The price grid
| Language | Per day (8 hours) | 11+ days | 21+ days |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | ¥990 | ¥792 | ¥594 |
| Spanish, French, Japanese, Korean, German, Italian, Russian, Portuguese | ¥1,590 | ¥1,272 | ¥954 |
| Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian | ¥1,590 | ¥1,272 | ¥954 |
| Arabic and rarer languages | ¥2,290 | ¥1,832 | ¥1,374 |
What is included
- Eight hours of guiding per day, on foot and on public transport.
- The guide’s own transport costs during the day.
- The guide’s meal allowance.
- Planning, restaurant booking, ticket procurement, translation.
- Business interpreting at no surcharge — this is unusual and genuinely useful.
What is not included
- Your attraction tickets and the guide’s (¥120–300 per site for two).
- A car and driver — that is a separate line, from ¥980 per day.
- Meals for you and, by convention, the guide joins you and you cover it.
- Overtime beyond eight hours: 20% of the daily rate per hour.
- Airport transfers outside the guiding day.
When a guide is worth it
- First two days in a new country, when the friction is highest.
- Any city where the sites run on timed real-name reservations.
- Food-focused days — ordering and navigating a menu is where a guide pays for themselves twice over.
- Business trips where interpreting is needed.
- Travelling with children or older relatives, where pacing matters.
When it is not
A city you know, a single museum, a beach, or a trip built around hiking. Also: if your budget only works without a guide, travel without one. A stressed traveller with a guide is worse than a relaxed traveller without.
The honest economics: on a 10-day trip, five days of English guiding is ¥4,950 — roughly the cost of a mid-range hotel for the same period. Most guests who book five days say afterwards that they wish they had booked more, and almost none say they wished they had booked fewer.
Frequently asked
How much does an English-speaking guide cost in China?+
¥990 per day for eight hours, including the guide’s transport and meal allowance. ¥792/day for 11+ days.
Is a guide per person or per group?+
Per group. One guide can handle a family or a small group; pricing does not multiply per head.
Do guides in China speak good English?+
Our English guides are local-born and have interpreted for foreign guests for years. They are not licensed tour guides in the European sense — they are locals who explain their own city.
Can the guide book tickets for us?+
Yes, including timed-entry reservations that require a Chinese payment method or a local phone number.