My information is slightly more recent than naharragt's but still might be out of date. In 2000, my wife and I arranged a three-week trip to China. I did much Internet research and came across a wonderful woman named Rachel Chin at www.chinahighlights.com. I told her what we wanted to do (Beijing, Xian, cruise down the Yangtze) and she arranged for a car, driver, and interpreter/guide to meet us at the airport in each place, got us our plane tickets, hotel rooms, and handled everything for far less than we would have been charged elsewhere. She also recommended we visit her hometown of Guilin, which we did (and are so thankful we did, because it is stunning). Don't know if she's still there, but her business card (mind you it's from 2000) featured the following two e-mail addresses: [email protected] and [email protected]. Another e-mail I have for her is [email protected]. I haven't corresponded with her in five years, so try contacting her but don't expect much. Still, the chinahighlights.com website is up and active (I just checked) so you might have success with another of their managers.

Anyway, the trip was remarkable, and the guides were able to either take us to the mainstay places or customize on the spot. For instance, after going to the Wall at Badaling, I was anxious to get to a spot where it was less crowded, so two days later, the driver and guide took us to Mutianyu, about two hours away from Beijing, where we could have conceived a child on the Wall if we had been so inclined it was so empty.

One negative: part of the deal she arranged was lunch when we were on trips, and we ended up sometimes eating alone in large restaurants designed for foreign travelers, when we would have much preferred eating in local restaurants or from street or market vendors. Toward the end, we simply told the drivers not to bring us to the designated places, even though it was paid for, so we could fend for ourselves, and had some of our most memorable meals ever.

Hope this information helps.