Lonely Planet Best of Shanghai (Lonely Planet Shanghai Encounter) [Paperback]

Damian Harper (Author)

Book Description

Series: Lonely Planet Shanghai Encounter | Publication Date: January 2006

This book offers fresh content written by China expert and Shanghai resident, Damian Harper. It is the only guide to Shanghai, with full-colour foldout maps. Its indispensable script means you'll always find what you want. For the first time in 50 years, low-cost flights are now operating between Shanghai and Taiwan. The number of visitors to Shanghai has increased by 60 per cent, since 2003. The highest numbers of European tourists to visit Shanghai come from Britain, France and Germany. Shanghai is one of the world's largest cities and has a population of around thirteen million people. The Oriental Pearl TV Tower in Shanghai is one of the tallest buildings in Asia. The best times to visit Shanghai are spring and autumn. In winter, temperatures can drop well below freezing, with a blanket of drizzle.

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.' --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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.
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* 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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Lonely Planet Publications (January 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1740594975
• ISBN-13: 978-1740594974
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 4.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,548,274 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Your Very Basic guidebook, March 11, 2006

By 

Amazon Shopper (Mtn. View, CA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

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

... and I emphasize the word "basic". Fold-out maps with Chinese characters is helpful, but don't forget to bring a magnifying glass in order to read the maps. Found Time Out Shanghai much much more informative.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars 0ut of date already, August 21, 2008

By 

Keith Berman "kb" (atlanta, ga) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lonely Planet Shanghai Encounter (Best Of) (Paperback)

although the good part of this guide was the fact that they gave the chinese characters for all listings, and it's compact size, we found many of the suggestions closed and listings out of date. maybe the next update will be worthwhile

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great guide, but not perfect, 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 Shanghai (Lonely Planet Shanghai Encounter) (Paperback)

The maps were indispensible aids in getting around Shanghai and if I ever go back to that town and were only allowed ten pages from this book, I'd include the maps. I met another traveler in Shanghai who lost this guide and doubled back several blocks to find it again. He did find it again and was glad he did.

That being said, it's not the gospel. Shanghai's a big town and there's no way to cover every single place to eat or thing to do. Given the short descriptions for many of the activities, there can't be enough room to explain everything you may need to get to them... the Propaganda Poster Museum is one such example. It's way way way off a beaten track, but I found it after asking a local security guard and showing the picture in the book.

I'm ticked off the guide says there's a taco restaurant in Shanghai. I went there and the "taco" was more a Chinese interpretation of the Mexican classic. It was tasty, but NOT authentic. If you're homesick for good Mexican food, Shanghai's not the right place to be.

Overall, I'm very glad I had this guide with me in Shanghai and I plan to continue to get Lonely Planet guides for my travels.