Happy Holidays to you and your family!

On my first visit to Beijing 12 Octobers ago, I had a free day to explore the city on my own. Being my first time in Asia, I ventured off to the shopping mall that was directly across from my hotel. The adventurous type I am not. This mall was big by Canadian standards. 6/7 floors, bright shiny floors, all the major brands stocked with smiling sales associates. There were two peculiar things however. 1) The mall was empty. 2) Christmas music.

These days I know the mall is busy with the emerging Chinese middle class but I do wonder if they still play Jingle Bells in the fall.

Please note our holiday hours:

Dec 23 8:30am - 12:30pm (PST)
Dec 24 Closed
Dec 25 Closed
Dec 26 Closed
Dec 27 8:30am - 5pm
Dec 28 8:30am - 5pm
Dec 29 8:30am - 5pm
Dec 30 8:30am - 5pm
Dec 31 Closed
Jan 1 Closed
Jan 2 Closed
Jan 3 8:30am - 5pm

Happy holidays!

Otis Ashby
Sales & Operations

Vancouver’s Dr. Sun Yat-sen Garden named world's best

Vancouver’s own Dr. Sun Yat-sen Garden was recently named been named No. 1 on a list of city gardens around the world in a new book from National Geographic.

Our small but beautiful garden is rated ahead of the Rodin Sculpture Garden in Paris! Only two other gardens in North America were rated, the Foster Botanical Garden in Hawaii and the Conservatory Garden in New York’s Central Park.

The classical Chinese garden was the first garden in the Ming Dynasty style created outside of China, and is located just a few minutes from our Vancouver office.

Dr Sun Yat-sen was a China revolutionary and political leader and often referred to as the Father of the Nation.  His impact on Chinese culture is noticeable all over the world as cities, parks, and streets throughout the world have been named after him.

Happy holidays!

Otis Ashby
Sales & Operations

No Free Lunch

Today, I received an e-mail from a really angry customer. I mean really angry. The good news is he was not a Chinapac customer. During my 10 years experience in the industry, I have seen very few letters that rivaled this one.  

He had booked one of those $49 dollar trip to China with one of those other China tour companies. He was so angry that he had forwarded his e-mail to every Canadian China tour operator and any company that had the word China in it including ourselves

Here is an excerpt of his colourful comments.
  

“It appears that this tour package is an extremely good deal - $49 / $179 for 8 days Shanghai? WOW, good value for your money! Good value for your money if, and only if the tour is good! They just wasted my time, my family’s time and wasted our MONEY! TIME = MONEY! How about 6 hours and 30 minutes wait for the bus to take us to the hotel, I shall say motel from the airport on the first day with no food, no water and no services? Special Tour? What is so special? How about those breakfast brunches with no food, no tables and no seats? – Too many people, not enough food, tables and chairs. We found it SUCKS! There is no way anyone is capable of finding a worse tour company than ************.

The Tour Itinerary was not the same as it was on the list, there was no Huangpujiang Cruise at night after dinner, we didn’t even go to the ‘BUND’ – one of Shanghai’s most famous places and that is where the Huangpujiang night cruise takes place. We were all very disappointed, to say the least.

It is hard to believe that there is ‘no complain received from other clients about ********* China tour’. Everyone on our tour complained. 45 people in our tour group waited over 3 hours for 2 people who can’t make up their mind on which stupid tea pot to buy and when we finally arrive at a scenery place to take some photos, we were only allow 5 minutes to do so? This is just one of many stupid activities.... What kind of a tour is this? If you look at the ********** Brochure, it said ‘... Good Food and Amazing Scenery 8-day Special Tour’, no where in it mentioned it is a purchase tours. We knew it was going to be a purchase tours, but no one would have thought it was this dreadful – outrageous!"

I have responded to this frustrated client and encouraged him to share his comments on Trip Advisor so future travelers do not make the same mistake he did. 

So if your friends are asking for one of those amazing deals to China, feel free to show them a copy of this newsletter. Afterwards, show them the itinerary for Chinapac’s 12 Day Modern & Ancient China tour. We offer most meals, good hotels, sightseeing, international airfare, and ground transfers all for only $1699 plus tax.

Happy holidays,

Otis Ashby
Sales & Operations