Free Walking Tours through Imperial Beijing

This is a must do walking tour. Roy Li was absolutely fantastic. So knowledgeable, entertaining and gave great recommendations. We are so glad we booked this tour around the hutongs!

Roy is an incredible guide! He has been the best I’ve ever met. Thanks to him, we learnt everything about the hutong: history, culture, architecture… he also explained some other curiosities, always eager and with a smile. After the tour, he even sent us some recommendations for food, drinks, places… Hope to see you soon, Roy, thank you!

Don’t hesitate to book a tour with Roy Li. Really interesting and fun!

Thanks very much to Roy Li for this wonderful tour! We had a great time and really learned a lot!

Did the Beijing Imperial City Free Walking Tour with Roy and it turned out to be one of the most authentic experiences in the city. Roy is an excellent storyteller and brings the history of Beijing to life in a very engaging way. Walking through Nanluoguxiang and the surrounding hutongs didn’t feel like a typical tour — it felt like discovering hidden layers of the city with someone who truly understands it. What stood out most was how Roy explained the evolution of hutongs, from imperial times to modern-day contrasts. Visiting places like Houhai Lake and the historic alleys around it gave a real sense of local life beyond the usual tourist spots. He also shared fascinating stories about former residences, emperors, and everyday life in these neighborhoods, making each stop meaningful rather than just a photo point. The pace was comfortable, and he managed the group very well. This tour is perfect if you want to experience a more real, less touristy side of Beijing. Roy makes it insightful, enjoyable, and easy to follow throughout. For a deeper look at this experience, you can also check my YouTube channel travelwithshreya where I’ve shared more from this trip.

Roy is very knowledgeable and shares interesting facts and info during his tours. Highly recommended

Very nice walking tour. Roy is engaging and friendly and gave us plenty of good information. Recommend his tour.

Absolutely recommended tour - Roy really helps you understand Chinese history and society, in a way wouldn’t be able to do on your own. With his explanations, you will be able to appreciate more the things you see. Definitely our highlight in Beijing!

I've had a couple of tours, and roy has been the best guide

I really enjoyed the tour with Roy. He made sure to mix information with humor so it never felt hard to listen. Apart from the sites he made sure to include other interesting facts about China and Chinese culture, so I really feel I learned a lot in just 2 hours.

We came from Canada after receiving warm recommendations from Canadians of Roy’s professional guidance. His tour was inspiring and we would definitely recommend him to other visitors

Roy is absolutely wonderful. He knows so much history about Beijing and China itself. He’s very funny and adds great personality to the tour. His list of places that we visited on the walking tour was a good taste of different neighbours that I visited after my tour as well. Highly recommend his tour if you are in Beijing

Roy Li tour was very interesting, learned a lot about hutongs and culture, good recommendations too, highly recommend

Roy was a great host! He has actually lived in the Hutongs so he knew about them first hand! Very professional and very good at English, a rare sight in Beijing!

Roy speaks really great English and was very clear in his explanations and good with telling stories. You can tell that he is passionate about his work, sharing the history and fun facts, even compiling a list of good food, shopping, massage places, etc. We tried the dumpling restaurant which he recommended and it was truly the best dumplings we’ve had in our whole trip (we have also tried dumplings from other restaurants with great recommendations on Da Zhong Dian Ping, but this is still the best)

What an amazing tour! Roy gave us a full immersion into the history of China and Beijing, explaining a lot of details of houses and spots around us that otherwise we would have missed. He kept the tour engaging, dynamic and interesting. Don't miss the chance to go on this tour!

Roy was an outstanding tour guide. He is very knowledgeable. His English is excellent, and he answers questions extremely well. We would give him our highest recommendation.

Roy was very professional and knowledgeable. The tour exceeded our expectations. Would highly recommend!

Highly recommend!!! Roy show gave an great overview about Beijing, people's daily live. He guide as through a local neighborhood and showed us interesting details and stories. Thank you very much!

Es war interessant zu erfahren wie die Leute hier gelebt haben und es z. T. Auch immer noch tun. :) Roy Li spricht sehr gutes Englisch und steht zu dem was er sagt.

Very insightful and a great guide who was so friendly!

Muy buena experiencia. Muy bueno que el guia sea chino realmente. Muy buenas historias y muy entretenido

Roy è stato una guida molto professionale, simpatica e competente. Fortemente consigliato.

Roy Li’s tour was such a blast! His explanations were excellent and entertaining as he involved constantly people. He shared many of his personal experiences as well which complemented the entire tour. Loved him!

Thanks to Roy we got an amazing introduction to Chinese culture and the Hutongs. It was a very authentic area with no other tourists and Roy was so passionate and lovely. He was very informative, funny, and patient with answering all our questions. He also gave us lots of recommnendations for our time in Beijing. This is the perfect tour to do when visiting Beijing - I cannot recommend it enough!