China Private Tours & Local Tour Guides

“Excellent custom bilingual tour of Beijing”

Highly recommend Joanne for your guided tour needs in Beijing! I’ve done a lot of tours in a lot of countries and this one stands out in several ways. First, she is truly bilingual, speaks fully idiomatic English and is able to explain historical and cultural concepts in both languages. I was able to practice my intermediate level Mandarin and improved a lot after our many hours of conversation and her patient suggestions for how I can sound more fluent. It is hard to overstate how helpful it is for language learning to have someone in the moment explain what locals are saying or what the signs mean or how to respond in certain situations or explain the nuance between two similar phrases. We also spoke about life topics unrelated to Beijing and that made the experience more personal and fulfilling as well. Second, her knowledge of the city is impressive in both breadth and depth. We had a wide range of experiences across the 2 day tour from big must see attractions such as Forbidden City, Tiananmen, and Summer Palace to more local streets, temples and shops and many modes of transportation to get an authentic feel for the city. At every stop she was able to point out both the big picture and minute details, describe how everything fits in China’s history and the cultural significance. I liked how it wasn’t just canned speeches about each place; it was more of a discussion and she was able to answer all of my follow up questions too. Lastly, her customer service is top tier. I booked very last minute but she responded quickly and planned two full days of custom itinerary after discussing my interests. She made all of the reservations for busy attractions, timed everything so we didn’t have to wait in line anywhere, booked restaurants, and was responsive on WeChat. One of the two days happened to be my birthday and she even brought me a small gift which was quite touching. Overall it was a memorable and unique experience and I’d definitely tour with her again!

Joanne T.

(1 reviews)

Hi Hanna, Thank you so much for such a lovely, detailed review — it made my day! I thoroughly enjoyed our two days wandering around Beijing and all our wide‑ranging chats about history, culture and little language subtleties. It was so rewarding to witness how quickly your Mandarin improved during our time together. You are making fantastic progress and I’m sure you will be speaking very fluent Chinese before long. Hope your rest of trip goes smoothly and safely. Would be lovely to cross paths again sometime. All the best, Joanne

“Nice Tour of Hangzhou highlights with Micheline rated snacks!”

Scarlett was a great guide. She picked me up from the airport, shared the history of the city and talked about its modern character. We stopped at several Micheline rated snack stands along the way! Very enjoyable half day.

Scarlett H.

(2 reviews)

Thank you so much for the wonderful review! Whenever you find your way back to Hangzhou, please do let me know. I'd love to take you on another adventure, perhaps for a peaceful hike up in the hills right by the West Lake to take in more of nature and local tea culture. Wishing you safe travels and hope to see you again!

“A day of exploring made easy”

We appreciated the help from Heidi to discover more about Guangzhou than we could ever do on our own. She worked with me to plan an itinery to explore some of the old parts of Guangzhou as well as show us some of the new. It was great that we were able to travel by the Metro (very cost effective!) as well as cover off a few highlights of what is a very interesting city. She even helped my husband get a new watch, which would have been really hard for us to do on our own. Having struggled to look around the city on our own, we both felt having a private guide like Heidi was a really good option to allow us to get the most of our transit stopover there. We particularly appreciated her staying with us until we got the Metro out to the airport so we didn't take the wrong connection. It made things simple!

Heidi L.

(48 reviews)

Dear Jane, Thank you so much for your wonderful review and lovely photos! I’m so glad we could combine old and new Guangzhou for your stopover tour, and that the metro worked well for you. It was my pleasure to help with the watch purchase and walk you through the metro connection to the airport. It was a real pleasure guiding both of you. Hope you have safe onward travels, and you are welcome back anytime! Best regards, Heidi