Looking for a tourist concierge in China?
Most people searching for a concierge in China actually want one of three different things, and they cost very different amounts. Working out which one you need saves money — sometimes all of it, because for some problems the right answer is a free hotline and I'll say so.
Need us to make the call?
Emergency Rescue — $59. One stuck call, made in Chinese, reported back to you in English.
Pay $59 with PayPalNot sure it fits what you need? Message me on WeChat 13368344745 first and describe the problem. I'll tell you honestly if I can help.
The three things people mean by “concierge in China”
- 1. A full trip concierge. Builds your itinerary, books hotels, trains and restaurants, arranges guides and drivers. Expect hundreds of dollars a day, and the good ones are booked weeks ahead. If that's what you want, you want a travel designer, not me.
- 2. A local assistant, by the hour or by the task. A person who runs errands with you or for you — queue a ticket counter, sit with you at a clinic, meet a courier. Priced per hour or per half-day, and usually limited to the city they live in.
- 3. A phone-based fixer — this is what I am. Nothing in advance, nobody standing next to you. You have a problem that needs a Mandarin phone call now: the booking that vanished, the refund stuck at “processing”, the parcel held for a wrong address. One call, $59, reported back in English.
- And if a free option solves your problem — 12345 in Beijing and Shanghai, your hotel front desk, your own embassy — I'll tell you to use it and not take your money.
What I don't do
- I don't plan trips or book itineraries. No day tours, no route planning, no hotel shopping, no guides or drivers.
- I'm not with you in person. I'm on the phone. That's the whole service, and it's why it costs $59 instead of $500 a day.
- I'm not an interpreter for a meeting. I don't join your calls and I don't sit in your negotiations. If you need someone in the room, hire a local assistant.
- One problem at a time. A three-call pack is $99. I don't run a standing retainer or take a percentage of anything.
How it works
- Ask me the free question first: message me on WeChat with the problem, and I'll tell you whether a concierge is what you need at all.
- If it's a phone problem, I take the details — names, numbers, booking references, Chinese characters if you have them — and make the call in Mandarin.
- You get the outcome in English: what was said, who said it, what it cost or didn't, and who to contact next if it isn't finished.
Questions people ask before paying
A tourist concierge in China is a person or company that handles the Chinese-language and logistics side of a trip — itineraries, bookings, phone calls and transport. Full concierge services charge by the day and are usually booked in advance. China On-Call is a narrower and much cheaper version: one person, one phone call, one problem, $59.
Full trip-concierge services are priced per day, typically in the hundreds of dollars, often with a multi-day minimum. Hourly local assistants are usually charged by the half-day. For a single stuck phone call, China On-Call charges a flat $59, or $99 for three calls.
Often not. Your hotel front desk, 12345 in Beijing and Shanghai, and a translation app cover most everyday problems for free. A paid service earns its money on the calls you can't make yourself: a refund stuck with an airline, a hotel that says your booking doesn't exist, a lost passport, a hospital department that only answers in Mandarin.
Partly. The Pre-Trip Audit is $49: I call your hotel, your airline and your bank in Mandarin to confirm the things that usually break — foreign-guest registration, whether your card is accepted, transfer arrangements. It can be credited against a later call.
No. I only do phone calls. If you want someone with you in the city, you want a local assistant or a guide, and I'd rather point you there than take your money for something I don't do.
For an emergency, call the emergency numbers first: police 110, ambulance 120, fire 119, traffic accident 122 — free from any phone in China, no SIM needed. For everything after an emergency — the embassy and exit-entry paperwork, the insurance report, rebooking a flight, a hotel that won't release a deposit — China On-Call is reachable on WeChat during Beijing time 09:00–01:00 and charges $59 a call. I am not an emergency service and I can't dispatch anyone.
Send me the details and I'll make the call
WeChat 13368344745 — tell me what's stuck and I'll confirm what I need to fix it.
Pay $59 with PayPalRelated
- Call a hotel in China in English
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