闻名不如见面
wén​míng​bù​rú​jiàn​miàn

seeing for oneself is better than hearing by reputation

  1. 闻名 聞名 wén​míng
    to know by reputation
    To hear someone's name or be familiar with their reputation; to know of someone by repute.
  2. 不如 bù​rú verbpreposition
    not as good as
    not equal to; inferior to; to be not as good as
  3. 见面 見面 jiàn​miàn verb + noun
    to meet
    to meet with someone; to see each other in person