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Shanghai – P\u00e9kin \u2013 Pingyao – Xi’an \u2013 Zhangjiajie \u2013 Fenghuang – Zhaoxing – Longji \u2013 Yangshuo \u2013 Kunming – <\/strong>Dali \u2013 Weishan \u2013 Nuodeng \u2013 Shaxi \u2013 Lijiang – Gorges du Saut du Tigre \u2013 Shangri La \u2013 Kunming<\/strong><\/p>\n Shanghai – P\u00e9kin \u2013 Pingyao – Xi’an \u2013 Zhangjiajie \u2013 Fenghuang – Zhaoxing – Longji \u2013 Yangshuo \u2013 Kunming – […]\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9529,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1861],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10057","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reviews"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHello Serge,<\/div>\n<\/div>\nAs promised, here’s our feedback on the trip.<\/div>\n<\/div>\nAs far as the tour is concerned, we found it very enjoyable, despite the bad weather during the first 2 weeks.<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe organisation was perfect, all the bookings for hotels, transfers and trains were made without a hitch! Well done!<\/div>\n<\/div>\nWith hindsight, we could have avoided a few visits to \u2018old towns\u2019 that weren’t very authentic and had been turned into huge shopping centres, in favour of more natural visits; for example, the stone forest near Kunming and the Meili mountains.<\/div>\n<\/div>\nWe’ve heard about visa extensions, so wouldn’t it have been possible to go as far as Lhasa?<\/div>\n<\/div>\nConcerning the visits:<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThey were very good, here are a few comments.<\/div>\n<\/div>\nFor the Great Wall, we found the Gubeikou section not very interesting. We would recommend starting just after the military zone in the Jingshanling sector and then pushing on further than planned, even beyond the cable car, as this whole section is absolutely magnificent.<\/div>\n<\/div>\nZuolong Gorges.<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThere are 2 possible exits (Grand Village and Petit Village). In the absence of precise instructions, we took the second exit and therefore didn’t see the village and had to call the driver to find it (fortunately we had a network).<\/div>\n<\/div>\nHike from Tangan (back to Zhaoxing).<\/div>\nThe descent is pleasant but sometimes difficult to find as there are many junctions that are not always well signposted. Perhaps a short guidebook would be useful.<\/div>\n<\/div>\nPing’an<\/div>\n<\/div>\nOn the first day, we had time to do all the viewpoints on offer. So the next day (Oct 19), we completed the programme with a visit to Guilin so that we wouldn’t be in Cuiping in the early afternoon.<\/div>\n<\/div>\nYangshuo.<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe traditional fishing demonstration, in the middle of the town and on the edge of the quay, wasn’t very interesting.<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe hike after Xianggong peak wasn’t great (we didn’t see any small hamlets, just a few orchards).<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe old street of Xingping isn’t very interesting either and the raft trip is overstated in the description.<\/div>\n<\/div>\nOn the other hand, the bike ride along the Yulong river is really enjoyable.<\/div>\n<\/div>\nNuodeng.<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThere’s almost nothing left to see about the salt: just a building housing the remains of a well.<\/div>\nWe didn’t see any distilleries either.<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe Saut du Tigre hike.<\/div>\n<\/div>\nIn theory, there was no choice of difficulty in the upper part as indicated in the guidebook.<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe 2 were really great!<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe guides.<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThey were all very attentive, friendly and interesting.<\/div>\n<\/div>\nExcept in Beijing, where we felt that one person was just doing his job (we had to insist on visiting Tiananmen Square on foot, rather than just crossing it by car).<\/div>\n<\/div>\nAnd, even if it’s a negligible sum, he didn’t reimburse us for the difference in price between the full-fare tickets you booked for us and the one he got because of the reduction due to our age (over 60).<\/div>\n<\/div>\nIn fact, I think you forgot to make use of this advantage on several sites, but the other guides reimbursed us.<\/div>\n<\/div>\nA special mention for Chen in Shanghai, Claire in Xian and Zhang in Yunan.<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe drivers for the transfers, even if they don’t speak English, are all punctual and considerate.<\/div>\n<\/div>\nOnly the one in Zhaoxing dropped us at the hotel without giving us any instructions for the next day.<\/div>\n<\/div>\nHotels.<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThey are all very well placed.<\/div>\nThe boutique hotels are superbly beautiful, with a particularly warm welcome; we even often had the impression of having one of the best rooms in the establishment.<\/div>\n<\/div>\nIn Xian, there was no need for us to have breakfast in another hotel (to avoid the local breakfast).<\/div>\n<\/div>\nZhangjiajie: cold welcome, unattractive hotel and, above all, a room with a wall in front of it.<\/div>\n<\/div>\nFurong: breakfast not up to the standard of the establishment: not much room, limited cleanliness and almost nothing to eat.<\/div>\n<\/div>\nShangri la.<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe only downside was that we were woken up at 6am and then every 30 minutes by the bells from the nearby fire station.<\/div>\n<\/div>\nIn conclusion, a great experience and a great stay, even if the explosion in tourist infrastructure now makes it more difficult to visit authentic places.<\/div>\n<\/div>\nMarc and Corinne<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"