Is it compulsory that I have a tour guide while travelling in China?

I lived in China for seven years and traveled all over without a guide and my Chinese was not that good so I had to rely on English. There are plenty of good travel books available that will give you a good start and there will usually be someone that speaks English . Most tourist sites have English signs.Sometimes you may get lost but that is half the fun. For example I went cross country by train and bus from Beijing to Kashgar in Xinjiang on my own over a period of three weeks. I had a great time and met a lot of wonderful people that I would have never met on a tour.

I found that most Chinese guides are more interested in taking you shopping then seeing the sites They usually get a kickback from stores. Although some can be very good a lot do not know what they are talking about so it is hit and miss. If you want most cities have bus tours but again shopping stops will be a pain. It is also relatively inexpensive to hire a car and driver to take you around and you can share costs if several people are traveling together,

The real way to see China is to get out and explore sitting on a bus with a lot of other tourists seems to separate you from the real life and excitement and can be very boring. If you have to use a guide then go to the Youth hostels to find good guides and other travelers to share with

Note Chinese regulations require that you must be on a tour to visit Tibet but this is the only place that has such a restriction.

It is not compulsory to find a tour guide. You can find more info. at http://lvpad.com/ to do self-helping traveling. The website provides different infomation about China's tourism attractions. Hope you can find useful information. GOOD LUCK!

If you know well about China and can speak Chinese, you can travel by yourself, there is no need to have a travel guide.

Otherwise, you need a tour guide to heip you.

If you have any other question, you can just simply browse the folloeing web and ask.

There are more an more foreigner travel in China.To have self-guided tour,I think it's more fun.You can book the hotel firstly.And them ask them some traffic information if you have some problem.Hope it can help you.

More China Hotel:http://www.china-discount-hotels.com/

It is not required but I would recommend it. It will be a great help with the language barrier, the guide can likely barter better deals for you for cab fare, purchases, etc. and you will be able to get around easier.

I do not know of any, but I am sure once you arrive the hotel can refer you to one.

to have a local English guide is a must. I went to China last year with a local guide who speak English very well and tole me a lot of story. it made my trip pleasant. you can find the info you need from http://lvpad.com/tourpackage/

To find tour guides and reviews check www.synotrip.com