China

I've been a devoted fan of Let's Go (back in the 80's), transitioned to Lonely Planet (the 90's) and experimented with Rough Guides and Moon books for all my world travels. I shunned the glossy photo-rich books as being too short on valuable content and too heavy and thick to carry. But after reading all the site reviews, I bought this along with Rough Guide (also highly praised), and wow, I am a total convert. I am actually halfway through reading it cover-to-cover, and the photos are invaluable in helping us decide where to spend our free time in China. You won't be disappointed.

DK Publishing produces one of the very best travel guides: Best paper, best directions, photography, maps, etc. The only minus is that they are heavy to carry with you when trekking around the world. But that is what you have to endure for high quality. And I always have mine with me. Also, their specialized editions on music, art, etc. are also great!

This guide proved to be an excellent resource for our trip to mainland China (Dec, 06). As a first-time traveler, I appreciated the tips on customs, eating, bathroom facilities, tipping, etc. The street guide for Beijing was extremely useful. The history section and timeline were interesting reading on the flight home. Our son, who is living in Yunnan Province, used to guide to plan some future trips of his own.

This is actually my fourth DK guide book. Prior to DK Eyewitness China, I've used Eyewitness Great Britain, Eyewitness London, and Eyewitness Paris on my previous backpacking/business trips. Never had any problems with any of the aforementioned titles. So this year, my wife and I decided to use the DK Eyewitness China for our 3.5 week vacation in the Middle Kingdom. We have also brought a copy of Lonely Planet, figuring it would give us more information over the image-intensive DK guide. The decision to bring along the Lonely Planet guide turned out to be a mistake and an extra pound or two that we didn't really need in our suitcase. The few times we attempted to use the Lonely Planet guide for information on various cities, we found exactly none of the information we needed. Instead, we got an earful of ramblings intended for college backpacking kids. DK guide, on the other hand, provided very easy to use maps and no-nonsense information. If you're exploring a major site, DK's 3d pictorial coverage is especially helpful in term of quickly orienting yourself. Sure, this book doesn't cover everything. Frankly, overall, Lonely Planet probably does offer more information - if you have the patience to read through all the horrible writings to get to the point. But if you want a highly usable and well-designed tour book that's lean and mean, this one is for you. Recommended.

The book has a little heft to it (as in weight not dialogue) but the photos and insightful captions make it worth the carrying. It is more an intro guide than a map for an experienced Asian traveler. Much more an introduction and overview of the biggie tourist attrations (w/good pictures and great basic synopsis)than a treasure map to some hole in the wall establishment or practical contact information for reservations. It offers a great addition to any scrapbook. We took it on a group excurision and ended up passing it around to several others who showed great interest in browsing the pages and ultimately lent it to a couple of travalers who spent weeks following this text's advice for their day trips.