China tailor made vacation, culture & history

Planet

Our vision is to offer warm, caring, and thoughtful service to ensure our customers have an enjoyable trip to China. And two of our values are to “protect the environment and promote eco-tourism”, and to “respect the local people, cultures and customs of tourist destinations”. We encourage our staff to reduce the use of the fax machine, for example by using our email fax viewer, and to reuse printout paper. As we know, reducing use of paper reduces the felling of trees. The environment is important to us, and we believe we can influence others as long as we insist on our values when working with suppliers. We only choose suppliers who meet our environmental standards. After we have chosen restaurants, attractions, hotels etc, we put them to the test by carefully monitoring our customer’s evaluations. This continual review process ensures that we act quickly if our high standards are not maintained by our suppliers. If a tour’s duration is short, and it doesn’t need the use of a car, we encourage our customers use a bicycle or walk to appreciate the landscape. This way not only allows customers to enjoy the scenery better, but also reduces carbon dioxide emissions. As global warming is getting worse, we recognize we must do everything reasonably possible to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We advertise and facilitate train transport in China, a lower carbon footprint option than flying. We specialize in tailor-made and customized tours, most of which are arranged in small private groups. Keeping tour groups small reduces the impact of tourism on the environment, e.g. no noise pollution from loud hailers, and smaller vehicles mean less damage to roads.

People

We are proud and happy to have formed a partnership with a local NGO — Helping Hands Volunteer Association, which operates a residential care facility to assist orphans in our community. We have sponsored Helping Hands for many years. We have been giving 10 yuan to Helping Hands for every person who travels with us this year. When you travel with us you already have made a donation to the disadvantaged children in our local community.

We employ more local people and use more local products and services than foreign tour operators, and we pay better salaries (including to tour guides and supplier agencies in other cities) than other Chinese operators. This benefits local Chinese economies and contributes to a better social environment in the areas our customers visit.

Before arrival at your tourist destination, our travel advisor will inform you about the local wildlife, environment and culture, which along with following the local guide’s advice,will help you keep in harmony with the local environment.
Our China Guide pages on our website provide information on local wildlife and how to respect the local people.