travel to China with 2 kids and a senior

It has been a decade since I was there, but at that point, I would not have wanted to be without a guide anywhere outside of the major tourist centers; English was not widely enough spoken and in some areas even Mandarin wasn't helpful. It was critical to have a guide who had local connections. That may have shifted in recent years, though. We used a private guide recommended by friends and that was terrific, but at the time I was traveling with several 20-somethings, so we did not have the kid or grandma constraints and were a little more flexible with transportation and lodging snafus (and there were plenty of both, even with careful research and planning). If you can find a smaller family-friendly group tour, that might be a good option. (We did periodically encounter the large buses stopping at the "tourist centers" and I would not have wanted to see China that way.) Hong Kong is much easier to navigate as an English-speaker, and has a large expat community. I'd feel confident spending time there without a guide or group (and in fact you might enjoy it more being able to schedule your own time). 

We visited many years ago and have family ties.  I personally wouldn't consider traveling in China unless I was with someone who spoke excellent Mandarin, knew the areas we were visiting, and who is very familiar with Chinese cultural norms and bureaucracy.  China has modernized considerably but visiting there is not like visiting Europe.  I'd strongly suggest you go with a guided tour and not try to make your own arrangements, there are too many things that can go wrong, and it will probably wind up costing a lot more than you think it will.  With 2 kids and a grandmother in tow, you only have to negotiate with the tour leader, plus other tour members can make it much more enjoyable.  And yes, they'll take you to stores, but probably a private guide will, too.  Personally, I'd add a boat ride down Guilin to your itinerary, and I thought Hong Kong was like New York without the cultural amenities and local color. Enjoy!

A complicated, multi-faceted question that deserves a conversation with a travel advisor rather than an answer typed into a little box on the BPN forum... but let me try to unpack your questions as best I can.

1. Be aware that you'll have to apply for Visas to visit China. It's a complicated form to fill out. You'll have to plan ahead to have these in place, already knowing your dates, etc., before you apply.

2. Do you have a budget in mind?

This will determine whether you can afford private guides vs. being part of a tour group.

3. Group Tour vs. Private Tour:

A group tour costs less, as you'll be splitting the cost of transfers and tour guides among a large group, but it comes with distinct disadvantages:

• You'll tour at the pace of the slowest member of the group (i.e., have to wait for the late stragglers to get back to the bus)
• It's a pre-determined program. You won't be able to spend more time at a place if you like ... or leave early to spend more time elsewhere.
• You will spend time in souvenir shops. In fact, tour guides make most of their income off commissions from such sales.

A private tour costs more, but it has distinct advantages:

• You will visit exactly what you want to visit. You can even change your mind and alter the itinerary in the middle of the day.
• Your guide is there just for you, and you'll go at your own pace.
• You can absolutely tell the guide you're not interested in souvenir shopping.

Disadvantage: it will cost more.

4. Procuring a private guide. I wouldn't wait "until you get to each city" as the best English-speaking guides will already have been hired.

5. Hotels vs. AirBNB

Don't even think about AirBNB in China, if they even exist. You'll want to be well-located in each place you visit, and you'll want western comforts.

6. The Great Wall is an iconic attraction, and it's a thrill to walk on it. Most group tours will take you to the closest section to Beijing, and you'll be there with thousands of other tourists, especially if you go on the weekend. It will feel like a mob scene. Take a look at my blog article showing the difference — https://tinyurl.com/y9vuwt6a

7. The Terracotta Warriors are a great reason to visit Xi'an ... as is the Underground Museum.

8. I'd skip a river cruise on the Yangtze. Why? You're spending three days floating down a muddy river on a boat ... instead of spending those three days exploring. Better alternative: a morning spent on a bamboo raft on the Li River near Guilin. Gorgeous scenery — https://tinyurl.com/ycc4ry4n

- Local travel agent

We’ve been living I Hong Kong for the past 28 months. My advice is you wouldn’t want to spend more than 3-4 days there. Look for a hotel with a pool.  It’s very hot in the summer. Enjoy! 

Laura

Please don’t plan this trip on your own. I was just there, and it was one of the more difficult places I’ve visited for a few reasons. First, it’s become a cashless society, at least in Beijing, and I don’t mean credit cards. Everything is done by QR codes via WeChat. My husband got yelled at by a convenience store clerk because he wanted to buy water and pay cash and she was mad at him because she didn’t have proper change. I overheard another guest at our hotel telling her host that she couldn’t pay at the grocery store with her credit card. Nobody speaks English, even around the major universities. Your access to information is throttled. You must make sure you have phone service that covers you in China, though it may be very slow depending on what you’re looking up or trying to use, while it is fast for locals. We use T-Mobile because we don’t have to swap SIM cards when we travel. Google doesn’t work there so well. My husband and I could get google maps to work half the time, which astounded our local contacts that it would work at all; hypothesis is the govt could tell that our phones were foreign. For transportation, you need to set up Didi before you go on your phone (Uber equivalent). I’m not saying don’t go! There are many rewarding things to see and do. I’m glad that I went. It’s just not a trip you can wing, like a trip to Japan or Italy. And make sure you do a travel visit with your doctor before you go too. And get extra travel insurance. 

I went to Beijing for 4 days in 2015 and had a private tour guide, Qing (chineseqing_2008 [at] hotmail.com), who began Discover Beijing Tours (https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction).  We could not have been happier with the price (including a private car) and with Qing.  Thanks to Qing, we were able to see all the standard things, but also things that other tourists wouldn't see.  And, she took us to local restaurants (including street carts at our request) where we were able to try true local fare.  At the time, they organized tours in other cities as well, though I'm not sure of the extent.  I highly recommend contacting Qing to see if she can help.