Lonely Planet Beijing Encounter (Best Of) [Paperback]

Eilís Quinn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2008 | Series: Best Of

What Will Your Beijing Encounter Be?

…snapping-up contemporary art's next big think at Factory 798
…tucking into a hearty serve of the city's signature Peking Duck
…holding the international center stage with stunning Olympic venues
...seeking out songbirds or watching open-air mah jong games in the maze-like hutong
...busting out some kung fu moves or chilling at early-morning taichi
...watching the skyline shift day by day with ever-changing architecture

Discover Twice The City In Half The Time

...full-color pull-out map and detailed district maps for easy navigation during the Olympics and beyond
...our experienced author uncovers the best sights, shops, restaurants and entertainment
...unique itineraries and highlights help you make the most of a short break
...locals share their secrets from inside the Peking Opera, hottest restaurant or thriving local art scene

Editorial Reviews

Review

Sherman's Travel, April 2007
'...Encounter guides...discreet in size, but generous enough on page count to provide a fuller city experience minus the hefty guidebook load.'

From the Publisher

Who We Are
At Lonely Planet, we see our job as inspiring and enabling travelers to connect with the world for their own benefit and for the benefit of the world at large.

What We Do
* We offer travelers the world's richest travel advice, informed by the collective wisdom of over 350 Lonely Planet authors living in 37 countries and fluent in 70 languages.
* We are relentless in finding the special, the unique and the different for travellers wherever they are.
*We update our guidebooks by visiting thousands of places in person to get the details right and tell it as it is.
* We always offer the trusted filter for those who are curious, open minded and independent.
* We challenge our growing community of travelers; leading debate and discussion about travel and the world.
* We tell it like it is without fear or favor in service of the travelers; not clouded by any other motive.

What We Believe
We believe that travel leads to a deeper cultural understanding and compassion and therefore a better world.

Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: Lonely Planet; 1 Pap/Map edition (March 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1741046661
• ISBN-13: 978-1741046663
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 4.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,771,642 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Pretty Good Travel Guide, Perhaps Too Condensed., August 18, 2004

By 

Mark "Technology, Music and Movies" (East Coast) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (2008 HOLIDAY TEAM)   

This review is from: Lonely Planet Best of Beijing (Lonely Planet Beijing Encounter) (Paperback)

This is a pretty good travel guide. It might have been a little too condensed. I liked the slim form factor of the book. I personally would have preferred if it was a little bit larger and went into greater detail on some of the topics.

As opposed to the more complete Lonely Planet Beijing book, this book was published earlier this year. I would like to think that some of the information is more up to date as a result. It's simply too difficult to compare due to the fact that the book doesn't cover as many topics.

On the upside, like most Lonely Planet books, the graphics and pictures are awesome. I would have preferred a little more detail on the site map, but in general Lonely Planet does a nice job with their visuals.

On a whole, I would recommend this book to somebody who will soon be travelling to Beijing.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A little too compact, perhaps. . ., August 20, 2006

By 

Jordean "jordean4" (Indiana, United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lonely Planet Best of Beijing (Lonely Planet Beijing Encounter) (Paperback)

Perhaps I have to chalk it up to my nearly-fifty-year-old eyes, but this guidebook is virtually impossible to use without a magnifying glass. Every time I read a review that harps point size I usually take it with the proverbial grain of salt, but this one really is very difficult to use. The maps of Beijing are even worse than the text, as the captions are printed in colors that do not stand out from the background. I thought this would be a nice little pocketbook to carry, that would fulfill both guidebook and map requirements, but in the latter case, it just isn't useful at all!

The guidebook itself is pretty concise, however, so that is a redeeming factor. A lot of the info seems to be imported from the LP China volume. I would just get that, plus a real map of Beijing. (And I have found that the Insight map of Beijing does not have any captions in Chinese characters. Maybe it was an older edition? I would think that is requisite for a city map to be at all useful!)

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars AWESOME GUIDE, but beware..., January 4, 2007

By 

L. Dean Webb "deanwebb" (Dallas, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lonely Planet Best of Beijing (Lonely Planet Beijing Encounter) (Paperback)

Why beware? Well, Beijing is undergoing massive reconstruction in advance of the 2008 Olympics. I went to one location this guide mentioned, hoping to find the "Cool World CD Store" and instead found an open construction lot.

Snap.

Fortunately, the big places - The Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, etc. - are still there, so you shouldn't miss those. The maps are superior and were the things I'd refer to most frequently there. They're strategically located on the endflaps, not buried in the pages of the book. If I ever go to Beijing again, I'll have this little travel bible by my side, you can be assured of that!