A Melbourne company with its own team in Shanghai
We started Mandarin Route because the private China tours worth taking were all sold from China, and the ones sold from Australia were coach tours.
Good tours sold from China, coach tours sold from Australia, nothing in between
Our founder runs a third-party logistics warehouse in Melbourne that receives goods from Chinese factories for Australian online sellers. Two things kept happening. Clients asked for help visiting their suppliers, and friends with a partner or kids who did not speak Chinese asked who could show them around Shanghai properly on a family visit.
The honest answer was that the good private operators were in China, took payment overseas, and had no Australian presence if something went wrong. The Australian operators sold large coach tours with shopping stops. There was a gap for a small Australian company that owned the delivery side in China instead of reselling someone else's.
- Melbourne: Mandarin Route Pty Ltd (ACN 703 388 952), the company you book with, which holds your money and your contract and answers to the Australian Consumer Law.
- Shanghai: our operations team, who hold the relationships with licensed guides, drivers and partner agencies, make the bookings, and are on call while you travel.
- Guides: licensed local guides we work with repeatedly in Shanghai and Beijing, paid a proper day rate so they never need a commission shop.
What we are not
We are not a marketplace, we do not resell other companies' tours, and we do not run a medical tourism business. We do two things: private travel for people who want China done well, and sourcing trips for people who buy from it.
Where we are going
Shanghai first, because it is where our team is and where Australians land. Beijing is live. Chengdu, Xi'an and Guangdong factory circuits are next. If you want something we have not listed, ask; the answer is usually yes with a quote.
Tell us your dates and who is travelling
We reply within one business day with an itemised quote in Australian dollars, listing exactly what is included and what is not.