Absolutely the key point. And trying to develop a schedule that's planned to the last minute will usually end in tears. All that's required for independent travel is just a little flexibility.

Unfortunately to have strong historical knowledge of China you need to be born outside the country, and while a confident well-spoken guide can easily give those with little knowledge of China the appearance of presenting comprehensive and accurate information, this is never true. The tourism industry has always been part (along with the education system and media control) of the overall propaganda effort, which means that alternative opinions or accounts are never given or discussed, but only the official view as provided by the Party to its greater glory and that of China as a whole (and which rarely has even the faintest relationship to the truth if there's any political angle at all). National pride no doubt also plays a role in the willingness to add a lot of colour (and longevity, and invention) to accounts, plus an unwillingness to say, "I don't know," rather than to provide a pleasing answer. Guide training (required of officially licensed guides) is all about reinforcing what messages need to be given to foreigners, and nothing you'll hear from a guide is remotely as authoritative as carefully selected printed materials brought from home.

If you are going to have a guide, confident presentation is indeed a plus, however, as there are plenty of 'guides' in China without the faintest clue about their immediate surroundings, let alone even sketchy history or any larger questions.

Peter N-H