Originally Posted by
jplee3
I see it - that's $25~ per person though (so it ends up costing close to $100).
The $43 I mentioned was for all four tickets. I ended up booking two different sets - one with Treasure Gallery and one without... I'm not sure if the Treasure Gallery will really be worth the extra price and if we'll even have the time to do that if we have other things we want to see for that day.
BTW: what are your thoughts on doing Forbidden City with just a digital audio guide vs private guide? Obviously nothing is as good as a private guide but are there digital audio guides for Forbidden City that would actually pretty good and engaging for both adults and kids?
I've done both. The audio guides were fine. Tour guides are variable, if you get a good one it can be great, you can tailor your visit to your interests and maybe get answers to your questions. And the tour guides know the best instagram shots if that is of interest. If you were not visiting family at the end of the tour I would suggest the tour guide just so you have more interaction with local people. But you will be fine either way.
The same advice goes for Xian. It really depends on how you want to travel, if you want to have back and forth conversations with a tour guide it can be enlightening, especially for a first time visitor. In Xian just make sure you set the itinerary in advance and tell them exactly what you want to do. If you want to skip gift shops and gimmicky workshops make that very clear. If you prefer largely independent travel then skip the guide.