Lonely Planet China (China a Travel Survival Kit, 6th ed) [Paperback]

Robert Storey (Author), Nicko Goncharoff (Author), Caroline Liou (Author)

Book Description

Series: China a Travel Survival Kit, 6th ed | Publication Date: September 1998

With thorough coverage of accommodations, restaurants and transportation, this guide makes China accessible to travelers on any budget. Includes an expanded history section (with a full discussion of China's post-Deng political landscape and the Hong Kong handover), as well as sections on culture, architecture and cuisine.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

From Antarctica to Zimbabwe, if you're going there, chances are Lonely Planet has been there first. With a pithy and matter-of-fact writing style, these guides are guaranteed to calm the nerves of first-time world travelers, while still listing off-the-beaten-path finds sure to thrill even the most jaded globetrotters. Lonely Planet has been perfecting its guidebooks for nearly 30 years and as a result, has the experience and know-how similar to an older sibling's "been there" advice. The original backpacker's bible, the LP series has recently widened its reach. While still giving insights for the low-budget traveler, the books now list a wide range of accommodations and itineraries for those with less time than money.

Just as the authors describe China as "massive and endlessly fascinating," so is the material they have collected in this guide--an important travelers' opus. The 200-plus maps feature keys in English and Chinese script and there are essential details on transport options, a 12-page Chinese arts section, and a useful feature on the Chinese language. --Kathryn True

Product Details

• Paperback: 1111 pages
• Publisher: Lonely Planet; 6th edition (September 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0864425244
• ISBN-13: 978-0864425249
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.3 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,476,273 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It was a survival guide for me in China, August 13, 2000

By 

"seanpool" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lonely Planet China (China a Travel Survival Kit, 6th ed) (Paperback)

My friend and I have been in China two times: each for 3 weeks. LP was one of the guidebooks we used throughout. The first trip was to the South (up to Lijiang in Yunan) and the second was to the west (up to Turpan). Both trips planted in us rewarding experiences and beautiful memories. We wanted to go to Tibet, but we had no enough time (by bus, it already would have taken 3 days to Lhasa from Qinghai).

While reading some of the reviews on this page, IMHO, I think that if you'd like to learn more about history of China or language, you should buy history books or some sort. LP mainly serves as a "survival" guide. If you ever are in China, you will know how much "survival" means to you.

About inaccuacies in this book, you should keep in mind that China is still a changing country. Everthing was so unpredictable. But that's actually one of the things that makes China so fascinating to travel in. Nevertheless, I found that the info was as much accurate as it could be. For example, in Beijing, you can follow the direction in the book to get the cheapest money exchange rate (a laundry shop in an alley was actually there!).

If you're planning to spend time in China on your own, I highly recommend this book. You also need one or two good phrase books, if you don't know about Chinese. If you are also interested in historical part of China, also bring with you a good history book. But I doubt it, for the following reasons: 1) the experiences, sceneries, people, etc. will make you forget about history, and 2) they are all to heavy to carry. Imagine you are loading your backpack on your back walking and looking for a place to sleep, or on a bus with a map in one hand. I wouldn't carry a lot of books.

I have found so many intersting people travelling in deep China, most of them from European countries. They all carry this Bible with them.

If you're traveling in places like China, I advise you have a special home-made wallet that sits between the innest shirt and your skin, or inside the underwear. You should keep all your important documents and money in this wallet.

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars If you hear of a better book, don't hesitate to buy it!, June 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Lonely Planet China (China a Travel Survival Kit, 6th ed) (Paperback)

China is such a huge country that a thorough guide would fill 10 volumes. However, this Lonely Planet guide was extrememely sloppy and often wasted space on unnecessary anecdotes that were supposed to be funny, but provided no useful information- cultural or otherwise. In a country where there is very little English and everying is written in characters, precise directions are very important. This book would say things like "the only English-speaking travel agency is down the street." "The street" would often go on for miles! Would it have killed them to tell you whether it was to the left or the right? Also, we would have really appreciated it if the book had written more important information in Chinese characters. That way, when you are trying to get to the train station or the hospital or something, you could just point to the character instead of attempting to say something they will almost certainly not understand. There are very few choices, but there has to be a better guide book on China somewhere.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Misses a lot but overall useful for travel in CHina, May 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Lonely Planet China (China a Travel Survival Kit, 6th ed) (Paperback)

China is a difficult country to travel in, a fact which the new Lonely Planet China guide makes quite clear. Modern China is rarely exotic and at times quite frustrating for tourists, and the book does not mince words on this subject. However, if you are planning on undertaking some hard independent travel in the PRC, LP is up to the task and contains a lot of very practical information about budget lodging and transportation. LPs main shortcoming, as I see it, is that it concentrates too much on the cities and sites "worth seeing" and not enough on some of the beautiful counytside.