Lonely Planet China: Travel Survival Kit

Having just returned from a trip in China with the Lonely Planet book as my only guide, I am a bit mystified by the generally negative reviews and complaints about minor points. Is this book perfect? Of course not. Any attempt to fit all of a country (especially one as large as China) into one book will inevitably fall short. Yet, LP packs more info into 1000 pages than most other tour books combined. Another complaint is that it is not necessarily up-to-date. Of course it isn't. Anything put in print about a country changing as fast as China is out of date the moment it hits the bookstands. It should be a given that an attraction with an entrance fee of Y50 today will likely be Y100 tomorrow. Ask yourself though: does it really matter? Are you really going to skip the Forbidden City because the entrance fee is Y20 higher than published? No, of course not. The LP has much to recommend it. Here are the highlights: -excellent maps with accurate scale and bilingual markers -good breadth without sacrificing too much depth -great for people who want to leave the tour groups and package tours behind (it's much cheaper to go solo!) -a good selection of restaurants and hotels in different price ranges -good descriptions of main attractions and how to get to them -a pretty good language section with some of the survival words and phrases you will need Above all, I can give this tour book no greater compliment than the following sentiment: if you are traveling to China and bring only one book, THIS IS THE ONE. Do not be put off by the negative reviews that harp on minor and often irrelevant points. My advice is the same for anyone who travels to China or any other country: do your homework before going. The internet is a great start, as are books that might give a better overview of issues such as language, culture, politics, and other fields that can only receive cursory treatment in a travel book already bursting at the seams of its 1000 pages. But, the point is that when you're on the ground in China, this is the book that you want as your traveling companion. That's why it gets 5 stars in my book!

the reviewer from ottowa, ontario canada was way off. this book is the swiss army knife of practical knowledge concerning how to survive, get around, and even have a great time in the massively complex and ever-changing world that is china. granted, the book has a cheeky, irreverant air to it, but believe me when i say this humor came as a great psychological boost at times. i know, i travelled extensively in china for 1 year and also lived in shanghai. i went there speaking no chinese at all and managed to learn to speak passably well by the time i had to leave. let's be realistic; it is impossible to fit all of china into 1 book. shanghai alone could fill a book this size, but what lonely planet sacrifices in up-to-the-minute nightlife coverage in major cities (this purpose is served far better by english city mags) and historical information (not to mention pretty pictures) it more than makes up for with it's sheer volume of practical information from all over china. how to get to, tour, eat, sleep, and even attempt to get off the beaten track (becoming really hard in china) at any location in this massive country.i sincerely believe it would take a lifetime for a single individual to compile this much information.this book isn't perfect, some info is out-of-date, but if you're going to china, it is indispensible.

This book is a must-have, must-buy if you are planning a trip to China. If you don't speak Chinese, the book is terrific. It contains all of the commonly used phrases for every situation that you could possibly encounter in China. In addition, it has extraordinarily detailed directions on how to travel within the country. Almost every tourist you will meet has a Lonely Planet in hand. It is true that there are no equivalents of this book within China and the people that I have met there think that the book is very thorough. In general, most people in China do not get to travel a great deal so there are not a lot of travel books in China. I would recommend all Lonely Planet books for travel throughout Asia.

This little red book is THE travel guide to have for independent travelers to China! It is well researched, the maps are terrific (better than most maps you can get in China) and the inaccuracies are minor, considering how fast the country is changing. The Chinese I met were impressed by the amount and quality of the information in this book ... they don't seem to have books of similar parallel.

This book is very detailed and pays a great deal of attention to the interesting parts of China within the major cities and in areas more remote.