Not much really to be seen or learned from the guide or the tour. You may be better off getting to the drum tower on your own.
Review by: SHARON G, April 2018
I was the only guest , it was a private tour with guide and driver!.
Review by: douglas p, February 2018
a very interesting and insightful tour of the hutongs, or narrow alleys. watching folks go about their lives, and soaking up the culture. my guide was full of info, answered all my questions, and couldnt have been better. a very worthwhile tour, for sure !
Review by: Anne K, January 2018
Trip to the Bell/Drum towers was good. Not much of a rickshaw ride in Old Hutongs The demo of tea in one of the towers was nice but price to buy the teas was expensive. Then onto the silk shop which was interesting but again looking to sell expensive items to us.
Review by: Veronica K, December 2017
An interesting tour. My 7yo son asked to do this tour cos he wanted to ride in a rickshaw. It was really cold though. The visit to a home in the hutong was enlightening, and we also enjoyed the visit to the drum tower. Our guide, Gale, was excellent. She was punctual in picking us up at our hotel, very knowledgeable about history, and spoke good English.
Review by: Joyce A, December 2017
Had an amazing guide, Gale. She gave very detailed explanation. However, I realised she didn't take me to the Prince Gong's Mansion as stated in the tour details.
Review by: LARRY G, December 2017
Misleading tour and our guide Michael was disapointing
Review by: abuangulo, November 2017
was a little disappointed. I was probably expecting something different.
Review by: Jill H, November 2017
I am not sure what happened here. I was supposed to be with Wendy and then I was with a different guide. The tour was supposed to be for 4 hours. The tour was less the 1.5 hours and this was after my hour long taxi ride from my hotel. I asked to go to Tiananmen Square. The guide dropped me at the corner of a security check point. I was lost for about an hour. I a resourceful and figured things out. I would not book this tour again
Review by: Jean Louis S, November 2017
A dedicated private tour for two with a driver and an a very nice English speaking lady guide._br/_ The tour included the Bell and Drum Towers as well a visit of a Tea House ceremony, tea tasting and shopping
Review by: redforever, November 2017
This was a very nice morning.
Review by: Joey, September 2017
This tour is very deceiving! I chose this primarily for the Prince Gong's Mansion because of the hype in the tour description, and it is even indicated on the voucher. However, we were NOT taken there! According to the guide Michael, the Mansion is closed, and they have not been taking people there for a long time. There was no interaction with the hutong family except for a greeting from the owner when he passed by. The only insight into traditions was when the guide described some figurines in the home. After the rickshaw tour, we were encouraged to tip the driver 20 yuan each, which made me wonder if we had paid the drivers ourselves.
Review by: S J, August 2017
This tour was amazing!
Review by: Maya V, July 2017
This tour was fantastic and I would highly recommend it. Our guide, Gayle, was wonderful, warm, kind, and very informative. I did the tour on my first day in Beijing with my 8 year old daughter, and am so glad we did. Gayle was especially sweet with my young daughter, who also loved the tour. The hutong neighborhood was so interesting, and we loved the drum tower and tea tasting. After the tour as over, Gayle asked if we might like to visit a pearl place and a silk place, and we did and these were also great fun to see, especially for my daughter, who liked seeing the oysters and the silkworms. Overall, a wonderful experience.
Review by: Jane R, June 2017
This is a good, 3-hour tour around a district of old hutongs - including a visit inside one - and a walk up to the Drum Tower. Michael was friendly and very knowledgeable.
Review by: Mary C, May 2017
This was a fantastic way to see an actual Chinese neighborhood and get a glimpse of everyday life. Our guide Gail was very kind and informative.
Review by: Susan C, May 2017
I was the only person on this tour and I was already staying in a Hutong area - maybe it would be more exciting for those staying in the city areas. It was a bit boring actually - a quick zoom through an inactive hutong area, we were late for the bell tower so I had to RUN up all those stairs.. My guide was okay but I felt uncomfortable being the only person. It was advertised for 12 noon but I got a message at my hotel saying I would be picked up at 1pm. Others seem to have given good reviews, so maybe I was just unlucky on this day. The rickshaw part was only a small part of the tour and there are better hutong areas they could have taken me through.
Review by: amishak136, March 2017
We did this tour on Christmas morning. Was really good to be out and about so early. Lovely tour. I take my hat off to the Rickshaw driver's as they navigate through the small lanes so well. A different way to tour and our tour guide was also very good. A visit to one of homes was also very interesting.
Review by: gsenderlin, January 2017
An interesting experience seeing the old Chinese homes situated around the river. We had the opportunity to visit briefly with a family and were shown miniature glass bottle painting, which was interesting. There was no pressure to buy and we enjoyed our experience. Our guide and driver were excellent.
Review by: jligon, November 2016
We had a very good guide and enjoyed the rickshaw ride through this unique and historic part of Being. That said, because the tour is limited on what you see or do, I would not rate this one as a priority. If you had to pick two, do the highlights Forbidden City, etc. and the Great Wall. We stopped by a silk place afterwards where you can see how it is made... and of course, it's a promo stop for tourists to hopefully buy stuff. We bought two silk bed pillows and like them, actually ! It was just my wife and I on this one, so turned out to be a private tour.
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