Exceptional 4 Days in Beijing with Eva! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 If you are planning a trip to Beijing and want an unforgettable experience, look no further than Eva! We spent a fantastic 4 days exploring the city with her, and she truly made our trip exceptional. We checked off all the major bucket-list spots, including the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, and the Temple of Heaven. At every single location, Eva blew us away with her deep knowledge of Chinese history and culture. She didn't just rattle off dates and facts; she told fascinating stories that really brought these ancient sites to life. A few things that made Eva stand out: Flawless English: Her English is incredibly fluent, making communication completely effortless and engaging. Super Knowledgeable: She had answers to all of our niche historical questions and offered amazing local insights. Seamless Navigation: Navigating crowded landmarks can be overwhelming, but Eva handled all the logistics smoothly, letting us just relax and enjoy the views. Eva is professional, warm, and deeply passionate about what she does. I cannot recommend her highly enough for anyone visiting Beijing. Thank you, Eva, for an incredible 4 days!

My Wonderful China Tour! It took courage to bypass Western travel operators to deal with one in China, but I needed direct interactive planning for my solo customized tour. Six days in Beijing and Shanghai covered all the usual spots in these great cities. Richard and Mark know their respective cities very well, including their deep history, and they regularly added value with their insights about what made and continues to make China great. Kunming, Jianshui, and Yuanyang opened a window to the life of China’s people. My guide, Kevin, knows his territory well and did an excellent job explaining cultural practices, architectural oddities, the beautiful Temple of Confucius and the great man’s philosophical impact on China, terraced rice fields cascading from hill tops …. We walked through a remote Yi village for an intimate look at the residents at work, play, and leisure. Kevin is a well-schooled man from whom I learnt much about China’s political-economic history and the nation’s transformation into a global power. A bullet-train took me to Dali, and I spent five days with Hua visiting three ancient Bai villages. Hundreds of Chinese tourists, mostly young people, continuously flowed through narrow pedestrian streets lined on both sides with small, attractive shops. It was almost festive – couples holding hands, a mother chasing after her kid, sellers offering food samples, the irresistible flower cake shops … Very popular, were the scores of young women dressed up in rented/purchased ethnic costumes posing for photographs. With Hua’s close guidance, I moved around quite comfortably and even visited an abandoned Catholic cathedral, and a temple filled with huge demon deities that watched over an auspicious ritual. The Li River Cruise out of Guilin with my ever-attentive and congenial guide, Sharon, was a highlight of my China tour. Aboard the ferry, she made sure I didn’t miss out on the Peking duck buffet lunch nor on the best spots to photograph the continually morphing skyline of karst formations. When we approached a particular bend in the river, Sharon told me where to aim my camera, then instructed: “Hold! … Hold! … SHOOT!” Three shots and the scene disappeared around the river bend. She explained that what I had just photographed was the Li River’s famous First Bend on China’s 20 yuan note. She next presented me on the spot with a crisp 20 yuan note! Next morning in Yangshuo, Sharon led me to the top of a steep hill to one of the world’s best views – a breathtaking panorama of karsts sweeping across the First Bend. In Zhangjiajie, Carol and I “climbed” 326 feet on a fast elevator; rode seven 60-metre consecutive escalators in the inside of another mountain; walked along a narrow, 300-metre-high deck constructed on the side of a mountain; rode the world’s longest cable car to the top of a mountain to visit a huge hole through the mountain; walked across a suspended glass bridge, the world’s highest and longest, connecting two mountains straddling an immense gorge; and not least, we walked the 2,000 up-and-down steps through a subterranean cave of amazing formations of stalagmites, stalactites, and ponds. The constant rains were a challenge, but Carol kept me safe, secure and dry, carried my back-pack sometimes and often put me in my photos. Thanks, Carol for your attentiveness, coaching and fortitude. And finally, my gratitude to Maple, my Travel Consultant, for her patience and insights in constructing my itinerary and making my China tour with Odynovo a full success.

Shanghai would not be the same without our tour guide We are a family of 4 with 2 kids (16 and 12yrs) and although we'd been in Asia several times before, we do not speak Chinese and it was our first time in China. Odynovo had provided a great experience to some relatives in 2016, so we decided to trust them again to help us have a nice experience in China. Susan from Odynovo was very kind and flexible to help us build a great private schedule mixing up nature and history. The option of the private tour was perfect since we could tailor the schedule to our needs. Our first stop was Shanghai. We were amazed with the service provided by our guide Kevin in Shanghai, where we spent 5 days in total . He is very kind, polite, highly knowledgeable and versatile, quickly adapting to our rythm and helping us solve our unforseen issues (i.e., stuff we forgot in the boat in the small town of Zhujiao Jiao, helped with the heatstroke of one of our daughters; also chose an amazing restaurant in Suzhou, since the scheduled one was closed). Kevin also is highly knowledgeable in chinese history which provided a more colorful view of the things we've visited in Shanghai, and even gave us advice on texts and links on chinese history as a bonus. We felt safe, cared for and could enjoy the trip at its fullest! We already recommended Kevin for some of our friends in their upcoming trips

Odynovo delivered for our trip to China! We traveled throughout China for 2 weeks using Odynovo and they were great from start to finish! Eric was extremely responsive to all of my emails and worked with me to get a customized itinerary. We requested some personalized experiences to get to know the culture of China and he delivered with several private lessons - a calligraphy class in someone's house, a tai chi lesson in the park and a dumpling making session in someone's house. Once we got to China, everything was seamless from the guides and drivers to the hotels and train tickets that were arranged. All of the hotels were in good locations and had the bed configurations we requested. Each one of the guides was great! They all wanted to do as much as possible to make sure we had a good trip, even walking us to a restaurant for dinner and helping us order, making massage and facial appointments, etc. I highly recommend Odynovo and will use them again for wherever we travel next.

Beautiful and fascinating time in Xi'an with Odynovo! We had a fabulous 12-day trip to China with Odynovo and give them our highest recommendation. Our travel consultant, Jake Zhong, provided a fabulous itinerary including two days in Xi'an. where we saw incredible sights, sampled delicious regional food, and stayed in a hotel that was in a great location for seeing the beautiful city. Jessica Li was our tour guide in Xi’an. She demonstrated her love for Xi’an and its environs, navigating us well through the Terracotta Warrior exhibits, the ancient walled city, the Mosque, and the Muslim Quarter. She shared very interesting stories about the ancient history of China as well as her own personal stories about her family which helped us to understand Chinese culture. She was very attentive to our needs and took special pride in sharing special Xi'an dishes with us, including hand-pulled noodles! She was very relatable and fun, and we really enjoyed our time with her.

Excelente experiencia en Beijing Nuestra experiencia en Beijing fue excelente y, sinceramente, no habría sido la misma sin Lidia. Su ayuda fue fundamental, especialmente con el idioma, ya que en China es muy difícil comunicarse y manejarse por cuenta propia. Gracias a ella pudimos recorrer la ciudad con tranquilidad, entender mucho mejor cada lugar que visitábamos y disfrutar muchísimo más del viaje. Desde el primer momento fue muy amable, atenta y siempre estuvo pendiente de que no nos faltara nada. Nos recibió con mucha calidez, nos brindó toda la información necesaria y respondió cada una de nuestras dudas con una sonrisa. Además, al finalizar el recorrido nos acompañó hasta el vagón del tren para asegurarse de que subiéramos al correcto antes de despedirse, un gesto que realmente demuestra el compromiso que tiene con quienes guía. Lidia hizo que nos sintiéramos acompañados en todo momento y marcó una gran diferencia en nuestra experiencia en Beijing. La recomendamos sin dudarlo y le agradecemos enormemente todo lo que hizo por nosotros!

Great Experience in Siem Reap with Odynovo!!! Just completed an Odynovo organized tour of Siem Reap and happy to report everything was just perfect! Our guide, Mr Pin made our trip to the ancient temples of Angkor memorable as he shared not only the rich history but also connected his personal story to the region. Also a big thank you to our driver Mr Smith as everything from the airport pick up/drop off, drives to the Angkor temples and Tonle Sap lake (along with a drive to get massages in town) were great with cold water and towels waiting for us on the van!. Highly Recommended.

Hangzhou city visit We had a great time in Hangzhou with the help of our wonderful guide Eleven (Qi Lei). We visited the China Tea Museum, had a Tea tasting in Zhujiali village at Nana's house, had a walk at "Nine Creeks and Misty Trees" surroubded by tea plantations, visited West Lake and Leifang Pagoda, Hefang pedestrian street, Wensan Digital District, and a private tour at Shenhao Technology Company in the Industrial Robotics Innovation Zone. Eleven was also our guide in Wuzhen Water town and he was great.

Absolutely loved Hanoi and our experience here. Absolutely loved our visit to Hanoi! Our guide, Trinh, and driver, Le, made our experience even more special with making sure everything ran smoothly. Trinh’s knowledge and passion of Vietnam’s history and culture was brilliant and infectious and Le’s driving skills in such chaotic conditions was next level, exemplary! They both made each of our days such a pleasure, going out of their way to make sure we were comfortable and enjoying ourselves - making our experience of Hanoi was wonderful. They definitely made our experience that next level. Thank you. Totally recommend Trinh and Le if you are planning to visit Hanoi.

Hanoi, Vietnam Odynovo were a great tour company to use in Vietnam. In Hanoi, our guide, Trinh, and driver, Le, were always so helpful and accomodating, ensuring we had a really wonderful experience of Hanoi’s culture and history. Trinh was very knowledgeable and Le was a great driver and also let me watch the FIFA World Cup on his phone! Highly recommend this company and Trinh and Le. We had a great time and appreciated how welcoming they made us feel.

Great trip to Beijing, Pingyao, Xian, Chengdu, Zhangjiajie, Gulin, Yangshuo and Shanghai. One of the best countries that we have visited so far. Started our journey in Beijing on June 3rd and ended in Shanghai on June 18. Went to Pingyao, Xian, Chengdu, Zhangjiajie, Gulin, Yangshuo and Shanghai. Great trip planning by Maple Zheng and team. Lots of Wechat and emails with Maple prior to the trip. Outstanding communication. Great English speaking guides in all the cities. Challenges: Vegetarians and no garlic. No problem in China. The English speaking guides organized by Odynovo in each city were very helpful and went with us to most places and made sure we got our food. I had also looked up some vegetarian Michelin star restaurants in Beijing and Shanghai. In some of the cities like Chengdu and Guilin, we had sumptuous vegetarian buffet at the Buddhist temples for about $4 ea. What a deal. Restaurants: Beijing - Kings Joy, Shanghai - Fu He Hui, Overall assessment of China. Extremely clean, no sign of homelessness, safe and outstanding infrastructure. Amazing bullet trains to go from one city to another, traveling at 200 mph. Didn't have to withdraw any money; used Alipay to pay for everything. Linked to my credit card. Pay in 200 yuan increments to avoid service fee. Best part of our trip: Zhangjiajie (Avatar mountains), Pingyao (walled city), Xian (Terracotta warriors going back to 200 BC). Went to lots of great shows in the evenings: Xian: Tang Dynasty show; Chengdu: Disappearing face mask show; Yangshuo: Sanjie Lu show; Shanghai: Impression of time; Zhangjiajie: Xiangxi (Tujia and Miow people) show Thanks to all the guides : Rocky in Beijing, John in Pingyao, Cathy in Xian, Baylee in Zhangjiajie, Ellen in Guilin/Yangshuo, Ms Liqi in Shanghai. The all wanted to make sure we enjoyed our trip. Some of them were nice enough to give us small gifts and snacks. They were all very caring.

Odynovo Tour in Beijing, China My tour with Odynovo in Beijing, China was an incredible experience! As a first time traveler to China, having all the arrangements completed for me and having a guide and driver made my travel approachable and easy. It took all the guess work off of my plate, so I could just relax and enjoy my time. My guide, Cathy, and driver, Mr. Zhang, are what truly made the experience for me. They both were punctual and professional at all times. Having Cathy as a guide was like traveling with a friend who was able to give me so much background and historical information as we moved through each sight. Cathy went above and beyond, by getting us a cold treat after being out in heat all day and by bringing me some local fruits and Chinese treats for me to try the next day. These were unexpected gestures that filled me with appreciation. As we were driving through the busy streets of Beijing, I was continuously grateful that Mr. Zhang was driving and I wasn't! It was obvious that he was an experienced driver in the city that made zipping around seem easy and feel safe. We went to Tiananmen Square, The Forbidden City, The Temple of Heaven, The Imperial Tombs for Sacred Road & Ding Tomb, and The Mutianyu Great Wall, all of which were excellent experiences. To be able to experience such rich and historical sights with a local guide made it all so much more meaningful to me than if I had visited them on my own. Overall, I would highly recommend Odynovo Tours when visiting Beijing, China (or any area in China), and you may even want to request Cathy and Mr. Zhang!

A full week in historic Xi'an, China We had such a great time during our ODYNOVO tour of Xi’an, China that we were a bit sad to see it come to an end, even though we spent an entire week there – more than the usual visitor perhaps. We visited: • The Hanyangling Mausoleum of the 4th Emperor of the Han dynasty and marveled at the curated 2,000+ year old burial pits of the Emperor and his court. The site has been wonderfully preserved and presented as an underground museum with walkways surrounding the glass enclosed burial pits. • The elegant and charming Gao residence (Tang Dynasty) in the Muslim Quarter where we watched a lively shadow puppet show and took a class in calligraphy from a master calligrapher. Great fun and educational! • The museum of the Mausoleum of Emperor Qinshihuang with the Terra Cotta warriors – truly one of the wonders of the world. The quality and quantity of the terra cotta warriors and horses in the three pits is mind boggling. The overall museum campus is large and artfully presented. • The Big Wild Goose Pagoda where we saw spectacular gold buddhas and enjoyed the lovely gardens. We did not climb the pagoda, however. The site has been beautifully landscaped and preserved. • The wall surrounding the ancient city of Xi’an – on a rainy day when there was no activity on the wall and visibility was limited. We would have enjoyed another visit to the wall on a sunny day. • The Forest of Stone Steles museum, set in the grounds of a former Confucian temple. This museum is a remarkable blend of traditional and modern architecture to display huge stone tablets inscribed in the five different styles of Chinese calligraphy. The precision of the carved writings on the stone tablets is amazing. Tablets such as these were studied to prepare for the annual merit exam for senior positions in the administration of Tang emperors. The museum includes some fun interactive exhibits; and we can highly recommend a visit to the coffee shop, which is full of surprises. • Mount Huashan, about a 2 hour drive to the northeast of Xi’an. It is accessed through a well organized national park where you take buses up tight winding mountain roads to the base of the gondola for an 8 or 20 minute ride to the top, depending on the peak. We took the shorter ride to the North Peak. Once at the top of the gondola, many more steps awaited us, as all the hiking on top is vertical – either up or down. It was not the kind of hike that we had envisioned, and it was very strenuous; but we were glad we made the visit because the views were spectacular. Nearly all of the visitors were Chinese; and there were a variety of food stations up on the mountain. We also learned: • Mahjong and played it with local players at a Mahjong parlor; and • How to make dumplings in the home of a very gracious local resident, where we dined on the dumplings we made; We saw several spectacular artistic performances: • “The Song of Everlasting Sorrow” presented on a small lake within the gorgeous Huaqing Palace grounds – a stunning combination of surprising waterworks, stage sets that emerge from the lake, acrobatics, acting, song and dance, big screen projections and special lighting effects that include elements on the mountain behind the scene. An amazing production and you don’t need to understand Chinese to follow it. • The Tang Dynasty show about the rise of the Empress Wu at the downtown Tangle Palace Theater. This was both an elegant dining experience and a beautiful and skillful performance by young artists accompanied by an orchestra of traditional Chinese musical instruments in front of spectacular background projections. It was a very classy show; and there were subtitles in Chinese and English. • The Silk Road Experience presented in a pavilion about a 45 minute drive to the northeast of Xi’an, which portrays the difficulties faced by ordinary Chinese who participated in Silk Road caravans. Some returned prosperous and some didn’t survive the journey. The show uses live camels and “wolves” in various stage sets in a circular arena with a revolving auditorium. We cannot say enough good things about our guide Jessica. She speaks excellent English, taught us an enormous amount about the history of Xi’an, the major Chinese dynasties, and Chinese history, culture, calligraphy styles, cuisine and more. She was very attentive to our needs and adjusted our schedule accordingly. We started at 9:00 or 9:30 most days, at 8:00 on the day we went to Mount Huashan, and at 11:00 on the day when we had the evening performance of the “Song of Everlasting Sorrow” at the summer palace. We were able to enjoy that extraordinary outdoor performance because she brilliantly switched the Wednesday and Thursday plans of our itinerary so that we weren’t rained out of that show. She also adjusted the itinerary for our visit to Mount Huashan to reduce the difficulty for us. We had been traveling for 3 weeks before arriving in Xi’an and were both dealing with unanticipated foot and leg pains that developed during our pre-Xi’an travels. Jessica helped us to get some relief of those issues. Climbing Mount Huashan was indeed a different and more challenging experience than what we anticipated. I think we performed better than expected, but the reduced difficulty itinerary was the appropriate choice that enabled us to enjoy the experience. She also selected excellent typical local restaurants for our lunches and helped us make good food selections. She persisted without complaint even while dealing with a temporary loss of voice. All in all, she was not just a knowledgeable and effective guide but also a great travel companion. Our driver, Mr. Tong, was also excellent and exceeded our expectations. He is very friendly and gracious and speaks just enough English. His skill at navigating the traffic congestion in Xi’an and the destinations we visited was nothing short of astounding. After the evening performance of the Tang Dynasty musical extravaganza celebrating the accession of the Empress Wu to the throne (a fantastic dinner theater experience that also far exceeded our expectations), he met us in the lobby – recognizing us amid the hundreds of attendees exiting the performance – and escorted us to his waiting van right in front of the doors to the theater (after he took our pictures with the cast)! He is indeed a superior driver. We made our own hotel and plane arrangements, and we highly recommend the Sofitel Xi’an where we stayed. It is delightfully situated with two other hotels of the same group in a tucked away compound that was a charming refuge from the bustling city. The staff were very friendly and accommodating and the food and beverages were very good. Our Odynovo Travel Consultant Corinna was superbly responsive and accommodating of all of our tour planning requests. She was a pleasure to work with; and everything fell into place in a timely manner as she predicted. Our experience with ODYNOVO was excellent and we expect to use them again in the future.

Great trip to China!! We enjoyed a really fun, well organised trip to China for a week. We appreciate all the care throughout our time there! Tracy, our guide in Beijing, was very knowledgeable, engaging, and was able to communicate fluently in English. Rita & Mona our guides in XiAn & Pingyao were also warm & personable. All of them went the extra mile. Thank you to all!!