hi, we are going to beijing this april. is it alright to go there without a tour guide?

The different languages may cause trouble for you to communicate with the local people at those places. Not all the places have English translation. If it is your first time to travel to China, I suggest you join a group tour which may provide English guide for you, so that it is easy for you to travel around.In fact, it is easier to travel in these big cities, although without a guide. It is about 2300km by road from Guangzhou to Beijing and about 1460km by rail from Shanghai to Beijing. Well, there are so many famous attractions in those places for you to visit such as the Great Wall in Beijing, Nanjing Road in Shanghai, White Cloud Mountain in Guangzhou, etc. For more, you can check the attraction part on this website under each city. Generally speaking, Guangzhou is a nice place for shopping, especially goods in cheap price. During April, it is warm and pleasant in Guangzhou, you can wear long-sleeved T-shirt plus a lightly jacket, while in Beijing, it is cool and you'd better bring a warm coat.