My wife and I have recently returned from travelling which incorporated in late April the Beijing to Lhasa journey organised by World expeditions.

For the Beijing to Xian sector we were guided by Qui Ming who we called Milly.

I would like to record what a pleasure it was to have Milly as our guide.

We have travelled extensively in the past and had many guides. Milly stands out as the one we will remember for the exceptional way she looked after our group.

Milly's knowledge, and her ability to explain things, could not have been better. In fact she had so much she could tell us that there was never a moment when she wasn't being asked a question.

She chose where we dined, and ordered for us, after ascertaining what people liked or disliked and we were never disappointed. The restaurants were usually local, not tourist only places, and we appreciated that.

When we had time to ourselves she enquired if there were things we specially wanted to do and made sure we knew how to get there and back and what to expect. On one occasion when all in the group wanted to visit a Houtong she arranged it and came with us in what should have been her time away from us.

We were a group ranging in age from about 40 to 70. She appreciated that, at times, some were getting physically tired and she would vary what we doing to accommodate that.

Above all I will remember with pleasure her sense of humour, her always cheerful demeanour and the extra things she did for us beyond what is not normally expected.

Milly is an exceptional guide and I would recommend her to anyone going to China.