Highly Recommended - Read about Pingyao in the 1843 Magazine; and immediately set my heart on it. After reading some reviews on Tripadvisor, I emailed Jonathan of Red Plum Travel who arranged everything for us- including roundtrip tickets from Xi'An to Pingyao, and the pick-up and drop-off at the train stations (Xi'An and Pingyao). At Pingyao itself, Jonathan took us around by foot and introduced the city where he grew up in. Lunch and light snacks were included in our package. Everything was organized very well; and I'm very happy to have visited Pingyao with Red Plum Travel.

Brilliant tour with Johnathan. - Wow- we were so lucky we managed to get Johnathan at the last minute as we were initially undecided whether to get one or not. We were so thrilled as not only did Johnathan speak excellent English, he was incredibly informative with vast knowledge of the history and buildings of Pingyao. It was the best tour we did in China and thanks to Johanthan who gave us in-depth knowledge of a very ancient city. Would highly recommend Johnathan. Many thanks

The fascinating ancient city of Pingyao - My wife and I booked this three-hour private walking tour of Pingyao highlights through Viator. Our guide was Jonathan Zhang, who proved to be excellent. Knowledgeable, interesting, helpful, Jonathan made this tour something special. Pingyao has an interesting history, which Jonathan explained to us. Inside the city walls, which are, unusually for historic Chinese cities, complete. From the walls we could see over the rooftops of the ancient city, which is composed almost entirely of traditional courtyard houses (in addition to the busy main streets of shops and restaurants). We visited a number of temples -- Confucian, Taoist, Buddhist -- the museum of the first commercial bank in China. Yes, banking in China was started in Pingyao by the owner of a cloth-dyeing works who discovered that banking was more profitable than dyeing. Long before banking started (in the 19th century), Pingyao was the HQ of a company that specialised in the secure transport of silver bullion around China, defended by men trained in Kung Fu. There's lots to see in ancient Pingyao -- the modern city outside the walls is nothing to write home about -- and this would occupy a day or so. If you choose to visit Pingyao, try to book Jonathan Zhang of Red Plum Travel (which you can do through TripAdvisor). He is excellent!

Visit Pingayo with China Highlights - Can't say enough of this lovely town. As usual, China Highlights assigned us a superb tour guide, Verena, who spoke excellent English and knew the city super well, since she grew up there. We stayed at Jing's Residence, a boutique hotel that is a must if you are spending the night there. Our experience in Pingyao could not have been better!

Superb tour through the city of Pingyao - Jonathan introduced us to Verena as a guide in Pingyao. Verena was able to answer all kinds of questions and read every wish from our lips. She has the city, temples, kung-fu schools and was able to explain the life of the inhabitants wonderfully. Verena's English was excellent. Rating: Historical Knowledge: ***** Perfect Language: ***** Perfect Tour: ***** Perfect Verena: A super nice and pleasant woman ******

Highly recommended! - We contacted Jonathan for our 1-day tour in Pingyao. Since the first emails, Jonathan has been really accommodating to satisfying our requests. We met him at the hotel, and he guided us throughout the city's ancient streets, palaces, and temples. Specifically, we visited the following (from 8AM-3PM): 1. Rishengchang bank 2. Ming and Qqing street 3. Armed escort agency 4. City wall 5. Confucius temple 6. City God temple He followed 'our pace' and demonstrated to be attentive to every specific need we advanced (e.g. finding gifts for friends and parents). We really enjoyed our time with Jonathan- it was like we have known him forever. We highly recommend Jonathan for your tours in Pingyao!! With him, you will get the best out of your visit.