Guide recommendation for Beijing

[Mari129]

We just got back from our cruise in Asia. Our favorite guide was Angela in Beijing. We spent 3 wonderful, informative days with her. She knew the ins and outs of a very complicated city as well as the usual highlights. Front of the lines for us! Wonderful restaurant recommendations. Angela's email address is: needyachang@hotmail.com. Have a great time with her!

[Sandy R]

Mari129... thank you for the recommendation. I just e-mailed her with our requests. Thank you!

[med4bike]

We will be cruising to Asia in 2007 and would like the services of a guide for a few days. We will email Angela forthwith.

 

Does anyone have any other excellent guides in Beijing?

 

BTW, is it worth a days trip and fly to Xian to see the terracotta warriors? Our group plans on flying up and back the same day.

 

Thanks so much for any recommendations.

[raringtogo]

Mr. Robinson Li at Robinson Li

E-mail Address(es):

robinsonlitour@hotmail.com

 

is an excellent guide- we used him to take us to the Great Wall in July- he has a website too-

 

It is so worthwhile to see the Teracotta Warriers- they are awesome and shouldn't be missed IMO - I think it is a bit much to do it in one day (although I know lots of people do fly for one day) -

the warriors are quite far from the airport.

If it was possible to stay for one night you could also see the Tang Dynasty Show and have dinner there or a Dumpling Dinner - It is a beautiful show, so colourful and well worth seeing.

[Smiles3usa]

We just returned from a 3 day trip to Beijing. We did not use a guide and felt very comfortable doing so. We took local transportation (the taxis are very cheap) and we also used the subway--also very easy and cheap. Why I did not use Mr. Li, I have read some very negative (and a few positive) reports on him on fodors.com. Seems he has gotten so big that he is sending non-english speaking guides as drivers to some folks. You pay your money and take you chances.

 

As for the warriors, I am glad we choose to visit them. We only spent one night in Xi'an (2 days). We did everything independently, including airfare, and am very happy with the results.

[raringtogo]

hi smiles- that's very interesting about Mr. Li- nice that he's grown so much, but he prides himself on his great service and ability to have great conversations with his customers so looks like he won't be so popular in future

 

I must admit it is very easy to do everything independently in China. Internal airflights and sightseeing are simple to arrange once there

[cruzqueen]

We just returned from a 3 day trip to Beijing. We did not use a guide and felt very comfortable doing so. We took local transportation (the taxis are very cheap) and we also used the subway--also very easy and cheap. Why I did not use Mr. Li, I have read some very negative (and a few positive) reports on him on fodors.com. Seems he has gotten so big that he is sending non-english speaking guides as drivers to some folks. You pay your money and take you chances.

 

As for the warriors, I am glad we choose to visit them. We only spent one night in Xi'an (2 days). We did everything independently, including airfare, and am very happy with the results.

 

We are still trying to secure transportation to the Great Wall. Can you tell me how much it cost to use a taxi, and how long did he wait for you? Did you just take a taxi from hotel to the wall, or partial subway somewhere?

 

Thanks in advance.

[Smiles3usa]

Hi Cruzqueen, I promised myself that I would write this stuff up as soon as I got home, but I have been really dragging (jet lag) and have not finished unpacking all the stuff yet. Nevertheless, I will attempt to answer your query.

 

We stayed at the Courtyard Marriott--approximately 1.5 blocks away was the subway (Chongwenmen). We took the subway (cost 3 RMB approximately .37USD) 9 stops to Jishuitan -- the announcements are made in Chinese as well as English--and the maps in the stations are pretty good. Be forewarned, however, that we really stood out--mostly only natives riding the subway. At Jishuitan we walked back approximately 3 blocks (towards the overpass) looking for the 919 bus. Imagine there are many many buses number 919--we got on a few "fake" buses, then decided to take a tour that went to the great wall, ming tombs, and some amusement park. It was an all day tour--it cost 30 RMB (@$3.70 each). The tour bus was advertised right there with all the other public buses. If we had it to do all over again, I think we would have taken private transfer to the Wall so as not to be rushed--don't get me wrong, we had good time, and 1.5 hours there, but would have preferred to do it at our own pace. While we were in Tianmenen (sp?) Square the previous day, there were several touts offering transfers to the Great Wall. The price for private transfer we got most often was 400 RMB. The cost for seat in coach was 100 RMB (but included several stops). Also note that some who stayed in our hotel took the hotel bus to the Great Wall and seemed quite happy with their day. (I don't know the cost). Rest assured tho, there are tours everywhere to take.

 

To give you idea of taxi cost, we paid 200 RMB (a bit less than $25 US) to take taxi from hotel (in Xi'an--the Hyatt) to the Warriors (approximately 1.25 hours each away) the taxi waited for us approximately 3.0 hours and took us back to the hotel. No meter was used; we agreed on price before hand. As far as metered taxis goes, we took a metered taxi from the airport to our hotel in Beijing and the cost was 71 RMB + 10 RMB toll cost...for 81 RMB total or approximately $10. The trip to the hotel was a little less than an hour. (Make sure you get in the taxi queue--if you take "taxi" from those soliciting passengers the cost is approximately 500 RMB).

 

Hope this helps,

 

Have fun!

[wripro]

smiles3usa,

 

did you take a taxi form beijing to the warriors in xian for $25 total? thanx.

[Smiles3usa]

Wripro, We took at taxi from our hotel in Xi'an, the Hyatt, to the Warriors for @$25.00 US. We flew from Beijing to Xi'an; it's an little over an hour for the flight. Sorry if it was a little confusing. Taxi costs are rather similar all over China.

[wripro]

smiles3usa,

 

thanx. i thought that was too good to be true!!!

[greatam]

We are still trying to secure transportation to the Great Wall. Can you tell me how much it cost to use a taxi, and how long did he wait for you? Did you just take a taxi from hotel to the wall, or partial subway somewhere?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

We hired a car and driver (really a taxi that is on call at the hotel) at the Beijing Hotel on October 6, just before our Yangtze cruise. Cost was $80.00 for the DAY. We could have had him drive us anyplace. As it was, we had him take us to the Great Wall, looked around for about 2 hours, had him drive us to the some wicker and fabric shops, and drive us to the Peninsula for dinner. He waited patiently every where we went. It was kind of fun, but since he didn't speak much English (and my Chinese is REALLY ragged-LOL), it would have been more interesting on an organized tour, with some commentary.

 

I will say that the bus tours to the Wall were backed up 3 deep, trying to get in. We went in the car lane and were on the gondola before the firstbus even got to the parking lot. Of course, we were there during the big Chinese holiday, so it was more crowded than usual. If I were to do it again, I would get a car and English speaking driver from China Highlights.