China Travel Forum

[Pollu]

We are planning the first trip abroad for my parents to Beijing this summer. My brother and I will accompany them because they can't speak any english or chinese. So we are a family group of 4. We have low budget, will spend there about a week and try to explore Beijing only. Could you guys please tell me:
- Can English help to communicate in Beijing?
- Is it a good time to visit Beijing in summer (June-July)
- Should we buy an tailored tour or we can travel around ourselves easily? Can you suggest any trustable tourist company? We prefer visiting historical monuments rather than shopping for unused stuff.

Ok that's for now, thank you very much for any advice. I'll search and would like to ask you further later o

[Carl Tian]

Summer is not the best time for Beijing. It's too hot (often up to 40 degrees celsius) and it's a peak travel time for Chinese tourists so the tourist destinations are very crowded. If you have a choice between June and July, definitely choose June (most schools don't finish until early July).
I think if you book your accommodation ahead of time, there is no need to buy a tailored tour. Most hotels offer day trips to the Great Wall, Summer Palace, Forbidden City etc if you decide you want a tour guide. However, with a family of 4 it would be much more economical to simply take taxis to the places of interest and walk around yourself. The tourist attractions in Beijing are well developed and many have tape recordings with information about the historical places to listen to (in several different language.)