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Title: Rough Guide: China (1997) by Jeremy Atiyah, David Leffman, Simon Lewis, Lesley Reader, Stephen Jones, Daniel A. Viederman, Catharine Sanders, Chris Stewart, Rhonda Evans, Rough Guides ISBN: 1-85828-225-X Publisher: Penguin Books Pub. Date: 01 April, 1997 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.55 (11 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Among the very best for this unique world called China.
Comment: The question is not how do you cover the world's largest and most populated country (as big as all the countries of Europe combined), but rather, how do you visit such a vast, multi cultured world as China? The first step is to arm oneself with the best travel guides on the market. "China: The Rough Guide" is one such guide.
"China: The Rough Guide" is designed for those that have more than a week or two in China. It is NOT a pocket guide (almost 2 lbs.) and more than 1100 pages. In this tome, Leffman, Lewis & Atiyah captures the best of China and give you the low down on what you must see while in China
Straight off the introduction in this guide is one of the most engaging I have ever read, "China is not so much another country as another world; chopsticks, tea, slippers, massed bicycles, shadow boxing, exotic pop music, karakoe, teeming crowds, Dickensian train stations . . . one of the world's largest economies." The maps (a critical element in any guide) are among the best found in a guide to date. Each restaurant and accommodation that is listed in the guide is marked on the maps (ya gotta love it).
The terse 3000-year history is as well written as objective as history can be, and thorough enough for most visitors. There is an outstanding appendix section, titled: "Context," covering, besides history, architecture, art, film, music and an excellent book list. The recommendations for accommodations and restaurants are reliable and up to date.
However, this is not a perfect guide (5 stars). One of the weak areas of the guide is the omission of an accommodation or a restaurant index. Thus, if you have a recommended restaurant you want to look up, you have to go through all the restaurant pages 'til you stumble across the name you seek or miss seeing it completely.
Another significant shortcoming is the lack of website and email addresses for hotels. Phone and fax numbers are provided but, considering the cost, nothing beats email. This is a significant omission, especially considering that the guide has a 2000 publishing date and most major Chinese hotels are now Internet connected,
Though the 'Basic Section' is up to guide books' standards, and has a few interesting sections (i.e., recommended tours, China Online Etc.) I found some of the information needed updating. Northwest Airlines is NOT the only airline that flies non-stop from mainland US to China, United Airlines also does (though the service is sub-par and the seats very cramped, I would not-recommended you flying UAL). Also, there is NO website information for any of the airlines.
I am disappointed that the 'boxed' vignettes are few and far between in this guide. There is no mention of Falun Gong and only a scant mention of the Three River Gorge Dam. Usually Rough Guides are much better in this area.
Finally, an ongoing peeve that I have about Rough Guides, is the use of a number system to quote the price range of a hotel, i.e., the 'Friendship Hotel' is listed to cost a '6'. For a '6' you have to flip back to the numeric legion where you find out that '6' = 600 to 800 yuans, which you then divide by the current rate of exchange. As other guides simply demonstrate, there are better ways to help your reader gage approximate cost.
If you are going to just be in and around Beijing or Shanghai then this guide at 1100 pages may be an over kill. You would be better off with Rough Guide: Beijing, Cadogan's Beijing or Lonely Planet Shanghai (all highly recommended guides, see my reviews). However if you are going to explore this great country then 'China: The Rough Guide' will be a welcome companion. Recommended
Rating: 5
Summary: Up to the usual Rough Guide stardard
Comment: The Rough Guides are considered among the "cream of the crop" in the guidebook world, and this book is no exception. I used it extensively in the planning phase of my recent month-long trip to China, and it was very helpful.
The background sections of the book are outstanding, giving the reader a solid overview of Chinese history and culture. The primary sites of interest to travelers are adequately covered as well, and so the book is very helpful in planning one's itinerary.
The main drawback of the volume is it's weight. If you are backpacking in China, as I was, this book is pretty heavy to be lugging around. Therefore, unless you are staying in China more than a couple of weeks, you might consider looking at the smaller city guides.....or ripping the necessary sections out of this book and packing only those in your rucksack.
Highly recommended for pre-trip planning at home. Recommended for packing and taking to China *if* you are going on an extended trip to the country.
Rating: 4
Summary: Best guide to China you can get, get it before Lonely planet
Comment: I can't fully agree with negative review of this book. I'm living in China for three years now. I got many guides to China I use them quite a lot during my traveling in here. Sure there is maybe a few thing missing and there are some mistakes in this book but it is still the best. I find it much more accurate and detailed than last edition of Lonely Planet.
It's best all around travel guide for China.
If you want to get and bring just one get this one.
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Title: Lonely Planet China (LONELY PLANET CHINA) by Damian, Harper, Marie Cambon, Katja Gaskell, Thomas Huhti, Bradley Mayhew, Korina Miller, Mielikki Org ISBN: 1740591178 Publisher: Lonely Planet Publications Pub. Date: 01 August, 2002 List Price(USD): $29.99 |
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Title: The Rough Guide to Mandarin Chinese (a dictionary phrasebook) by Rough Guides ISBN: 1858286077 Publisher: Rough Guides Limited Pub. Date: 01 May, 2000 List Price(USD): $8.99 |
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Title: The Rough Guide History of China by Rough Guides ISBN: 1858287642 Publisher: Rough Guides Limited Pub. Date: 21 November, 2002 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: National Geographic Traveler China (National Geographic Traveler) by Damian Harper ISBN: 0792279212 Publisher: National Geographic Society Pub. Date: 01 March, 2001 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
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Title: Frommer's China: The 50 Most Memorable Trips, Third Edition by J. D. Brown, J. D. Brown ISBN: 0764524682 Publisher: Frommer Pub. Date: 01 July, 2003 List Price(USD): $22.99 |
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