Fodor's China, 3rd Edition: The Guide for All Budgets, Completely Updated, with Many Maps and Travel Tips (Fodor's Gold Guides) (Paperback)

~ Fodor's (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

No matter what your budget or whether it's your first trip or fifteenth, Fodor's Gold Guides get you where you want to go. In this completely up-to-date guide our experts who live in China give you the inside track, showing you all the things to see and do -- from must-see sights to off-the-beaten-path adventures, from shopping to outdoor fun. Fodor's China shows you hundreds of hotel and restaurant choices in all price ranges -- from budget-friendly B&Bs to luxury hotels, from casual eateries to the hottest new restaurants, complete with thorough reviews showing what makes each place special. The Smart Travel Tips A to Z section helps you take care of the nitty gritty with essential local contacts and great advice -- from how to take your mountain bike with you to what to do in an emergency. Your personal supply of Post-it? flags makes it easy to mark your favorite listings. Plus, web links, costs, and mix-and-match itineraries make planning a snap.

From the Inside Flap

No matter what your budget or whether it's your first trip or fifteenth, Fodor's Gold Guides get you where you want to go. In this completely up-to-date guide our experts who live in China give you the inside track, showing you all the things to see and do -- from must-see sights to off-the-beaten-path adventures, from shopping to outdoor fun. Fodor's China shows you hundreds of hotel and restaurant choices in all price ranges -- from budget-friendly B&Bs to luxury hotels, from casual eateries to the hottest new restaurants, complete with thorough reviews showing what makes each place special. The Smart Travel Tips A to Z section helps you take care of the nitty gritty with essential local contacts and great advice -- from how to take your mountain bike with you to what to do in an emergency. Your personal supply of Post-it? flags makes it easy to mark your favorite listings. Plus, web links, costs, and mix-and-match itineraries make planning a snap.

Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Fodor's; 3 edition (April 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0676901263
• ISBN-13: 978-0676901269
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #904,966 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great guide for use when visiting China, October 22, 2002

By A Customer

I bought this guide book for a 2 month abroad program while I was in China in summer 2002. The book is organized quite well. It is broken down into the regions of China (Northwest, Northeast, Southeast, etc), and then breaks further down into individual provinces and cities within each region.

The pro's of this book are that it cover's a lot of ground for such a big country. Considering how large China is, the book is quite a small size, but at the same time still provides the traveller a good guide on the important sites of each region and city. In addition to highlighting each city's key landmarks and areas to visit, it also lists each city's better known resturaunts, shopping centers and Hotels. It also provides a rating system of their own on the prices of each hotel and resturaunt. A small map is provided for each of the larger cities with key scenic spots, hotels, resturaunts highlighted on the map. The resturaunt section of each city also lists the resturaunts of non-chinese fare, for example, western food.

For most scenic spots, hotels, shopping centers and resturaunts of each city, a phone number and open-close time is provided as well. It also provides at least a few sentences about each scenic site, resturaunt, hotel, etc. The book also provides approximate distances from other popular cities to other cities, so it is easier for one to plan their travels within the country. For the larger cities, it also lists general info and phone numbers about subway systems, buses, and getting around.

I really don't have many con's for this book. Since it was recently updated, I didn't have any complaints about the book being out of date or the phone numbers or hours of the places listed, being incorrect. All the information for each city was well organized and presented. Some history was also given for each scenic site or region.

Overall, I think this book is great for traveling to China. It is quite thorough and detailed, listing so many tourist sites, resturaunts, hotels, shopping centers, etc. I recommend it.

13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars An Ok book, but definitely not enough, May 26, 2002

By A Customer

I'm a Chinese myself who is currently in U.S. I bought this book for my summer travel to the south of China. However, when I got this book, I was quite disappointed. I don't like the format generally. There're lots of information introduced, but not in detail. I feel confused about where I should go. And the prices of restaurants, hotels, etc. are not at all clear. I only know a price range, which is useless to plan my budget precisely. I remember I read a travel book of China in 2000(the book was published in 1998 in Australia). That book even listed where to rent a bike in Suzhou and the ticket price of Huangshan, which is so close to the real price in 2000. My trip was so successful and every expenditure was stricly in my budget. I think that kink of book is what a traveler really needs, not some fancy introduction with few details. It's such a pity that I can't remember the name of the Australia published book! Although there're some bad points of Chinese history in the book I don't like.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Buy only as a supplement, September 4, 2004

By	Chukcha the Reviewer (Australia) - See all my reviews

Although still OK, Fodor's China offers much less value than, for example, Lonely Planet series.

Although China does change very rapidly and it's unrealistic to expect 100% accuracy, seems like the information is way outdated. It seems that the current edition went almost unchanged since the Cold War.

Maps are navigable, but are not specific enough and could use serious improvement. No Chinese characters are supplied, so consulting the locals is not an option (and possible with the competitors, such as Lonely Planet).

The positive sides are: interesting "off the beaten track" tips and "good walks" - suggested itineraries which do contain great recommendations.

Overall, average to poor value.