Lonely Planet China's Southwest

I've just arrived in Yunnan, haven't had a chance to wander into the country, but so far it seems very up to date from what I'm hearing about where to be going from other travellers.

If you travel overseas, don't go without a Lonely Planet guide book!! Since '06 I have been been spending 3 weeks each year traveling on my own in China. Their books are kept current and accurate. This one was outstanding traveling in areas less traveled by tourist!! Have traveled in many parts of the world on my own....their books are by far the very best.

I found this book to be super-informative, accurate and helpful - helped me to both plan and execute my travels. In a region of the world where no one speaks English, this book will help find you a place to stay. LP notwithstanding, in remote places I sometimes stayed with farmer families, ate with them, shared the afternoons. That was much more satisfying than the hotels. When Chinese do business they are intent on making you part with your money ... you, the foreigner, are seen as a walking breathing $$$ sign. When living with a family something in people's mind becomes relaxed and there is more of a human connection. A tiny detail: I recommend you use ATMs whenever possible- Chinese bank tellers are trained to take only perfect - and I mean perfect - banknotes. Even a tiniest glitch, or color mark will result in disqualification. Chinese ATMs have a different keypad from those in the US; also they are alphanumeric only, so it helps to remember your code in #s.

"China's Southwest" covers the culturally fascinating provinces north of Laos and Vietnam, so a better title would be "Southern China." At any rate it's one of Lonely Planet's best books and provides good travel information, including some very worthwhile off-the-beaten-track places. You'll find descriptions of the many tribal groups who live in an incredible diversity of landscapes that ranges from tropical to Himalaya. Text includes parts of the Tibetan Plateau, which spreads across northwestern Yunnan and western and northern Sichuan, a good place to meet Tibetans and learn about their culture. I highly recommend travels to the provinces covered in this book--Yunnan, Sichuan, Guangxi, Guizhou, and Chongqing. None of the all-China guidebooks do the region justice, so this guidebook is worth getting even if you already have a China guidebook.