Thread: Beijing Driver

We had the pleasure of hiring a very good driver for our trip to Mutianyu section of the Great Wall. The drive is about 1 1/2 hrs if you start early enough from the city center (8-8:30am)
Simon Xiao was the right combination of courtesy and aggressive on Beijing's ring roads (6 of them!) highways and city streets. His car is very comfortable (about 6 mos old) and he greeted us at the hotel lobby with an apology for tardiness--hotel made him park his car off to the side of the other entrance.
We were given water bottles and settled into the back seat for an informative drive.
We'd made arrangements with Simon via his website:
Simon service
and his email:
simon.xiao620@gmail.com or simonxqz1973@hotmail.com
He promptly answered our emails.
Simon worked as Concierge at Radisson Beijing. His English is quite good and he asked questions of us, as well as answered ours.
He isn't a certified guide so he can't get free access to walk the wall or tour other sites with you. However, his prices are good. He explained everything we needed to navigate the sites, gave us a simple cell phone to speed dial and tell him we were ready. We had a great experience with him. His charge for the day was 600RMB (about $100) (tolls, gas, parking). I asked him about stopping to get a beer to nurse on the return trip--no problem--no charge.
He's also available to do the city with you--mass transit, food, shopping, etc.
I hope you'll consider him if you need his Simon Service in the future!
Xie xie!

Oops--I forgot--he's been working with KLM crews (mostly for wall trips and shopping--those FAs can SHOP!)