Max Yang

Could not recommend Kim Kim enough, service start to finish was 1st class

It made things so much easier to be met and have our visits organised and explained, when in a foreign country and you don't speak the language it is often difficult to know shown how things work even train stations!

The guides Max arranged were helpful and welcoming, and keen to answer questions and give us a glimpse into life in China as well as just the 'sights'. The mountains in Zhangjajie and Guilin and the incredible Terracotta Warriors also played their parts!

The cooking class in Guilin was fun and the aubergine (eggplant) dish especially tasty, but the spread we had during the dumpling class in Xi'an was the biggest highlight, and the conversation (almost all translated by our guide) was fascinating.

I ran into KimKim while researching our trip to China and thought I'd just send an email to see what happens. Max's prompt, professional, and thoughtful response immediately got my attention. Working closely together, Max pieced together an itinerary that would work for a family of three with various interests and schedules. His honesty and patience sets him apart from the others. He answered every question, was meticulous and never pushy.
During our trip he checked in from time to time to make sure we're in good care, and monitored our guides and drivers on their punctuality and performance. We owe Max a most memorable trip to China.
Locally, our hardworking Beijing guide Dina and Shanghai guide Run led us through thousands of years of history, from palace life in imperial China to trendy style at the Bund. The distance we traveled was short in geography but long in time. With very different personalities and work styles, they taught us to appreciate the old and new China, and what to look ahead.
Thanks to Max, KimKim, Dina, and Run, this was our first visit to China but for sure not the last one!

On the whole, a very nice trip. The guides put a real lot of insight into the places we visited which made the trip extra special and their local knowledge helped us find our way around as well as find some really good places to eat. I especially appreciated Max's efforts in speedily resolving some of the issues we had along the way.

A couple of small things I didn’t like .
1) the train trip from Xi’an to Bejing was too long and would have preferred to have been booked either on the express train or taken a flight.
2) didn’t like being dropped off at the domestic airport or train station 3 hours before our flight.

All of the guides were good but thought Rocky (Beijing) and Kevin(Zhangjiajie) were the 2 standouts for going that bit extra in flexibility and providing extra activities outside of the itinerary which we were interested in. Angela(Beijing) was also a great guide too and gave us a full day of activities.

Lastly, all of the hotels you suggested were fantastic .

We would love to come back one day to see the Li River and visit Shanghai.
I would definitely book again through Kim Kim and would not hesitate in recommending it to any of my friends and family.

Max arranged an excellent trip for us.
We were met as per our itinerary and the boat, hotels and tours were all first class.
I have no hesitation in recommending KimKim and Max to anyone.
We will be using their services again.
Thank you.

As a picky and non-speaking Mandarin traveller, I did spend some time searching for the right guide for our Xian trip.

Fortunately, I found KimKim website by chance.

With some basic itinerary in mind already, I emailed KimKim my inquiry to which Max promptly replied within 24 hours. Right after, Max arranged for Eric, our designated local Xian guide, to touch base with me.

Although using the KimKim app was sufficient, I would definitely recommend using the WeChat app as well, which I used more frequently to communicate with both Max and Eric.

We took the bullet train (about 4.5hrs ride) from Chengdu to Xian. When we got to the Xian train station, we were immediately greeted by Eric (who I must mention is friendly, knowledgeable, accommodating and very fluent in English) at the arrival hall.

With only 2 days to explore Xian, we kept our itinerary as simple and flexible as possible. We managed to visit the Muslim Quarters, the historic Great Mosque and the very impressive Terracotta Warrior museum.

A nice bonus while in Xian was that it snowed on our way to the Terracotta Warrior museum on our second day of visit. Most of the city was covered in snow by the time we left the site! The downside from this though was that we had to cancel our visit to the City Wall. The cold weather had become too much for my daughter to do another outside excursion. Admittedly, I was pleasantly surprised when Eric refunded me (the City Wall tickets) immediately even with the last-minute cancellation.

Also, I was incredibly impressed when Eric and our designated driver were able to get us to the seafood restaurant (my daughter and I had been dying to go to!) in the nick of time even though we were delayed by traffic.

BIG thank you to Max, Eric and the driver for their outstanding service and for making our brief Xian trip fun and memorable!

Max, the local specialist, did an outstanding job planning our two week tour through China. We moved around alot during the two weeks (planes, trains, boats, etc) and everything went smoothly. We were always met by local tour guides who ALL did a fantastic job showing us around China. Max put together a fantastic itinerary and even called us in China to make sure everything was going well. We will definately use KimKim again for future travels. (This will be our second trip using KimKim - my family visited Iceland in the summer of 2017). Iceland trip was outsanding too.

We had 20 days in China booked but no time to plan the actual trip so we asked Max from kimkim to choose and book the whole trip for us. We mentions that we are fit and like to walk and want to spend extra time on the Great Wall of China and that we like to experience local activities. Max organised a most amazing tour around China for us, starting in Beijing and ending in Shanghai - exactly to our wishes and needs. The visiting to the Great Wall of China was amazing, we walked in a secluded are where there are no other tourists - just us and our guide. It was truly spectacular. At every step we had a local private tour guide who was fun to spend time with and very knowledgeable. Every time we mentioned something that we had seen (for example specific street food we had seen on YouTube and wanted to try) they made sure we got to try it.
The trip was varied, interesting and action packed.
We had a super fantastic trip in China thanks to Max and will definitely go back again :)
Cheers
Mira

This was an amazing first trip to China for our family. KimKim, Max, and our local guides really took the heavy lifting and stress out of planning our family trip to a destination unfamiliar to us.

Max was quick to respond to our initial enquiry, worked closely with us to build an itinerary tailored to our interests, and stayed in touch with our guides throughout the trip. The itinerary details were clear and well thought-out. A helpful contact list gave us additional guidance on things like tipping.

Our local guides (Candy, Beryl and Marjorie) were exceptional and particularly great with our kids (12, 8 and 5 years old). They were incredibly knowledgeable, passionate, friendly and fun. As well as guiding us through all the sites, they were conscientious to ensure we checked into hotels, and got to the right boarding gates for the train and the plane.

Our time in Beijing and Xi’an took in the top sites including the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the Terracotta Warriors and more, and all lived up to our expectations. However, it was activities at a local level that made this trip extra special: in Beijing visiting local families in the Hutong to make clay model pandas, paint opera masks, and make kites; in Xi’an learning to make dumplings and Biang Biang noodles from Mrs Lee and then eating this as part of a tasty meal in her home.

The food was amazing! We enjoyed long lunches sampling lots of different Chinese food and a delicious Peking Duck dinner in Beijing, organized by Max and our guides.

We have many special memories and lots of photos that we will enjoy for a lifetime!

Thank you so very much!