A very enjoyable trip! - We visited the Panda research and rescure centre in the morning and saw many Giant Pandas as well as the Red Pandas. We had lunch at this tasty resturant and tried out a few new dishes. We visited the irrigation system in the afternon and marvelled at the technology as well as the beautiful scenery. Daisy was our tour guide and she spoke really good English. She was knowledgeable and friendly. The driver was always there for us when needed. The car was comfortable. Much enjoyed our trip!

Breaching the cultural gap - We had the chance to visit Chengdu for a couple of days. Apart from the day trip to the panda base and the irrigation project, we had the opportunity to stroll around the city centre and enjoy the famous hot-pot in a typical Sichuan restaurant. All this time we were accompanied by our guide Snow from China Highlights, who, with delicacy and warmth, has led us in exploring not only the tourist face of one of most spectacular Chinese regions but also the daily life of common people, which for us, Europeans, is standardly regarded as intangible. There is no need to say that we were bound by the stereotype that China is different, that apart from the language barrier we would face also a huge cultural gap. Through Snow’s smart manner of introducing us various details of daily life, we felt how close we actually are from one another and how similar our problems are as human beings, something which is generally ignored by constantly looking at the diversity of answers that we came with, in various cultures, to one and the same issues. For instance, we enjoyed seeing the cheerful meetings of seniors in central parks – with dancing and singing, the way in which concerned parents handled what they perceived as loneliness of their adult children – see the “marriage markets”, the continuous struggle of man to come to terms with nature – in the irrigation project - and so many more. I can only say: Thank you Snow for such a wonderful experience!

Work as a volunteer Dujiangyan Panda Base - This trip was a wonderful experience! You get the opportunity to see the Giant Panda’s very close up while feeding them! My trip was made extra special by Jason my private guide. He is very kind and speaks fluent English and goes the extra mile to make your day special. He took a lot of pictures of me while I was busy with the panda’s and translated every question I had. He is a very good host introducing chinese food to me and making me cups of tea. It was an experience of a lifetime!