The Rough Guide to China 4 (Rough Guide Travel Guides) [Paperback]

David Leffman (Author), Simon Lewis (Author)

Book Description

Series: Rough Guide Travel Guides | Publication Date: November 21, 2005

With over 1300 pages and 150 maps, the Rough Guide to China is the essential handbook to this vast and extraordinary country. In-depth coverage of the entire country, from buzzing Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai to the ethnic minority regions of the southwest and Tibet. The authors give expert practical advice for every budget on where to stay, where to find the best local cuisine and getting round by public transport. There are also invaluable translations into Chinese script of place names, accomodation and restaurants. The guide also gives a detailed background on China''s history, politics, cultures and peoples. "Best guidebook" Sunday Times "Historical and cultural erudition combined with down-to-earth practical advice puts this guide streets ahead of the competition" Watersone''s Books Quarterly. 

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

David Leffman is an established Rough Guide author and inveterate traveller with a long history of visiting China. Simon Lewis first visited China in 1993 where he studied Mandarin Chinese, after working as a barman, teacher and life model in Hong Kong. 

Product Details

• Paperback: 1248 pages
• Publisher: Rough Guides; 4 edition (November 21, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1843534797
• ISBN-13: 978-1843534792
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,167,896 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nearly Perfect, May 21, 2006

By 

Matthew D. Stidle (Pittsburgh) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Rough Guide to China 4 (Rough Guide Travel Guides) (Paperback)

Using solely this book as our guide, my girlfriend and I navigated Beijing, Xian, Guilin, Yangshuo, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong completely on our own without getting lost once. The maps are absolute life-savers (though they would be even more useful if they included the Chinese characters for the street names), the descriptions of place generally current and accurate (though they might have mentioned that, as of May of 2006, Yangshuo is no longer a mecca of calm and relaxation but rather a maddening gauntlet of pushy vendors and tourists), and it even provided enjoyable reading material on the long train rides.

A lot of people in the anti-tour-group set go with Lonely Planet for whatever reason, but I'm very glad I picked this one up. Next trip: RUSSIA -- I'm picking up the Rough Guide for it now.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More info, easier reading, August 10, 2006

By 

R. Ploehn "South Beach Guy" (Miami Beach, FLA, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Rough Guide to China 4 (Rough Guide Travel Guides) (Paperback)

Although I always buy Lonely Planet guides to every foreign destination, I tried Rough Guide this time. I liked the format, the readability, and the information I was looking for. It is almost 200 pages larger (but because of a quality thin paper is less thick), and has less fine print. I would rate it a bit above the similar Lonely Planet guide to China, and still buy the Lonely Planet. Those two rate way above the competition such as Fodors, Frommers and the like. Of course, the China Eyewitness Travel Guide is in a different class altogether.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best, but needs a new edition., August 15, 2007

By 

Andrea H. (New Jersey, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rough Guide to China 4 (Rough Guide Travel Guides) (Paperback)

Having consulted the Rough Guide, Lonely Planet, and the Eyewitness guides to China on my last trip to the country, I can definitely vouch that Rough Guide is the way to go, with Eyewitness taking second and Lonely Planet a distant third. For my money, the Rough Guides have the edge on Lonely Planet in their critical-but-not-jaded tone, detailed practical information (more detailed than Lonely Planet), superior maps, informative and comprehensive background essays, and general elan (subjective, I know, but there you have it). That said, Lonely Planet does seem to have a slight edge in restaurants, but every place we ate at out of the Rough Guide was delicious. In the end, of course, which guidebook you buy depends on the kind of travel you'll be doing; I would recommend the Eyewitness guides without reserve for armchair and group travelers, or for those map-obsessed travlers who compulsively want to find their way around on their own. That said, the Rough Guide maps are more than sufficient, especially when supplemented with local tourist maps, which will inevitably be more up-to-date.

That really is my only caveat about the book; things in China (especially Shanghai and Beijing, cities most travelers pass through) are changing so rapidly that a new edition can't come soon enough. I marked an additional 20 subway stations on the Shanghai map in January 2007; this book was published in October 2005. In the meantime, I'll just say that the Suzhou Museum is now a must-see.