- Paperback: 1248 pages
- Publisher: Rough Guides Ltd; 4th Revised edition edition (27 Oct 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1843534797
- ISBN-13: 978-1843534792
- Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 13 x 3.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 352,902 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
With over 1300 pages and 150 maps, the "Rough Guide to China" is the essential handbook to this vast and extraordinary country. In-depth coverage of the entire country, from buzzing Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai to the ethnic minority regions of the southwest and Tibet. The authors give expert practical advice for every budget on where to stay, where to find the best local cuisine and getting round by public transport. There are also invaluable translations into Chinese script of place names, accomodation and restaurants. The guide also gives a detailed background on China's history, politics, cultures and peoples. "Best guidebook" - "Sunday Times". "Historical and cultural erudition combined with down-to-earth practical advice puts this guide streets ahead of the competition" - "Watersone's Books Quarterly".
About the Author
David Leffman is an established Rough Guide author and inveterate traveller with a long history of visiting China. Simon Lewis first visited China in 1993 where he studied Mandarin Chinese, after working as a barman, teacher and life model in Hong Kong.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
54 of 55 people found the following review helpful
This is the best book for going to somewhere like china.
I was there travelling for over a month and was the best guide around by far. Some of my companions had the Lonely Planet guide but we found that simply provided lists of hotels restaurants etc and did not provide any of the handy information you need when travelling in a place like China. It was full of useful information for everywhere we went. The directory type information was not as in depth as the lonely planet guide but was more than enough to get by.
Quite simply, a travel bible for China!
I was there travelling for over a month and was the best guide around by far. Some of my companions had the Lonely Planet guide but we found that simply provided lists of hotels restaurants etc and did not provide any of the handy information you need when travelling in a place like China. It was full of useful information for everywhere we went. The directory type information was not as in depth as the lonely planet guide but was more than enough to get by.
Quite simply, a travel bible for China!
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
The guide was accurate and worth carrying around, but the maps were weak; low in detail and with place and street names only in English. This made them limited in usefulness when asking directions as most Chinese people can only read their native language. Cab drivers would just shrug their shoulders when shown a particular point on a map. The guide is also not as culturally savvy as Time Out guides or as to the point as DK travel guides I have used in the past. It's obviously written by early 20 somethings perceiving a place from the outside. My native Chinese friends ridiculed some of the cultural hints as being childish and irrelevant.
Overall I was pleased by this guide, just be aware of its limitations.
Overall I was pleased by this guide, just be aware of its limitations.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
13 reviews
33 of 34 people found the following review helpful
Nearly Perfect
21 May 2006
Using solely this book as our guide, my girlfriend and I navigated Beijing, Xian, Guilin, Yangshuo, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong completely on our own without getting lost once. The maps are absolute life-savers (though they would be even more useful if they included the Chinese characters for the street names), the descriptions of place generally current and accurate (though they might have mentioned that, as of May of 2006, Yangshuo is no longer a mecca of calm and relaxation but rather a maddening gauntlet of pushy vendors and tourists), and it even provided enjoyable reading material on the long train rides.
A lot of people in the anti-tour-group set go with Lonely Planet for whatever reason, but I'm very glad I picked this one up. Next trip: RUSSIA -- I'm picking up the Rough Guide for it now.
A lot of people in the anti-tour-group set go with Lonely Planet for whatever reason, but I'm very glad I picked this one up. Next trip: RUSSIA -- I'm picking up the Rough Guide for it now.
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful
More info, easier reading
10 Aug 2006
Amazon Verified Purchase
Although I always buy Lonely Planet guides to every foreign destination, I tried Rough Guide this time. I liked the format, the readability, and the information I was looking for. It is almost 200 pages larger (but because of a quality thin paper is less thick), and has less fine print. I would rate it a bit above the similar Lonely Planet guide to China, and still buy the Lonely Planet. Those two rate way above the competition such as Fodors, Frommers and the like. Of course, the China Eyewitness Travel Guide is in a different class altogether.
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
The best, but needs a new edition.
15 Aug 2007
Having consulted the Rough Guide, Lonely Planet, and the Eyewitness guides to China on my last trip to the country, I can definitely vouch that Rough Guide is the way to go, with Eyewitness taking second and Lonely Planet a distant third. For my money, the Rough Guides have the edge on Lonely Planet in their critical-but-not-jaded tone, detailed practical information (more detailed than Lonely Planet), superior maps, informative and comprehensive background essays, and general elan (subjective, I know, but there you have it). That said, Lonely Planet does seem to have a slight edge in restaurants, but every place we ate at out of the Rough Guide was delicious. In the end, of course, which guidebook you buy depends on the kind of travel you'll be doing; I would recommend the Eyewitness guides without reserve for armchair and group travelers, or for those map-obsessed travlers who compulsively want to find their way around on their own. That said, the Rough Guide maps are more than sufficient, especially when supplemented with local tourist maps, which will inevitably be more up-to-date.
That really is my only caveat about the book; things in China (especially Shanghai and Beijing, cities most travelers pass through) are changing so rapidly that a new edition can't come soon enough. I marked an additional 20 subway stations on the Shanghai map in January 2007; this book was published in October 2005. In the meantime, I'll just say that the Suzhou Museum is now a must-see.
That really is my only caveat about the book; things in China (especially Shanghai and Beijing, cities most travelers pass through) are changing so rapidly that a new edition can't come soon enough. I marked an additional 20 subway stations on the Shanghai map in January 2007; this book was published in October 2005. In the meantime, I'll just say that the Suzhou Museum is now a must-see.
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