I have read all the downside arguments about going on an organized tour so wondering how is the best way to go about setting up a private tour. Does anyone have any good contacts in PEK, Xian, SH, HK??
There will be a group of 5 friends wondering aimlessly across China for the first time(although we do have one in the group who can speak Manderin and has been there before).
We bought a multi city air ticket off of Expedia for $200 each. PEK-XIA-HKG-PNG. We booked our hotels in the centre of each city using online sites like booking.com, hotel websites directly, agoda, etc. Now we need aiport transfers and a good guide in each city to show us the highlights.
Itinerary:
APR 30-MAY 4 PEK
MAY 4 - 7 XIAN
MAY 7-10 HKG
MAY 10-17 SHA

What do the experts recommend? We're interested in the history, good restaurants, fun nightlife spots. Oh and good markets for clothes/shoes.

cheers^