In February 2018, we asked Elena to design a 11-day tour of Kunming, Dali, Shaxi, Shangri-La, Tiger Leaping Gorge, and Lijiang. We had already arranged our accommodations. Her itinerary suited us perfectly. Due to previous commitments, she couldn’t be with us in Kunming, but the woman and driver she hired were just fine. Elena and her driver, Mr. Wong, met us at our hotel in Dali, and worked together well the rest of the trip.

Elena grew up near Lijiang, and knew the area of our trip very well. She seemed to be friends with many people wherever we went. Despite this, there was never any pressure to buy anything. I am one who asks many questions of my guides, and Elena almost always provided clear answers. Her English is fine, with only the idioms of the language missing at times.

As she learned of interests and capabilities, she was flexible enough to alter the trip to suit us, including our food preferences. She has a positive, light approach to life, and is fit enough to explore as much of Tiger Leaping Gorge as you wish.

All in all, we could not have asked for a better guide for Yunnan.
Read less

My family and I were spending 5 days in Kunming and Lijiang, Elena arranged everything for us according to our requirement. I have contacted with her before our trip for about 1 month, she replied very quickly and managed to plan the itinerary for us based on our interesting. During the trip even we have 13 members in our group but Elena managed to fulfilled our trip with happiness.
We are Muslim family from Thailand, She managed to find us Halal restaurant and brought us to Mosque for praying, which impressed us a lot. She is kind, humble, knowledgeable and lovely.
I would highly recommend Elena to be a tour guide for anyone who interested in Yunnan area. Read less

Our guide: Elena Luo.

My wife and I arrived at Lijiang airport on December 04, Elena her driver was waiting us. The first two nights we stayed in Xiluxiaoxie Inn. I knew Lijiang from a previous trip; we loved walking around the old town and have good food. It became more commercial than before. The next day we visited Baisha Village and Shuhe old town, Elena knows what we like to see and takes us to remote places. The next day brings us to Dali, the road is new and almost no traffic this time of the year. Dali is a lovely city in between the mountains; we spend a few hours here. After lunch we visited a tea plantation on a mountain near Erhai Lake which gave us a great view. Driving up the mountain there was a funeral procession in front of us and on the top of the mountain a young couple taking wedding pictures, this is live. We bought excellent green and black tea from the local supplier. We stayed overnight in Xizhou, a nice small village near Dali. The Happy Garden hotel is not known by the western people and it is a beautiful hotel with friendly people. In the evening we finished a bottle of red wine to celebrate the birthday of our second son. In the morning we walked the local market for a couple of hours, so nice, so beautiful and original, many Bai people here. In the afternoon we arrive in Shaxi, I know this village and I love it. We had a coffee in a nice coffee place on the market square and a walk along the river to the bridge, what a great view here! In the evening a custom made pizza in the Hungry Buddha, excellent! The next morning with the dew on the trees we walked around Shaxi and the river. In the afternoon we visit Shibao Mountain and the hanging monastery. We stay in Shaxi for the night in the Chongyu Boutique Hotel, a very beautiful wooden building, again friendly people and the next morning a lovely western breakfast. We leave for Shigu town, near the first bend of the Yellow River to see the Tiger Leaping Gorge, what an impressive view and swirling white water. We continue to Shangri-La, the drive on the small and busy road along the river takes us up to three hours, there is a highway and railway under construction and will be opened in 2019. We stop at our hotel for the next two nights, the Rose Castle, a Tibetan style hotel; the manager Paul speaks fluent English. Our dinner is Tibetan Hot Pot in a nearby family restaurant, with vegetables and Yak meat. We feel a little uncomfortable here with the thin air and drink a small bottle of Chinese medicine to help us feel better. In the morning visit the famous Songzanling Lamasery temple, walking up the stairs slowly as we are still short breathed. The temple is impressive; many locals come to pray here. In the afternoon we visit a local village, I love to see how the people live here, and to see the beautiful old people with their grooved face. We end up in Shangri-La old town for a coffee and dessert. Talked about our experiences and how we feel about our Yunnan trip. Elena is the perfect guide for a couple or a family who want to see the best of Yunnan, she is reliable, earnest, care taking, listen to your wishes, answers all your questions and brings you with a smile to the most beautiful places on earth.
We say thank you so much Elena, this was a great trip and you are great too!
Arie and Sandra Boevé – Beijing


Read less

What first attracted us to Elena was the "off the beaten path" part of her description. Since our travel blog is justoffthebeatenpath.com, we knew it would be a great fit. We could not have found a better guide. Two examples: 1. We stopped at a very small village. Elena asked a family if we could come into the courtyard of their home. They were not expecting us, but they knew Elena and invited us in. They offered us steamed buns, then tea, then cold spicy noodles... When we protested that we could not eat any more, they peeled a peach for each of us. It was a remarkable experience getting to know this family and it would not have happened without Elena. A bonus was walking through the countryside with Elena after the visit. 2. Elena's driver, Mr. Wang, was excellent. He was very careful (unlike some other drivers we had) and took us places that we could not otherwise have reached, such as a tea plantation and a remote rose farm.
It is obvious that Elena does this work out of a love for this part of China. In fact, she probably took more pictures than we did. It is certainly more than just a job for her. If we are ever back in this part of China, we will not make travel plans until we are sure we can schedule time with Elena. I welcome anyone to ask questions about any of the specifics of our experience. Read less

My wife and I are from the US and looked for a guide to make sure we got the most out of our trip to Yunnan Province. What a fortunate day it was when we found Elena's information online and she happened to be available! Not only does she know the region like the back of her hand, but the car and (very calm and talented) driver she arranged worked out very well, even continuing to carry us about even after our time with Elena, to a VIP tour of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. Elena was just as good as the very excellent guide we hired in Siem Reap to see Angkor Wat - knowledgeable, tolerant of my constant questions, and going above and beyond the call of duty. She arranged pickups, drop-offs, tours, lodging, meals -- even medicine for my wife's cold. The restaurants she picked were the most enjoyable meals we had in the region, and the lodgings among the most memorable. She made sure we participated in the process, so we learned how and what to order at restaurants anywhere in China. All in all, a great experience and we recommend Elena without hesitation. Read less