Some guides describe the Forbidden City. Tony has hosted Henry Kissinger's delegation, walked the United States archery team through the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and spent an afternoon on the snow with the CAS-NASA ski team during the 2022 Winter Games. He has been receiving international visitors in Beijing since April 2006, and the CV that follows is a record of what that has actually involved, told through the assignments themselves rather than through adjectives.
Last updated: November 2026
Who is Tony, and where is he based?
Tony (Dong Bin) is a Beijing-based Chinese tour guide and international tour leader who has worked in inbound tourism since 2006, one of the longest-serving guides in our Beijing operation. He grew up in Beijing, studied English, and built his career on the receiving side of Chinese tourism: government delegations, corporate and academic groups, sports teams, media crews and families all passing through the same city.
He is registered as an English-speaking guide and as an international tour leader, and he holds a driving licence. His working languages are Chinese and English, and his English is exam-certified at both CET-4 and CET-6 level, with the written and spoken skills that a bilingual guide needs for a delegation rather than a coach group.
The distinction matters for a client choosing between a sightseeing guide and someone who has to sit through a day of technical questions. Tony's background covers both, and the two are not interchangeable.
What has he actually hosted?
The record is worth reading in order, because it shows a consistent pattern: high-profile guests, tight protocols, and groups who needed someone local who could move at their speed.
In October 2006 he received a delegation led by Henry Kissinger, then former US Secretary of State, on a visit to Beijing. In August 2008 he was invited to host the United States national archery team and took part in the Beijing Summer Olympics throughout. In February 2022 he hosted on behalf of NBC a Beijing Winter Olympics snowboard gold medallist and a Nigerian competitor who had appeared at both a Summer and a Winter Games. In March 2024 he received the president of the Armani Group.
Between 2022 and 2024 he took part in the Zhixing and Oriental Scholarship programmes run by the Peking University International Students Centre. Between 2023 and 2025 he worked with the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism and its overseas cultural exchange centre on the Hello Beijing inbound tourism promotion events, accompanying the bureau's director and the head of its activity department on visits to Turkey and to Nigeria.
Beyond the named guests, his overseas reception work has covered Fortune 500 companies, well-known universities and government-level missions, taking him to more than 30 countries. In 2017 he accompanied the principal of Beijing No.101 High School and a team of distinguished teachers to Yellowstone National Park. In 2018 he accompanied CCTV presenter Zhu Xun and her family on a journey through four Nordic countries and the Arctic.
What is his training?
Tony studied at Beijing Foreign Studies University, completing a three-year programme in 2004, and then took a Bachelor of Arts in Literature at Beijing Forestry University in 2006. He is a trained linguist who moved into tourism, which is a different thing from a career guide who picked up some English along the way.
He is also a bilingual lecturer who can deliver commentary in both Chinese and English, rather than a guide who translates on the spot. That distinction is what makes him usable for the academic and institutional parts of a delegation, where a session may be given in Chinese to a local audience and then in English to the visitors.
What does he do on the ground in Beijing?
A standard day with Tony in Beijing runs through the city. He works the Forbidden City and the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace, the Great Wall at Mutianyu and Badaling, and archaeology institutions. He also handles the parts of a Beijing visit that are not sightseeing at all: the local restaurant that a group wants for dinner, the market visit, the tea ceremony, the calligraphic workshop, and the imperial costume photo session on the steps of the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
For groups with an institutional agenda, his contacts with the archaeology and cultural institutions in the region are the part that makes the difference. He can arrange a session with a working institution rather than a resold tourist site, and he can scope it properly in advance so the specialist is briefed on what the visitors actually want to know.
How does he handle a large or awkward group?
Tony's own summary of his strengths is that he is organised, calm under pressure, and good at managing the unexpected on behalf of a group, and that he has been commended repeatedly by both clients and guests. The practical test of that claim is a group that goes wrong in real time: a meeting that overruns, a site that closes earlier than expected, a coach that arrives at the wrong gate.
He has also received the Gold Tour Leader award from U-tour's tourism division for each year from 2019 to 2025, and has collected written thanks from clients and guests on multiple occasions.
Which kinds of groups suit him?
Tony is strongest where the group needs a host who can read the room and translate more than language. That means government and institutional delegations, academic and school groups, corporate and industrial visits, sports teams and media crews, and multi-generational family groups where somebody has to keep four generations on schedule.
For a wider look at how we select and brief guides, our China Tour Guides overview covers language coverage by city, the difference between a mid-level and a senior guide, and what a full day with a guide includes. If the group is moving around Beijing by road, our guide to getting around a Chinese city covers the metro, taxi and ride-hailing options, and China Trip Planning and Itineraries explains how we structure a Beijing programme.
What else should you know?
Tony was a university student representative and a presenter, and he still hosts when a group needs someone to run the floor at a dinner or a briefing. He plays and sings the guitar, which has a way of making a long evening on a coach go faster than you would expect.
He is familiar with the major sights and local customs across China's principal cities, which means he is useful when a Beijing programme extends elsewhere in the country and the handover to another guide needs to be clean.
Frequently asked questions
How long has Tony been guiding?
He began receiving domestic and international visitors in April 2006, so his working life in inbound tourism runs to more than two decades.
Is he based in Beijing?
Yes. He is a Beijing local, which is what makes the lesser-known visits possible: the archaeology institutes, the local restaurant scene and the early-morning market rather than only the headline sites.
What languages does he work in?
Chinese and English, with exam-certified English at CET-4 and CET-6 level. He can deliver commentary in either language and is registered as an English-speaking guide.
Can he host a delegation rather than a sightseeing group?
Yes, and that is a substantial part of what he does. His record includes government, corporate, academic, sports and media delegations, including the Kissinger visit in 2006 and the Armani Group president in 2024.
**Does he have a driving licence, and can he drive the group himself?
**He holds a motor vehicle driving licence, so he can accompany a group in the vehicle in addition to guiding it.
**Is he available for groups outside Beijing?
**His reception work is centred on Beijing, and his knowledge of other cities is good but his own network is local. If your programme moves across several provinces, we will confirm coverage before you commit to him.
**How far ahead should we book him?
**For the Forbidden City, the Great Wall and standard Beijing sightseeing, a normal lead time is fine. Institutional visits, imperial costume sessions and anything tied to a match, a ceremony or an official schedule need more notice, because those are booked with the host rather than simply reserved.
Next steps
Tell us the city or cities, the dates, the number of guests, the type of group and the working language, and we will confirm whether Tony is the right guide for your programme and what it costs. If the group needs simultaneous or consecutive interpreting, or a specialist speaker alongside him, our Translators and Experts guide covers how that is arranged.
If you would rather start from the guide-selection side rather than from one person, our China Tour Guides overview explains how we match a guide to a destination, a group size and a subject. Where the group stays matters as much as who guides it, and our China Hotels and Accommodation section covers the options around China.
