China (Eyewitness Travel Guides) [Paperback]

Book Description

Series: Eyewitness Travel Guides | Publication Date: August 4, 2005

The guides that show you what others only tell you! From the enigmatic Terra-Cotta Warriors to the buzzing nightlife of Shanghai discover the real China with this essential guide. Explore the Great Wall and China's other breathtaking sites through the unique cutaway maps and 3D models. With tips on where to enjoy the best Peking duck and Tsingtao beer, this is one takeaway you'll never want to forget!

Editorial Reviews

Review

A pleasurable read with ravishing photography plus maps and plans of supreme quality.' The Observer 'A must for anyone who is interested in China.' Amazon Reader review --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 672 pages
• Publisher: Dorling Kindersley Plc P/B; Revised edition (August 4, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1405308761
• ISBN-13: 978-1405308762
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,537,180 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Maps and Photos, November 17, 2009

By 

R. Silva "Rick Silva" (Cape Cod MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: China (Eyewitness Travel Guide) (Paperback)

The Eyewitness series started out with brightly-illustrated children's books on science, nature, technology, and history, and expanded to include a variety of nonfiction books including their travel series.

Full disclosure: I didn't read this book cover-to-cover. That is not the intended use, and I doubt many readers approach a travel guide that way.

I did, however, use the book in its intended manner: to prepare for and take with me on a three-week trip to China . As such, I read the introductory chapter on the history and culture of China , as well as the "Traveler's Needs" and "Survival Guide" sections at the end of the book. From there, I read the chapters on the provinces that I would be visiting, as well as the sections on some areas that were not on my itinerary, but were relevant to the trip. My wife and I were traveling to China to adopt our son, and we were not able to visit his home town on this trip, so I was definitely in reading about that city and the major nearby cities, even though we were not actually visiting them on this trip.

True to the reputation of the Eyewitness series, this book is lavishly illustrated with colorful maps and hundreds of photos that really give a great feel for the flavor of the Chinese landscape. There are full color drawings in addition to the photographs and diagrams that illustrate features like the layout of a typical Chinese courtyard-style home, and the architecture of the Great Wall.

Major tourist attractions are given special self-contained sections in the book that usually take up one or two pages.

For each province, an "at a glance" page provides a map and highlights the region's attractions. Individual towns and cities come with a "visitor's checklist" for quick information on prices and location of attractions, and there are "getting around" sidebars that cover local transportation options.

The opening chapter provides a good overview of Chinese history and culture, although in places it seems oversimplified and a bit Western-biased. The Great Wall, for instance, is at one point dismissed as "ultimately ineffective". While technically correct in that it was breached by the Mongols in the 13th Century AD, it seemed a bit dismissive of the fact construction started on it in 200 BC, which means that the "ultimately ineffective" wall was effective for 1500 years! Aside from a few similar moments, the introductory material does provide an good start for those unfamiliar with China (or those needing a refresher course since their college Asian History course), and it is all beautifully illustrated.

I found the ending chapters, which constitute the "survival guide" for visitors to China to be extremely helpful, covering everything from etiquette to money to units of measurement and transportation systems. The book also devotes a few pages to a brief, but helpful Mandarin phrasebook. It won't replace a stand-alone phrasebook, but it is enough to help in a pinch.

I didn't get the sense that this book was really loaded with "insider" tips for traveling in China, but I don't think that it's realistic to expect that kind of up-to-the-minute information in a print book. The internet will serve you better for the very latest suggestions and hot tips. But if you're planning on traveling to China and want to get a nice preview of what you'll be seeing, loaded with color maps and illustrations, then the Eyewitness Guide may be just what you're looking for. I am certainly glad that I purchased it and brought it with me on my first visit to China.

3 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I love Eyewiteness Travel Guides!, August 18, 2008

By 

SupraChica (O-town, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: China (Eyewitness Travel Guide) (Paperback)

I always go for these guides because of the color pages, photos, and maps. Visual aid helps alot rather than a whole lot of text which the other guides have. They have pics of common foods you'll see, etc. Wherever I travel to next I make sure I have their guide and one from Lonely Planet or Fodor's.