Odyssey Guide to Yunnan (Odyssey Illustrated Guides)

This book is very useful for planning the trip. For example, the author suggests that the "bamboo temple" outside of Kunming is of most interest. It is a bit off the path, and would have been missed if not for this recommendation. The brass drums in the Yunnan Museum are very interesting.I found that almost everything mentioned in the detailed advice about less permanent sites had changed, but then noticed my bookstore had sold me the 1987 edition! There were some amusing discoveries: the restaurant for workers, peasants, and soldiers had been changed to an expensive linen tablecloth place called "Ambrosia."

This book has a lot of information on this less-popular but nonetheless worth-visiting region. The author's voice is quite objective, unlike Lonely Planet's, which can sometimes be sarcastic. The photographs are pretty captivating. There were lots of good facts. There aren't very many books on just this region, so if you're planning to go, I'd definitely recommend getting this one. One drawback: no Chinese characters for the names of cities, sights, and other Chinese terms.