has replaced the long and snowy darkness. But we still have our dreams of the wonderful time we spent in your great country.

We will certainly return to China, as we understand that so much was left unseen this time. We trust that you would be availabe to help us in our future travel needs.

We wish you and your family good health and all the best in the future.

Warm regards,

Kirsti and Matti from Finland
(April 12th, 2010)

dd

Hi Jack,

Water buffalo grazing along the Li River.

Our trip with China Odyssey Tours in the Guilin/ Yangshuo area could not have been better. From the time I contacted them, through the entire process of planning our trip and enjoying our trip we were very satisfied. We chose one of the trips offered and then added an extra day and changed a few details to fit our preferences. Each time our travel consultant, Jack, was very helpful to make the changes I requested.

This is a beautiful area and we are so glad we spent 5 days there. It would have been difficult to see everything we had the opportunity to see without the help and experience of China Odyssey Tours and our sweet guide, Theresa, and of course our driver who drove us everywhere with great care. Here are a few of our favorite pictures.

Thank you!

Regards,
Bob and Diana from California, USA
(December 22nd, 2009)

dd

Hi Jack,

Out trip to China has finished and we are now at home, safe and sound. I have had a bit of rest already and I’ve decided to write to you. You’ve done a great job and everything we had planned before our arrival was just like we wanted it to be.

Thanks to your help we didn’t encounter any problems in China and everything worked like clockwork. There was an experienced guide waiting for us at every new place we visited, helping us implement the plan of our trip. We especially remember Nancy from Dali, who was really nice and who took us to even more places that it had been previously planned.

We loved Yangshuo landscape but unfortunately there was mist so we couldn’t see everything perfectly during the cruise. However, when we had the “free day” the weather was OK so we were able to go by bike to both the Dragon Bridge and Liu Gong- we loved both of them. You probably remember that I had been anxious about our meeting with the man who was supposed to give us the train tickets to Kunming – everything went smoothly - Dan was waiting for us at the settled hour, near the cow monument and gave us the tickets.

We had decided to resign from breakfasts in the hotels in the Yunnan part of our itinerary to make it low budget. However, when we arrived at the hotels it turned out that we had breakfasts included in the price - it was a nice surprise. We had dreamed about a 2-day hike through Tiger Leaping Gorge. The weather was OK so the hike was wonderful and the route was just like we wanted it to be. Henry showed us all magnificent views that were worth seeing. We also liked the place where we spent the night during the hike – Half Way Guesthouse. It was beautifully located, the food was delicious and the views were awesome!

Summing up, you organized our trip perfectly, everything went smoothly and was like we had dreamt it to be.

Thank you for all! We will certainly recommend your travel agency to our friends.

Best regards,
Hanna from Poland
(November 24th, 2009)

dd

Dear Jack,

Walk leisurely in a picturesque garden.

How are you?

Sorry for my delay, I send you some pictures of our memorable China trip.

We meet on sunday to watch the pictures and to remember the nice holiday. I also send you a picture of my home near Turin which was taken 2 year ago and the mountains are the Alpi.

Thank you by we.

Ciao ciao (Byebye in our language),
Marina from Italy
(November 19th, 2009)

dd

Dear Jack,

Sorry for the delay, but I had lots of rear work and the return at the reality is always hard.

Here I write also for my friends.

We spent a wonderful vacation, we didn't think to find a China so beatifull and particularly the perfect organitation has astonished us. The guides with very professionalism make us know the history and they satisfied all our necessity. All the places that we visited have a special fascination, from the countryside, to the cities, to the nigts shows. The hotels were very nice.

We all appreciated the Chinese cuisine.

I will send you some pictures later, but theese can't convey feelings that we have in our heart.

Thanks and bye,
Marina, Luciano, Rosalba, Nino, Maria, Enrica, Rosanna, Franco and Graziella from Italy
(November 3rd, 2009)

dd

Dear Jack,

Visiting the Tiananmen Square.

Just a short note to say Thank you for organising our trip.

We had a wonderful time and the guides chosen were, knowledgeable and very helpful.

Keep it up.

Regards,
Ali Jamaly from Canada
(October 31st, 2009)

dd

Hello Jack,

My trip was amazing! I was hoping if it didn't end! But as they say good times passed fastly!

With your agency I really felt that while I was IN CHINA I HAS NEVER BEEN ALONE! And it was so true! Your tour guides were more than helpful! They has been with me all the time even while I was sick. :) They really took a good care of me and I really felt that I was with family and friends, because they treated me in a good way, more as a friend than a customer.

I really enjoyed each moment in China. Your agency excced my expectation. The quality you provided is super.

I would love to share my moments & pictures on your site. Give me a bit time to arrange it because I have too many pictures.

Thanks Jack, you are the best! ^_^

Regards,
Afra Alhameli from United Arab Emirates
(October 30th, 2009)

dd

Hi Jack,

The trip to China was wonderful. I can see that we only managed to see a small glimpse of China and will need to return to explore more. Your recommendation to take a private tour was well worth the $200 extra.

The guides were all great, especially our guides in Xian and Hangzhou. Only failing was our request for someone knowledgeable of the French Concession, which did not meet our expectations. It would have been better for us to have followed your original itinerary and do the family searching ourselves, which we ended up doing anyway at the end. Drivers definitely knew how to navigate the busy traffic.

The hotels were all good too, except for the one in Beijing which said they had internet in each room, but didn’t and because their command of English wasn’t the best it took a day to figure that out.

The Jin Jiang in Shanghai we requested was definitely a basic motel, lower in rating than the ones you put us up in. But even though it was basic, it did have internet, staff were friendly, good breakfast and was very centrally located so we could do lots of walking tours. However, the room we stayed in first was not so good as the one we stayed in at the end. But the price is inexpensive for those on a lower budget.

As far as any suggestions for improvement, it might be worthwhile to give guests a more detailed schedule, including time of plane and train departures and arrivals, so they can plan around the free times. Maps of the city would be helpful for those wanting to walk around. Your inclusion of contact phone numbers for local China Odyssey offices could be improved with the addition of phone numbers for local guides.

I have posted photos to my daughter’s flickr account. If you have the time (and inclination) take a peak and it will give you an idea of what we did and saw. Sets are in chronological order. You can click on any set and view a slideshow of some of the many photographs I took (and I do mean only some).

Janet Lee from Egypt
(October 16th, 2009)

dd

Dear Jack,

It has been a week, since we are back from our wonderful trip to China. I would like to thank you for everything, for making it so special and care free.

You are a kind person and a true proffesional.

Kind regards,
Arie and Michael from Israel
(October 8th, 2009)

dd

Hi Jack,

Our experience traveling to China was something we will never forget. Everything was amazing and went as smoothly as we could have hoped.

Everything was taken care of and the guides/drivers were just awesome. Their knowledge of all the places we went and the entire cities themselves was endless. It really did make the trip that much better, we couldn't have imagined going around without the guide. It really did make the experience that much better.

All the food was excellent, it was mostly westernized Chinese food, which was very good, however for my tastes I would have liked a more authentic experience. That is probably the only thing I would have changed or would have loved to have an option to change. I'm probably more adventurous when it comes to food so I imagine I'm in the minority. The last meal we had in Beijing our guide took us to a restaurant that she suggested and it was amazing. Something away from the normal tour stops.

All in all we had an amazing time and are so glad we chose China Odyssey and I would highly recommend using them to anyone.

Take care Jack and thank you for all of your help.

Sincerely,
Shawn from USA
(September, 4th, 2009)

dd

Dear Jack and Vera,

I am writing to thank you both for organising a wonderful holiday programme for me. Everything went very smoothly and I very much enjoyed all the places visited.

It was also very good of you to make time to meet with me when I was in Guilin and for your kindness and for the beautiful gifts.

I would like to say a particular word of thanks for the guides you selected for me. All of them were most attentive to my needs and ensured I was seen to and safely on board or at least entering security at each leg of my journey. The only problem was at Yichang as I was not aware that I had to cross a bridge over the railway line to get to the train and it was a bit struggle to get across and to know what was happening. Outside of that, I have nothing but praise and gratitude for the guides in Beijing, Xi’an, Guilin and Shanghai. They were all excellent, very friendly, very knowledgeable, most helpful and extremely caring and attentive: you can depend on all of them to give an excellent service to ant customer of China Odyssey Tours.

I hope to visit China again with my son and his family but that will be in a few years from now. I would like to wish you both well and every success and if for any reason you are in Ireland let me know in advance and I will meet up with you for a chat and a meal.

With best wishes and kind memories,

Yours sincerely,
John from Israel
(August 16th, 2009)

dd

Dear Jack Ding,

We are so thankful for the fantastic trip. It was much more than we hoped and the guides were very good flexible and professional. I really hope one day to come again and we'll warmly recommend your company to any one interested.

Kind regards,
Datel and Yochai from Israel
(August 16th, 2009)

dd

Hello Jack,

Well, we are back in the USA after our wonderful trip to China. I wanted to write to commend you on your excellent service during our trip. You were very prompt and accommodating when I was shopping for a tour company. Your quick and professional emails gave me confidence to choose your company to handle our trip.

All of our guides and drivers were very friendly and professional and they all did a great job of taking care of my family in each city. Nancy in Beijing was very skilled and we enjoyed traveling with her. When our unfortunate H1N1 government quarantine happened, Nancy showed real concern. When we were released, she picked us up with a bottle of wine to celebrate our renewed freedom.

Speaking of the quarantine, I would like to really thank and commend you for your great service in re-booking our whole trip. I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't had your help. You were able to move all our flights, hotels and guides back by 5 days to make it possible for us to complete our entire original itinerary even after this huge problem. I have to say I was so glad I had you on my side during that difficult time.

Libby in Huangshan, was probably our favorite over all as she really gave her all. Staying with us and leading us on the trails in the yellow mountains was a real work out and she was more than up to the task. She was pleasant all the time, even when I was worn out from hiking. He was also very helpful when I decided to buy an antique statue. Not only did she help me negotiate the price but she has helped since I left by translating some communication from the seller. What a wonderful help she has been and her guiding was really exceptional as well. Overall she is a gem!

Finally Matthew in Hong Kong was really great as well. He was very professional and experienced and he was very nice to travel with as well.

The bottom line is that I would recommend you and your service to anyone who wants a trouble free travel experience in China!

Thanks again for all your help, and of course I will recommend you any chance I get.

Mark Wright from America
(July 16th, 2009)

dd

Hi Jack,

We had a really wonderful time on our trip in China. Thank you or helping arrange such a fun time and please let our guides know they did a grea job!

Thanks very much.
Kristen from America
(July 14th, 2009)

dd

Hi Jack,

Just I was coming from my long trip about 2 days ago and I hope to be in a good health. Thanks a lot for your cooperation and how much your guides were very smart and impolite specially Richard (Beijing) and Marco (Shanghai).

My family was very happy about your organization, your chosen for the hotel, your chosen about the guides and your chosen about the tours.I was making advertising about your company and I told to many friends whom want to go to China.

Anyway thank you very much and I hope to see you next time.

Sincerely,
Waleed from Egypt
(July 6th, 2009)

dd

Hello Jack, Karen, Wanda, Harry, Alice, Lee, Julie, Henry, Rainself and everyone at China Odyssey,

We are back in Canberra!!!. We flew Qantas Friday night. Len manages the trip well. There was a mix up with the ambulance in Sydney so I drove the 3 hours from Sydney to Canberra. I took Len straight to hospital. They were expecting him so he got immediate attention. He had another MRI and they found that he had an infected abscess inside his spine. This was causing the fever and the terrible hallucinations and delirium that he was experiencing. They did a 3 hour emergency operation on it last night. The operation was a success and this morning he is making a remarkable recovery. I think that he is well on the road to recovery but it will take time as I think they had to remove some of his backbone in the operation.

Guy, I cannot thank you enough. I don't know what I would have done in Guilin without you. I shall never forget your being with me 12 hours a day, doing the translations, dealing with the doctors, meeting my every need. If I can ever do anything for any of you please let me know. Jack, I want you to show this to your boss so that he will know what a magnificent staff he has. You were all brilliant but I must single out you Jack. You were more than brilliant.

I hope to return to China one day. It is a beautiful country with wonderful people. Of course I will sing your praises wide and far here in Australia.

Love to everyone,

Mary Lou from Australia
(June 21st, 2009)

dd

Hello Jack,

Yes all went went, I enjoyed the trip. I was very pleased with the service provided by your guide, and the flexibility in scheduling items to my needs. I was also pleasantly surprised by the personal touches and prompt replies to inquiries during the trip.

Now I would like a quote for a private tour for 3 persons in June-July. I am concerned that I am somehow over budget and may have to replace Chengdu with a less expensive destination, but I would like to see if the preferred itinerary is possible within my budget. To keep the price down we would like transfers only by train to Beijing for Peking Opera on July 2. The day in Bifengxia could also be a free day.

Suggestions for days 11 and 13 would be appreciated because I did not have much time to research the final stop

Best regards,
Janice from Canada
(May 07th, 2009)

dd

Hi Jack,

Thank you very very much for every thing you and you tour guides done for us. It was a great and memorable tour.

As for the upgrate, in Xi'an city was a good suprise as well as the cake and the present. Thank you very much and I really can recommend you to any of my friends and coworkers.

It was a excellent trip and coordinations between all of your guides. As for Sophia, she was a good guide and funny and very polite...And as for Angie Lee in Xi'an, she was a delight to have as a tour guide and both of them were good at their job and very helpfull. A million thanks to you and all of staff in Beijing and Xi'an including the drivers. They were pro and polite.

Looking forwarrd to another trip this time to a different city, of course.

Bye for now.
Cesar and Denise from Australia
(May 5th, 2009)