Frommer's China: The 50 Most Memorable Trips [Paperback]

J. D. Brown (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 26, 2000 | Series: Frommer's China 50 Most Memorable Trips

You'll never fall into the tourist traps when you travel with Frommer's. It's like having a friend show you around, taking you to the places locals like best. Our expert authors have already gone everywhere you might go--they've done the legwork for you, and they're not afraid to tell it like it is, saving you time and money. No other series offers candid reviews of so many hotels and restaurants in all price ranges. Every Frommer's Travel Guide is up-to-date, with exact prices for everything, authoritative cultural coverage, and dozens of accurate maps. You'd be lost without us!

An in-depth and extremely personal guide written by an experienced China traveler, Frommer's China: The 50 Most Memorable Trips brings a new approach to the standard guidebook formula. China is still unfamiliar territory to most travelers, and other guides are a daunting 1,000 pages long--readers are overwhelmed with too much information when they first try to decide where to go. Our guide, however, chooses the top highlights, and our author describes his own experience at each destination, in a personal and highly entertaining article. Each piece is then supplemented with all the practical details you need to plan and replicate the author's experience if it appealed to you.

You'll also find gorgeous color photos that bring to life the majesty and diveristy of this vast country, plus a Chinese character key, valuable cultural insights, and practical information on everything from transportation to etiquette.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

China is the fastest-growing travel destination in the world, welcoming more than 7 million foreign visitors in 1998. But it can be bewildering to figure out what to see and how to spend your time in such a vast, fascinating country. Frommers China makes it easy to plan a trip without plowing through an overwhelming 1,000+ pages of data.

This unique guide has chosen the top travel experiences in this vast and diverse countryand after an evocative description of each one, tells readers how to have the same experiences themselves. Here is the very best of China: the Great Wall; fabled cities, both ancient and modern; sea river cruises; the Silk Road; and much more Each chapter describes the experience and site, with fascinating cultural information, and includes travel directions, tour information, and where to stay and dine.

The guide comes complete with:

*Tips on how to choose and book the organized tour thats right for you

*Vital background information on the culture, cuisine, customs, and language of this vast and diverse country.

*Logistical information on getting around and communicating.

From the Back Cover

China expert J.D. Brown leads you to the highlights of the "Middle Kingdom"—from the Great Wall to the Great Buddha—and tells you everything you need to know to plan the adventure of a lifetime! We'll Take You to:

• China's fabled cities, from the ancient capitals of Beijing and Xi'an to the modern metropolises of Shanghai and Chongqing
• The most unforgettable sights, from the Forbidden City to the First Emperor's Terra-Cotta Warriors
• Outdoor adventures, from hiking the sacred mountains to exploring the Buddhist caves of Mogao and Longmen
• The legendary Silk Road, the Yangzi and Li Rivers, giant panda preserves, and more

Inside You'll Find:

• Personal, first-hand descriptions, and all the practical details you need to plan a trip of your own
• Tips for navigating China's languages, culture, cuisine, and customs
• The best places to stay and dine throughout the country
• Detailed, accurate city and regional maps

With Chinese characters for all the major sights! Find us online at www.frommers.com

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 656 pages
• Publisher: Frommers; 2 edition (June 26, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0028636732
• ISBN-13: 978-0028636733
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,618,480 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great selection as a collaborating guide for China., June 8, 2001

By 

Allan M. Gathercoal "fdoamerica" (Norcross, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Frommer's China: The 50 Most Memorable Trips (Paperback)

In Frommer's China expert J. D. Brown gives us more of a travel log than a travel guide, which in this case is a refreshing change. Very few people have seen China as extensively as J. D. Brown. His recording of his actual experience at each of the 50 destination will stimulate new itineraries for you to consider. Brown states, " In this guide I've recorded in as frank detail as possible 50 of my most memorable travels in China."

If you are going to Cruise the Yangzi River (Three Gorge Dan) this is is best description in a travel book available today. Also superb is his "Great Wall" write up. Brown's `Summer Palace' write up, while good, criticized the British and French for their terrible act of destroying the original palace, but said nothing of the destruction caused by Mao's henchman.

His recommendations for accommodations often have web site address and email (an important additions that many other guides omit), and Brown's restaurant and hotel recommendations are reliable and commendable.

On the weak side this 'travel log' lacks the interesting information that is found in other guide, i.e., understanding of Mao's Communist China, Tiananmen Square commentary, modern China, etc. The accommodations and dining recommendations are very light and maps are few and far between.

What Brown has done is give us a valuable supplement to use in conjunction with your China travel guide (see my reviews on Rough Guide China and Lonely Planet China for highly recommended guides). Again this is not my first choices in guides for selecting hotels, restaurant etc. BUT it is often my first choice for descriptions of select sites and my first selection as a collaborating guide to supplement my primary guide. Highly Recommended.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Other reviews are misleading - not a good choice, March 24, 2005

By 

Paloma Blanca (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Frommer's China: The 50 Most Memorable Trips (Paperback)

I bought this guide book over the others, including Lonley Planet, based on these reviews and those of Lonely Planet China on Amazon. My experience is this is a fine book to read before you go to China, but a terrible guide for navigating your way through China.

I just returned from spending a month traveling to different cities. This book is heavily biased and does not allow the reader to make informed decisions. The author clearly has an opinion about everywhere to go and what he thinks, but the book doesn't give the reader a chance to disagree. You could very well miss out on some wonderful aspects of China b/c this book is not as comprehensive as others and you wouldn't even know you were missing out. Also, I wasn't happy with recommended hotels and restaurants as they are all quite pricey. Plus, there are many discrepancies with other Frommer's books (which this one is a part of) - for example, there is a vegetarian restaurant in Shanghai the author recommends highly which is called overrated by the other Frommer's book. And the other book is actually more correct.

This book also assumes a certain level of experience with China. I had not been to China before and found travel suggestions ridiculous. For example, he says you should be able to get on a bus yourself at some obscure corner to go to the Summer Palace from Beijing, and scoffs at those who would choose otherwise and get ripped off. Well, if you speak and can read Mandarin Chinese, then that is fine. Otherwise, in a city where taxi drivers do not speak English, getting somewhere on a bus is nearly impossible.

I would just like to warn anyone going to China b/c you do not want to be left there without a good guide book. It is so critical to have good directions that are user friendly and objective. Otherwise, you will end up trying to find a better book when you get there and be frustrated along the way.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Current and helpful, August 23, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Frommer's China: The 50 Most Memorable Trips (Paperback)

We received this book just before leaving for China. I found the information on the cities very helpful--key sites, hotel & food recommends. It also documents well the Yangtze River cruise that many Westerners are including in their travel plans prior to the opening of the Three River Gorges Dam.

The "common phrases" that are summarized in the book were all we really needed to get around and be understood. In addition, the brief overview of the lengthy Chinese political history helped us to keep the various sites we visited in perspective. Overall, a solid guide book to take with you on your next visit to China.