Thorough, time honored, and true, this guidebook covers it all, from showpiece Hong Kong to new frontiers only recently opened to travelers. Includes sections on cuisine, martial arts, religion, and more. 220 maps.
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From Antarctica to Zimbabwe, if you are going there chances are Lonely Planet has been there first. With a pithy and matter-of-fact writing style, these guides are guaranteed to calm the nerves of first-time world travellers, while still listing off-the-beaten-path finds sure to thrill even the most jaded globe-trotters. Lonely Planet has been perfecting its guidebooks for nearly 30 years and as a result, has experience and know-how similar to an older sibling's "been there" advice. The original backpacker's bible, the LP series has recently widened its reach. While still giving insights for the low-budget traveller, the books now list a wide range of accommodations and itineraries for those with less time than money.
Just as the authors describe China as "massive and endlessly fascinating", so is the material they have collected in this guide--an important travellers' opus. The 200-plus maps feature keys in English and Chinese script, there are essential details on transport options, a 12-page Chinese arts section, and a useful feature on the Chinese language. --Kathryn True
Review
For sheer global reach and dogged research, attention must be paid to Lonely Planet...' --Los Angeles Times, February 2, 2003
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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History books often claim that China is the world's oldest surviving civilisation. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
History books often claim that China is the world's oldest surviving civilisation. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
46 of 51 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As someone who is doing a degree in Chinese and has just returned from China, having spent the past eleven months living there, I have to say this is the best travel guide available to help the backpacker find their way around. Between myself and my friends - who also lived in China for the same period of time - we had a cumulative collection of practically every single travel book written about China, and we came to refer to the Lonely Planet travel guide as 'The Bible' as it was so superior to the other travel guides we saw. That's not to say it is perfect - some things are have since gone out of date (Nothing new in China as things change so fast there), and it does stick to the tourist trail a little too much, but it is probably the most comprehensive of the guides I have seen. (However, going off the tourist trail is not so easy unless your Chinese is pretty good.) The Lonley Planet phrase book is also invaluable as it is clearly laid out and presented to the reader I could not have survived my first few months in China without it.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
We recently travelled through China and this book was worth its weight in gold! We rarely went anywhere without it and I can remember many a long train journey pouring over it for ideas and inspiration.
It was particularly helpful in the early planning stages of our trip when we were at home in cold England and trying to imagine the countries that we were going to visit. It assisted us in planning our route and discovering the places that would be of most interest to us.
Of course, when you are actually there and living the experience, you make your own way and your own decisions, but this book was a bit like a security blanket for us - whenever we lost our way or became confused, it was always there to help. Due to any travel book being out of date almost the minute that it's published, of course a few recommended restaurants/hotels no longer existed but we used websites to help us with those things anyway. What was most valuable, was the history and advice about each different country and the things to do/attractions there - most of which we wouldn't have even known about before reading this book.
Lonely Planet is always brilliant, they are my preferred travel guide and I use them every time I travel. I love that the books are really down to earth and offer real advice that doesn't beat around the bush - if a town is run-down and seedy they will tell it like it is!
Before I went to China, I had heard rumours that the Lonely Planet books were banned from the country and that they would be taken away from you if you attempted to cross the boarders with them. That did not happen to us, but I would do your research before travelling there just in case.
If you are planning a trip to China - buy this book! Even if you don't take it with you (it is quite heavy) it will inspire and excite you before your travels. Another piece of advice: if you are planning on travelling light, rip out the pages of the book that you will need e.g. the provinces that you are going to, and take them with you as smaller, lightweight books rather than carrying the whole thing about with you. I'm not ususally one for defacing books, but as any fellow traveler will know, you have to do what you can when you're on the road!
It was particularly helpful in the early planning stages of our trip when we were at home in cold England and trying to imagine the countries that we were going to visit. It assisted us in planning our route and discovering the places that would be of most interest to us.
Of course, when you are actually there and living the experience, you make your own way and your own decisions, but this book was a bit like a security blanket for us - whenever we lost our way or became confused, it was always there to help. Due to any travel book being out of date almost the minute that it's published, of course a few recommended restaurants/hotels no longer existed but we used websites to help us with those things anyway. What was most valuable, was the history and advice about each different country and the things to do/attractions there - most of which we wouldn't have even known about before reading this book.
Lonely Planet is always brilliant, they are my preferred travel guide and I use them every time I travel. I love that the books are really down to earth and offer real advice that doesn't beat around the bush - if a town is run-down and seedy they will tell it like it is!
Before I went to China, I had heard rumours that the Lonely Planet books were banned from the country and that they would be taken away from you if you attempted to cross the boarders with them. That did not happen to us, but I would do your research before travelling there just in case.
If you are planning a trip to China - buy this book! Even if you don't take it with you (it is quite heavy) it will inspire and excite you before your travels. Another piece of advice: if you are planning on travelling light, rip out the pages of the book that you will need e.g. the provinces that you are going to, and take them with you as smaller, lightweight books rather than carrying the whole thing about with you. I'm not ususally one for defacing books, but as any fellow traveler will know, you have to do what you can when you're on the road!
36 of 44 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I have recently returned from a short stint of travel in China. I nearly always use Lonely Planet guidebooks when I'm travelling, and they are usually good and often excellent. However this China book was almost useless to me - not worth the money I paid and certainly not worth the weight and space it took up in my backpack.
I personally was travelling in Xinjiang, one of China's remoter western provinces. For an area so spectacularly rich in natural landscapes, ancient Central Asian culture and off the beaten track activities - not to mention it being China's largest province, about three times the size of France - the meagre 35 pages were totally worthless - only outlining in the most scant detail the most popular (and therefore arguably least rewarding) sites. I was very lucky to hook up with some Chinese backpackers and see large parts of the region which I would never have even known about had I been using this book - whole cities were missing from the map (usually one of LP's strong points), and most of the region seemed to have escaped the attenton of the 'author'.
To me, the problem is that no single book of a sensible size could cover this vast and fascinating country in any detail - splitting the country up into maybe 4 regions would be a start. The only circumstance under which I would recommend this book is if you were planning to whizz through China just taking in it's major tourist sites. But then I wouldn't recommend doing that anyway. If you are looking at seeing ANY part of this wonderful country in any detail, look elsewhere, or be prepared to do a lot of your own groundwork - which is of course fun and rewarding - providing you have a reasonable grip on Mandarin. This is one country where English will NOT get you very far.
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2.9 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Valuable companion
I spent three weeks in China, aided immensely by my friend spending six months in Tianjin University, without her Mandarin the tour would have been so much more difficult. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Rod Dalitz
2.0 out of 5 stars
Useless on a Kindle
I bought the Kindle edition of this book as I'm travelling from London through Russia to China and I'm fed up with carrying heavy guidebooks around me. Read more
Published 23 months ago by nancy a
5.0 out of 5 stars
11th Edition
Theres a new edition out on May 14th 2009. Hopefully Amazon will stock that soon as this one is quite out of date.
Published on 9 May 2009 by Mr. D. Massie
5.0 out of 5 stars
Missing Cities...
This is a fantastic guide to China... perhaps the best comprehensive guide there is. If you mainly staying in Beijing... Read more
Published on 4 May 2009 by R. Olney
4.0 out of 5 stars
excellent guide book
I have just returned from china in which i spent three months there teaching and travelling. This was my first time travelling and the book was fantastic!! Read more
Published on 10 Oct 2008 by Ms. F. M. Mathieson
3.0 out of 5 stars
ok for general info
of course it can't cover everything, considering its a little book about a big place. quite handy for a few things but not really worth carrying around. Read more
Published on 1 Jun 2006 by kazu
4.0 out of 5 stars
Does a Pretty Good job..........
I live in beijing, China. I know about China's problems, advantages, and vast size. China is the worlds 3rd biggest country so it will be absolutely impossible to label every... Read more
Published on 30 April 2005 by Jasper Wong
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pretty good job for such a tough task
It's certainly true that this book simply can't be all things in a country so vast, but it makes a credittable stab at the task, the use of Chinese characters in the map keys is... Read more
Published on 15 Oct 2003 by Balkh
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing installment from LP
I have used Lonely Planet guides since 1996 to help me travel to nearly 30 countries and until now, I found them the best resource available for getting off the beaten... Read more
Published on 13 Nov 2002 by "paulcporter"
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