Nov 7, 2025
Excellent tour - The tour was excellent. Professional, ran to time. We loved our guide taffy. Very knowledgeable and a great balance of historical content and modern Chinese culture. Lunch was also great.
Review provided by Viator
Nov 5, 2025
Absolutely Best Tour In China - One of the high lights of our trip to China! This tour was amazing and we felt like we learned so much! Mindy was the most amazing guide and extremely knowledgeable. The Great Wall was incredible! The tour company was absolutely incredible and so accommodating! They helped plan special times to match our cruise ship and arranged to pick us up. Top notch tour company and top notch guide. If you are in China I would highly recommend this tour!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nov 4, 2025
Awesome and humbling - The hardest part of any serious review is the beginning, the middle and the end. So to our guide who brought us to the Jiangnan Great Wall in Linhai, Mr Li; Mr Li Zhaochen our fond gratitude for being part of one of the most memorable days for us in over 50 years world travel. Sure we could have done it without you but we are so glad you came along.
This trip was epic; over 11 hours and one needs to be physically fit; China is not for the disabled or infirm.
I cannot, cannot recommend this tour highly enough; remember you’ll run out time before you run out of money.
The Great Wall is demanding and having completed 3 score and 10 I did it but a ticker that’s faultlessly passed 2 billion beats had to work harder than it liked. It said so. We walked the wall just after a restaurant lunch and (believe it or not) Budweiser beer: I think it sensible to approach the wall on an empty stomach particularly for those over 70.
So it was a pre 7am start when Li collected us at our Shanghai hotel surrounded by a 33 million mega city population. Just us two no other guests. A limo and driver brought us to the bullet train at Hongqiao station about a 45 minute drive from the city centre, we passed a Tesla factory owned by Mr Musk, employing 19,000 while he chain-saws his way through American jobs (not sure if his chain saw was made in China).
Our limo driver opened and closed doors for us and we had this wonderful attention throughout our trip.
To access our 1st class bullet train seats we traversed a huge railway (shopping & food) station showing our passports at least twice before boarding to courteous staff and walk through airport style X Ray machinery. I think we showed our passports six times over the day.
Our train seats were roomy, reclined and the train got up to 305kph or just over 200mph during the 207 mile journey to Linhai - population 1.1 million. Starbucks coffee is sold aboard; one can access all manner of food through one of the attendants or order ahead by app from restaurants in the cities the train stops at (for 3 minutes) which is then delivered to your seat; or take pot noodles and a fork to use the endless supply of piped hot water throughout the train-which feels like it’s not moving most of the time.
Do note 1st class is a class below business class: business matters in China more than all else; the health service isn’t generally free at the point of use, the food is poor quality (stir fried bullfrog, pig stomach and pigeon) but food at their Pudong airport is delicious and astonishingly not flavoursome and for all its sophisticated technologies raw human waste disposal is noticeably ineffective, there’s a pervasive human sewage smell in the air, some public toilets are squat, tap water isn’t great to drink (buy bottled) as it has a noticeable scum that sits atop courtesy of water’s natural surface tension.
When we arrived in Linhai a car and driver were waiting - again the bullet train is quite far from town. Li took us to a traditional Chinese house on the East Lake of Linhai, a family owned restaurant for lunch, the Great Wall, rushed us through a shopping street after buying us a coffee from a Chinese operator and to about an hour long enchanting poetry, dance and interactive theatre show at Taizhou Fucheng Cultural Tourist Zone - as we watched and took part the privilege of it dawned on us - then it was all over and the return journey had begun.
Back at the bullet train station Li bought us a drink each and by 8pm
delivered two very weary still excited guests to hotel reception as Shanghai breezes warmly blew. Some days truly are diamond.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Oct 30, 2025
Excellent Great Wall experience with a fantastic guide. - Our experience was so positive and our guide very knowledgeable and made everything seamless. They even adjusted the day to suit my husbands recent hospital stay and his resulting energy levels and constantly checked in. It was so good to cross off something from our bucket list as who doesn’t want to stand on the Great Wall of China! A very enjoyable experience despite the torrential rain at one point. Jordan was fantastic and couldn’t recommend him more, also a great photo taker for us too.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Oct 30, 2025
Relaxing and insightful tour of a bit of Chinese history from the Ming Dynasty - We are just returning from the Southern Wall tour with our guide Li Zhaochen. It had been a fantastic day! Li Zhaochen took great care of us, making sure we saw all the major experiences at a pace that was relaxing and enjoyable, The travel arrangements from that service to the train were seamless. The lunch was the best food we have had on the trip, especially the pork with braised tea leaves! I would recommend the trip as a great way to experience Chiba outside of Shanghai. It has been the highlight of our trip. Thank you Li Zhaochen!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Oct 29, 2025
AMAZING!! Exceeded our expectations! - We just completed our day trip to the Southern Great Wall. Our tour guide Zhaochen Li was excellent! He communicated very well and made sure we had everything we needed! The Grest Wall was incredible! And he also showed us the most interesting places and we had amazing food! We loved every minute of our tour! We want to go back and do it again! Thank you for a wonderful day Li!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Oct 29, 2025
A Truly Exceptional Tour - The tour was honestly one of the best I’ve ever taken. It’s not only a complete and insightful visit to the Southern Great Wall, but also a wonderful introduction to the surrounding city and its culture. Along the way, I got to try a variety of delicious local snacks and dishes, and there were fantastic opportunities to buy handmade souvenirs directly from local artisans.
My guide, Jenny, was incredibly warm, kind, and knowledgeable. She shared so much fascinating information and made the day truly special. Thanks to her flexibility, I could easily personalize the tour, focusing more on the areas that interested me most. We also had a wonderful lunch together, and her local restaurant recommendations were perfect.
From the moment I was picked up comfortably from my hotel lobby until I was dropped off at the end of the day, I couldn’t stop smiling. The entire experience was seamless, fun, and enriching.
If you ever find yourself in the Shanghai area, this tour is an absolute must, not only to explore an amazing historical site, but also to connect with a genuinely kind and insightful local guide.
Thank you, Jenny, for an unforgettable day and for making this experience so personal and memorable.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Oct 28, 2025
Don't miss this day trip! - Booked and took this trip from city center (on business trip from USA) with our kids and had an absolutely amazing day trip. Our guide Emma was truly outstanding and knew so much! The train ride was a great experience in itself, nothing like the bullet train anywhere else we've been. The value was incredible with what they provided for the day, we didn't have to plan or put thought into the whole day, everything from just walking out our hotel door to the process of how to navigate the huge train station, to even what restaurant to eat at, EVERYTHING was planned or to a point where especially with kids along we could pivot to what we wanted/needed. The temple, park, wall were incredible to explore and Emma had so much added value to provide along every step of the way. We would definitely reccomend this day trip to anyone visiting Shanghai!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Oct 28, 2025
Mindy is a rockstar - what a great day! - I couldn’t be more happy with how the tour went. Mindy was simply amazing. Not only was she very knowledgeable of the sites we visited, but she was also very helpful and thoughtful in recommending foods, snacks, and treats to sample and purchase during the trip in old downtown.
She met me on time in the lobby of my hotel with a luxury car driver. There are some long travel during the train ride and during this time Mindy and I enjoyed great conversation. As this was my first full day in China, she was also so helpful in recommending places to eat and shop during my stay in Shanghai. The high speed train is such a great way to see the many different landscapes of China!
Linhai is such a great city! The wall and ancient town was such a nice experience, juxtaposed against the city. If you are on the fence about walking the wall if you are wary of all of the stairs (398+ stairs!!), it’s worth it — the views at the top are amazing and give you a great view of the landscape, nature, and city. If you decide against it, Mindy had some other time planned to spend the day.
I was pleasantly surprised on the walk down the old road where there were plenty of local merchants cooking and making their food and snacks. Mindy was very mindful to translate for me and describe and explain everything I was sampling. I bought a few sweets for my family back home that I probably wouldn’t have even tried if I was on my own.
All in all, money well spent and a very memorable trip thanks to Mindy. The pace was perfect. I have a much better appreciation for China and the culture.
Review provided by Viator
Oct 27, 2025
Secret Great Wall! - Our guide, Emma, was professional and knowledgeable with a nice sense of humor. This tour is a long day to say the least, but comprehensive and fascinating. Our 2 other guides in Shanghai never heard of the Southern Great Wall! It was built before the Beijing wall. The bullet train was fun. If there is a desire to shorten the 7 AM to 8 PM experience, I would eliminate the entertainment section of the tour.
Review provided by Viator
