Indiancouple:

In XIAN:
clarence guo [email protected]

In Guilin:
Jenny Tan
[email protected]

In Beijing:
Jerry Ju
[email protected]

In Beijing:
Terry
[email protected]

Terry is the only one we actually used. The others had good reccomendations from Fodors members, and we were in touch with them via email but didn't use them in the end.

sssteve, thanks a lot for the contact details. I will start getting in touch with these people. Any more recommendations from anyone ?

> Any more recommendations from anyone ?

Yes, please read this thread:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35169441

Be particularly cautious of the gentleman in Xi'an, a long-time spammer of this site, The Oriental-List, and elsewhere on the Internet.

Peter N-H

Peter NH, I had read that thread earlier. You have a point of view, which is well taken, but many others have a different point of view, and have immensely benefited from availing the services of a guide.

We would like to use a guide for some days. To repeat our question, could people recommend more contacts for guides in Shanghai, Beijing, Guilin and Xian ?

I would put in a very strong recommendation to visit Longshen rice fields from Guilin. It is a great day trip with unforgettable sights (not just the rice fields themselves but the trip there as well). The "Dragon back" is one of the most impressive visual experiences I have encountered not only in China but anywhere - just IMO.
You may also enjoy a Li river cruise.

I originally contacted the guide in Xian and later decided to do Xian on my own. I was very glad I did. Compared to his prices, our day trip to the Warriors was a steal. In my opinion, there is no need for a guide in Xian. We took the bus from the train station to the warriors and back again. Only a few dollars each way. Met some nice people on the bus and ended up having dinner with them that night.


If you get to Yangshuo, you can contact my guide, Juan. She was great!! Charges 100RMB/day for two people and we had her all day for 3 days. Email her at [email protected] Tell her I said hello!

You can read my journal here:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35166107

Have a great time!

Monica

Paulchili, a visit to Longshen Dragonbone rice fields is on top of our list, and so is the Li River cruise. I had a question about the Longshen rice fields. How tough is the hike to the top, where you get the best views ? Any less strenuous way of reaching there ? And how long is the drive from Guilin to the rice terraces ?
Monica, I have read your trip report in detail. Thanks for the tip about avoiding a guide in Xian. And will contact the reference you have given for Yangshuo.

indiancouple,
I am glad you will go to the Longji (Dragon Back) - you will not regret it.
It is a long way up. I am 60 and not in great shape and I did it - I am sure you can do it as well. Just take your time and rest along the way! Also, don't give up - you must go ALL the way to the top for best view. They have "sedan" chairs to take you up if your are not up to it (I don't know the price).
The trip there is about 2 hours or so (90 Km). We stopped to see the Yao ladies with long hair, stopped for lunch on the way back.
Make sure you visit the Shanghai museum on People's Square - need a few hours for that IMO.
Have a great trip - please post after if you can.

I thought you said you never mention the Oriental List on Fodors

"I thought you said you never mention the Oriental List on Fodors"

Hi hawaiiantraveler - how are you? Is this in reference to me?
If so, I only wish to stay clear of one particular poster, otherwise I don't mind helping others, if I can.
Aloha.

Hi Paulchili,Doing great! No not you. We all enjoy your knowledgeable and informative posts

Aloha!

hawaiiantraveler,
Thank you.
Happy travels and Aloha.

indiancouple, glad you enjoyed my trip report.

Just want to say that Reenie and I did both the Li River boat trip, as well as one on a bamboo raft on the Yulong River. Quite frankly, I enjoyed the bamboo raft much more than the motorized boat on the Li River.

I posted my photos taken along the Yulong River in Yangshuo: http://www.pileggiphotography.com/ga...32856484_ovmAT


Monica

indiancouple,
We were in China in October & would love to recommend the following guides who helped make our trip a memorable experience,were extremely knowledgable & personable,they became our friends & we wanted to bring them home:
Beijing: John [email protected]
Shanghai: Lee
[email protected]
Yangshuo: Lilly Lu
[email protected]

Monica, those photographs are wonderful. Cant wait to get there on the river cruise and the bamboo rafts.

Syl, many thanks for your contacts. I have emailed all of them. Awaiting their responses.

Monica, you are so right about Xian. No need for a guide at all. Save money everyone.

indian couple:


I agree with Monica (in fact I was the one who suggested that she forego the Xian guide, who had stood us up the year before...never showed after four or five emails confirming!). We hired a tax driver, a lovely young lady who took us to the warriors, waited two hours and drove us back to the Hyatt, picked us up to drive us to the airport the following day...all for much less than the guide would have charged.Having guides in Beijing and Guilin/Yangshuo makes sense..Shanghai, no need of it IMO.

Have a wonderful trip..

stu t.

tower, based on multiple suggestions from everyone, we have dropped the idea of taking guide at Xian.

For Guilin/Yangshuo, we have located a reasonable guide, and are fine-tuning our program in consultation with her.

I know we will not need a guide in Shanghai city. But we plan on making a day trip from there to Hangzhou, and one to either Suzhou or Tongli. Would you recommend taking a guide for these destinations, or is it perfectly doable by ourselves ?

As for Beijing, would you recommend a guide for the day we do the Great Wall, or the day when we tour Tiannemen, Forbidden City & Temple of Heaven ? Or both ?

We used guides in every city we toured because we felt that, with their excellent knowledge we were able to see as much as possible without worrying about logistics.(I also agree, however, that Xian is very doable on your own.)The main factor is your budget.I say, if you can afford a guide,go that route because you never know if & when you'll return to China.

> tower, based on multiple suggestions from everyone, we have dropped the idea of taking guide at Xian.

Could I just point out that the arguments presented against taking a guide in Xi'an apply equally to all other locations in China: that they are unreliable, unnecessarily expensive, that you can easily get around on your own, and that it is much cheaper to do so?

These are all equally true of Beijing, Shanghai, Yangshuo, etc. If you find these arguments compelling for one destination then you should find them compelling for all.

The thought expressed in the posting immediately above appears to be that guides are useful for logistics, and indeed if you don't want to have to think about navigation at all yourself, not even to the point of handing over the name of destination in characters to a taxi driver, then this is indeed true (of some guides at least). But you'll pay handsomely.

Some people, despite that fact that the guide adds no reliable historical or cultural information, is not to be trusted on shopping matters, and will overcharge (although I saw one reasonable fee quoted for Yangshuo), will want to go ahead anyway. The purpose of these remarks is only that those who do so should be clear on what they are getting for their money, which is not what would be expected from guides elsewhere.

Many things in China are discussed using familiar English terms, but do not in fact closely represent what we usually mean by these terms. 'News', 'concierge', and 'guide', are three examples.

Peter N-H