Miao mountains should be delisted as a mountain walking tour. There is very little history there except as a ming dynasty military outpost, a huge fake Taoist monastery without any monks etc. But I must say it was great for trekking up valleys and some breathtaking views. A great day just being out there in the wild of sorts.

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.

We had an amazing day with Jonathan of Red Plum Tour. Jonathan is a very pleasant and experienced tour guide who spoke fluent English and gave us enriching insights into Pingyao's history and culture from a local's perspective. He also recommended some delicious Pingyao dishes for lunch and he was great company. Highly recommended tour guide.

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

We have been picked up in the morning at our Hotel at Pingyao and transfered by private bus to mian mountain. The perfect english speaking guide Jonathan organised everything and gave explanations for all the location visited. Tour included also an outstanding lunch at local restaurant with excellent food and great views. Individual wishes have been recognised and met. At early evening we returned back to Hotel - fully satisfied =) We highly recommend this tour with Jonathan! It is a must see if you are at Pingyao and together with Jonathan it will be an outstanding experience.

Very friendly, competent and knowledgeable tour guide! Thank you very much for the nice tour! Thanks for the tip with Alipay, it works now also for tourists.

. We arranged one day tour in Pingyao via mail with Jonathan who was very informative, helpful and quick to response. The company driver met us at the train station and took us to our hotel. Next morning we met our guide, Verena who spoke very good English and was very knowledgeable about all the places we had visited. The car which they provided, was very clean and comfortable. We enjoyed our tour very much and we highly recommend the company.

We spent a couple of days in Pingyao on our 3 weeks trip in china, because we wanted to visit the Mian Mountain. We scheduled the visit with Jonathan, the owner of Red Plum Travel. As the mountain is huge with many spots to visit he has been very helpful proposing a couple of circuits to choose. Finally our guide was Verena that came with a beautiful VAN with driver to pick us (we were 5) at our hotel in Pingyao. Verena managed to get the car inside the scenic area, what saved us much time from using the public bus to move between the spots. What to say about the visit? Views are breathtaking and Verena knew a lot of history from every single site. We visited Taoist and Buddhist temples, but also amazing nature spots. Verena also arranged a wonderful lunch for us in one of the hotels inside the mountain. They gave us all the time we needed on any of the atracttions with no rush, so we enjoyed them as much as we wanted. I will highly recommend to hire their services for whatever activity in the area.

Just returned from a 15 day trip to China with my family. Jonathan, the owner of Pingyao Travel Guide.com organized an outstanding tour and transfers for our visit to Pingyao. He promptly responded to all emails and answered all questions and concerns. All drivers were waiting for us as promised and all transfers were professional. Jonathan personally provided us with a guided tour of Mianshan Mountain. It was the highlight of our trip to China. He speaks perfect English and was completely trustworthy, responsible and honest. I highly recommend using Jonathan of Pingayo Travel Guide for all of your travel needs in the Pingyao region.

We just ended an extensive ten-day tour all over Shanxi (and little more until Luoyang) with Jonathan. We highly recommend him as a guide. Starting from the initial planning phase many months ago to build the route. Answers all our questions and also offers suggestions for hotels and sites to visit. During the trip himself Jonathan has a great deal of knowledge about the local culture. Also open to all our change but also initiates proposals for real-time changes. Highly, Highly recommended

Our excellent guide, Jonathan Zhang, accompanied us in a car he'd organised to the Mian Mountain area. It's an area he knows well and visits often, so he can explain the amazing Taoist and Buddhist Temples, some built into the cliffs in this stunning mountain area. This is one of those "must visit" parts of China and a good guide really makes the visit meaningful and helps the best use of time. The mountain range rises abruptly from the surrounding plain and the views from high up are breath-taking. Definitely worth a visit if you are staying in Pingyao or other nearby cities. If you can get Jonathan as your guide that will be a real bonus.

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!

We had a wonderful trip around Shanxi province visiting sites that were of particular interest to us. Jonathan met us at 0600 on our arrival in Datong, off the sleeper train from Beijing, and delivered us to a local hotel where we had breakfast. At the appointed time we were picked up for a tour of the Hanging Monastery and Yungang Grottoes, before being transferred to our hotel in Pingyao that evening. The following morning we did a day tour that included Mian Shan and Zhangbi Ancient Castle. Another absolutely fabulous day. Our time with Jonathan concluded with a half day walking tour around Pingyao Ancient Town and the Town Walls. All in all a very memorable time in Shanxi thanks to Jonathan's passion and knowledge of the area.

We did a day and half of Pingyao Tour with Jonathan which included the visit to the old town, Wang’s compound, and Shaunglin Temple. From we were picked up in Pingyao train station until we were dropped off in the station in the next day, Jonathan arranged everything perfectly. Jonathan has very good English and also very patient to answer all of our questions. The car was very clean and his driver drove carefully. Even when my son left his pillow neck in our hotel in Pingyao, Jonathan called the hotel and arranged how the pillow delivered back to us before we were dropped off in the train station. I would recommend to engage Jonathan if you visit Pingyao!

Jonathan was very helpful since the beginning, answering to all my emails very quickly and always adding extra and very helpful information. We hired a Chinese driver for 2 days trip, 1-day to visit the Datong Hanging (Xuankong) Monastery, Yungang Grottoes a temple in Datong and nine dragon’s wall. When we need an extra help we call to Jonathan and he helps us right away. The other trip, was to visit Mian Shan mountan from Pingyao and this is an amazing place to visit. Do not hesitate to hire Jonathan services, since without any doubt he’ll find a trip that will adapt to your needs.