Thank you very much to chef Chao for the wonderful and hospitable collaboration lasting 8 days exclusively! I feel great awe and gratitude that I met a remarkable chef like Chao and had the honor of passing on his incredible knowledge to me and educating me in the unique Chinese cuisine!!!!!!

The reviews for this tour were full of how the guide told local stories and gave interesting information. Unfortunately we had a stand in guide who didn’t do this at all. The areas she took us to, she left us to walk around by ourselves, whilst she stayed with the bikes. So no information was given. The tour was supposed to be three hours but we finished after two. Due to the national holiday the road to Tiananmen Square was shut and she didn’t know what else to do with us so she just took us back to the start and seemed relieved to end it there. Since then we took a different bike tour which was full of interesting information about the area and realised all the things she COULD have told us about. If you book this tour, it might be advisable to check you are getting an experienced guide. I’m sure it could be very good with the right person.

Very passionate cook. He told us a lot about chinese cuisine. While on the market he showed us some ingredients which are not related to the cooked dinner.

Great experience, I had such an amazing time with Julia getting to know a bit of the city and the luch was incredible! 100% recommended

The cooking tour with Chao was amazing. These were some of the best dumplings that I have ever had. The other couple on the tour are foodies and said the same thing. It was challenging to make the dumplings look pretty but they still tasted great either way and it was a fun experience. I also loved exploring the market beforehand to get food for cooking. You should buy a bunch of local fruit and be willing to try more adventurous things like durian and the different types of persimmon.

This cooking class was fun! We met several people from other countries and had a wonderful time learning a new dish that we would not have learned any where else.

We had a scheduled 3day stay in Beijing as part of our China tour.due to the above circumstances our great guide dean helped us through the situation!though many sites were shut he still managed to keep us going with open spaces and local knowledge.he spoke excellent English and had a great sense of humour.his local knowledge and ‘can do’attitude made our stay quite memorable in many ways!we would definitely specify him as guide when we go back tho finish our trip(when the virus is under control and it is safe to do so).he was invaluable in re-booking our flights home at the air China office.ps their website is awful-and I told them so when we had our tickets!

I had a lot of fun on this tour. First we went to the market which was an indoor market. This is great because it was freezing outside. The market is an ordinary market in Beijing but it was very interesting to observe as a foreigner. We got our ingredients and headed back to the house. We spent hours cooking Beer Duck, Gong Bao Chicken, Mapo Doufu and stir fried green beans. Chao, the guide and instructor, helped me every step of the way and took many pictures for me. Chao had offered to let me choose the menu and I chose this one over the dumpling menu. Chao did most of the work for the Beer Duck because it took over an hour to make but after preparing it, we both worked together on preparing and cooking the other dishes. I enjoyed the whole experience and was satisfied with the meal. They give you recipe cards to take home. I highly recommend this activity solo or in a group!

My wife, two kids (ages 12&14) and I went on this four-hour tour with our guide Dean on 12/26/2019. He picked us up at our hotel, and we took a DiDi to the Bell and Drum Towers. En route, he pointed out many interesting historical and contemporary sites. Despite it being a bit chilly, the Drum Tower was amazing, and we got to see the drummers in action. After, since the rickshaws were unavailable, we biked though the hutong, stopping to see many interesting points we would never have otherwise known about. Finally, we stopped at a personal residence. We learned some basic calligraphy and did a paper cutting activity. Very fun. Then, a home style lunch (best so far on the trip according to my son) and dumpling making! Dean then took us to the subway and walked us through how to get to our hotel and the National Art Museum. He was a superb guide with excellent English and insight. Definitely recommend this outing!

Don’t do it! If we could put zero we would. They never showed up at our hotel to pick us up. We called and they said they would be there right away. An hour later we called again and were told they were not coming because they had forgot to put It done when booked 6 months in advance. Go to Beijinger Kitchen. AMAZING experience.

Excellent!! The tour guide was very friendly and helpful throughout the tour. He gave a lot of useful insights to my family on the history of each site.

Excellent private tour services rendered from Mr. Gary! A very helpful tour guide and provide my family a meaningful trip to Tiananmen, Forbidden City and Temple of Heaven.

I extremely enjoyed this experience. I was picked up on time by my tour guide Dean and received a warm greeting. Dean was very kind and patient with answering all my questions and provided detailed explanations as to what area we were visiting and the history. We ricksaw through the Hutong and got to experience how the locals live in those alleys. We visited a family and learned how to write Chinese characters and make dumplings. I enjoyed learning to make dumplings and as a cook I look forward tj trying it at home. We also visited the Drum Tower and walked the steep stairs to the top. Such a beautiful view from the top. At the end of the tour, Dean provided me with directions to the next place I wanted to visit and walked me to a main area where I could follow the way easily. I would definitely recommend using Dean as your guide. His English is impeccable and he provides great customer service.

I booked this private and customizable tour for myself and my husband. We opted to see the major sites, have lunch, and see some other sites that Dean thought might be interesting. We explained to Dean in the beginning that we are fast tourists and don't need to dwell...just the best of the best would do for us. Dean understood and kept us at a fast pace through the very crowded major sites. He explained the highlights and answered any questions we had. He was very personable and we shared a lot of laughs with him. I would highly suggest this tour and Dean as your tour guide...you won't regret it!!!

Had a great guide called Dean who was very informative and helpful whilst on our tour. Unfortunately Forbidden City is closed on Mondays (which we didn’t realise before hand) but Dean took us to the Lama Temple with the amazing tallest Buddha in the world.