> You could try the grand-daddy of tour groups in China - CITS.
I'm afraid of all the Chinese tour companies that will rip you off hand over fist and take you for every penny you have (and that is all of them, with minor exceptions), this is indeed the one with the longest and most comprehensive history of corrupt behaviour. It should be your very last choice, although chances are if you book with some non-specialist foreign brand-name company it will actually be CITS making the arrangements on the ground. In which case better hope you have an experienced foreign tour manager with you all the way.
>If you don't need a tour 100% of the time, you can also try emailing the hotels for more info.
You could. But the chances of getting any useful reply, or in most cases any reply at all, are extremely slender.
If you usually travel independently then there's no reason to behave any differently in China. But if you usually travel with a tour group, then you need to exercise considerable caution, as the benefits you usually assume you'll get from tour companies (reduced prices due to their buying power, reliable information from well-trained guides, maximum exposure to the most interesting places with minimum inconvenience, fewer hassles all round) are not commonly benefits of using tour companies in China.
You can get around China quite easily with a decent guidebook, a bit of advice from here and elsewhere on-line, the odd day tour (sometimes good value and convenient), and the occasional use of intermediaries to book tickets for you. If in the possession of a little common sense there's no need to be in possession of Mandarin.
If you simply must take a tour, then in addition to your usual requirements on typical ages, group size, destinations, quality of hotels, arty itinerary or not, etc. you should be asking each company you consider what their tipping policy is (and if they tell you so much per day for guide and so much for driver, look elsewhere, or at the very least add this extortion to the tour price to find the total sum due--there's no tipping in China); and how many shopping stops there will be (these are the bane of organised tours in China, and if you are foolish enough to shop or take your guide's advice on price you'll pay several multiples of what you need to for the same item when off the tour and without the guide).
Peter N-H
China