Originally Posted by worldiswide

actually the panda place isn't so remote and it is well on the beaten tourist path. About 10 years ago We hired a taxi from our hotel, he drove and waited for us, and drove us back to the city center. We were concerned on how would find the taxi, we had the taxi number, but the truth is we stood out from the crowd and the taxi driver was on the lookout. I echo the sentiments here on not needing a guide.
We hired a guide for our first trip to China 15 years ago with our teenage children when tourism was still sort of new and they were very poor and their English wasn't great or their knowledge level was low. We have been back a dozen or more times and found navigating on our own to be easy fun and add to the adventure. The only other time we hired a guide was when we had a party of 7 including older parents for 2 days in Nanjing with a full itinerary so it was useful. So basically assess your situation. Big cities, no need, smaller cities, short time frame or large groups maybe. Don't expect creativity or originality from the guide