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China Survival Guide: How to Avoid Travel Troubles and Mortifying Mishaps, 3rd Edition by [Larry Herzberg, Qin Herzberg]

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Larry Herzberg

Qin Xue Herzberg

China Survival Guide: How to Avoid Travel Troubles and Mortifying Mishaps, 3rd Edition Kindle Edition

by Larry Herzberg (Author), Qin Herzberg (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

292 ratings

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“An ideal, pocket-sized, 264 page compendium packed from cover to cover with practical advice, insightful commentary, and invaluable tips on places to go, things to see, what to do, and what to avoid. . . . China Survival Guide should be considered an essential 'take-along' for anyone visiting China for business or pleasure.” — Midwest Book Review, May 2014

"Like [having] a professional guide walking alongside you answering your many questions. . . . A must for your next China visit!"—Travel Answer Man Online

Compact, affordable, reliable, a delight to read—these qualities are what has made China Survival Guide so popular with first-time and seasoned China travelers. This third edition has a brand new section on train travel, plus updates and fresh recommendations. Includes practical strategies for lodging, walking, haggling, medical and bathroom emergencies, etiquette, crowds, and learning the twin arts of patience and persistence.

Frequent China visitors Larry Herzberg and Qin Herzberg are professors of Chinese language and culture at Calvin College in Michigan.

Print length

266 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Stone Bridge Press
Publication date

November 18, 2013
File size

5099 KB
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"As I was reading the second edition, I felt as if I was reliving my magical Asian adventure. The Herzbergs use wit, wisdom, and warmth in relaying essential China travel tips on etiquette, cultural history, and traveling frugally but in style."
—Sally Starrfield, Assistant Director for Academic Affairs, Duke University Talent Identification Program

"Thank goodness for Larry and Qin Herzberg! Their book was invaluable in helping me anticipate some of the more foreign aspects of traveling in China, not to mention that the book is hilarious! Travel groups will benefit from their expertise on surviving in China with grace and humor."
—Susan Glassburn Larimer, China Travel Coordinator, Indiana University School of Social Work

--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

About the Author

Larry Herzberg and Qin Herzberg, a married couple, are professors of Chinese language and culture at Calvin College in Michigan. They travel to China every year, both with students and without, and have been featured travel experts on MSNBC and other outlets. Qin and Larry live in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and are also coauthors of the recently released Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar: A Student’s Guide to Correct Structures and Common Errors (Stone Bridge Press, 2011).

Larry Herzberg did his PhD work in Chinese and founded the Chinese language programs at Albion College and Calvin College; he is also a professional violinist. In 2011 Larry was awarded the Presidential Award for Exemplary Teaching, the highest honor that Calvin College bestows on a faculty member.

Qin Xue Herzberg, a graduate of Beijing Normal University, has taught Chinese for decades and has been an upper-level Chinese professor at Calvin College for more than ten years.

--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00G8O9NGE
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Stone Bridge Press; Third edition (November 18, 2013)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 18, 2013
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 5099 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 266 pages
Lending ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #881,154 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #140 in Chinese Travel
- #429 in General China Travel Guides
- #655 in Travel Reference

Customer Reviews:
292 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		62%
4 star		23%
3 star		7%
2 star		3%
1 star		5%

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Top reviews from the United States

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MCS

We survived! Thanks to this book!

Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2018

Verified Purchase

At first I wasn't sure about buying this as it wasn't a "typical" travel guide. I'm so glad I read the reviews and went ahead and bought it. It was PERFECT to use on our trip to Beijing. It gave us all the practical knowledge that we needed to navigate what is an entirely different culture than here in the US. We had an amazing time there most likely because we knew what to expect about a lot of things ahead of time. If you are traveling to China this is a must buy. You can get a lot of travel info on the internet but this was "real life" information.

6 people found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

fantastic！

Reviewed in the United States on July 30, 2017

Verified Purchase

this should be the first guide book you read on China. I've traveled abroad extensively, I wish I could have had a guide like this for every place I've been. You can read where to go and what to see books to your hearts content, but none of that matters if you can't get there or are injured or get too sick to enjoy yourself. I truly recommend this as your *first* book in planning any trips to China. Use the other ones to fill in the blanks.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Excellent information about traveling to China!!

Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2016

Verified Purchase

It was a joy to read this book. I only wished I had know and read about it before my first visit. I laughed several times as I read it remembering some of the troubles that I had during that trip. As they had said in the book, even with these problems, it is still an amazing place to visit. I picked up many pointers that will help me enjoy my next trip even more than the last one. Thank you for sharing your experience and knowledge of traveling to this wonderful country.

5 people found this helpful

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Erika

Almost good until the writer mentioned the local women as Minorities

Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2019

Verified Purchase

I was somewhat enjoying this book until I reached page 154 and the writer described the local DAI women as Minorites. Are you fn kidding me? Local women in China a minority I think he meant his American girls were the minority. I just cant deal with privalaged racists. Embarrassing

2 people found this helpful

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SL Sandlin

Invaluable book to help one become familiar with a wonderful nation and people.

Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2018

Verified Purchase

Invaluable book to help one become familiar with a wonderful nation and people. The language guide is simple to follow and the stories keep one entertained while learning. This book certainly takes the mystery out of travel to China. Written by two people intimate with China and America that share impactful, and sometimes humorous, stories to help bring clarity to what travel in China is like.

One person found this helpful

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DPlumb22

Preparing for our first trip to China

Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2019

Verified Purchase

Well written, and very informational on lots of the things to expect and experience. They really focus on major differences between the cultures and how to adjust and enjoy the time. Learned a great deal, and have recommended to many of the families traveling in our group. Will read again to brush up right before the trip and take it along with us for reference also. Highly recommended.

One person found this helpful

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Denise K

An anecdotal guide for the casual traveler

Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2014

Verified Purchase

I am traveling to China for the first time in a few months, and I wanted a book that would help educate me about the customs and culture, and also what differences to anticipate from American culture. This book delivered exactly what I was looking for. I learned some important bits of information, and it all meshed with what other people and other resources have told me. I know other reviewers tired of the authors' various anecdotes, but I enjoyed reading them, and I felt like they gave me a more personalized perspective. The only thing I can't confirm at this point is how useful and relevant the advice will be once I'm actually there, but if it varies greatly from my expectations, I'll be sure to update this review! At this point, I'd definitely recommend it to anyone traveling to Middle Kingdom for the first time.

2 people found this helpful

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wsmrer

A Pleasing Work

Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2013

Verified Purchase

A pleasing work, the writing style is a bit down home and rambling at times but it does prepare a first time traveler for the rough side of what could happen in a new land but always in a gentle and understanding manner. Unlike Troost's sour little book, Lost on Planet China, you will not feel they are out to get you and take you and spit on you while doing it. You will see the Chinese as real people doing their thing and certainly kind and considerate, if you fall within their personal jurisdiction, and sound reasons for cultural differences that mark the land.

Much is about the authors' experiences while traveling again and again to the Middle Kingdom, and they conclude with a list of must see recommendations and a fine section on reference work if you wish to go on and understand more about past and present China.

If there is a weakness in the work it is the one they warn about in their introduction, last years much less last months notations are already out-of-date. China is in a constant state of flux, things they mention as problems for the traveler have often been dealt with for example ATM machines now accepting foreign cards and a button for instructions in English even in small towns, but because this is China you may need to use the cash deposit machine next over for withdrawal if the ATM rejects your card and forget about reading the web edition of the New York Times, it has fallen off the screen in 2013 after a critical series on leaders' accumulated wealth.

Currently still available in Hong Kong, however.

2 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Wismerhill

Needs updating

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 11, 2013

Verified Purchase

I've got this book ahead our planned trip to China this year. We have travelled to places like India or Egypt before, and after reading this book (as well as some travel guides) we thought China would be more or less similar. We were quite surprised how developed, modern and clean China actually was. This country is changing at a staggering pace - even Beijing subway plans we had in our lastes edition travel guide were already out-of-date. It seems clear that China became much more accessible aftre Beijing Olympics in 2008. There is still a lot of valuable tips in the book, but for experienced travellers they might seem pretty much obvious. I would also agree with other reviewers that the book seems to be written for an American tourist.

One person found this helpful

Jarvo

Somewhat out of date and useless to a hardy "Real" traveler

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 24, 2015

Verified Purchase

Somewhat out of date and useless to a hardy "Real" traveler. Would be ok for a tourist on a package tour,

stephen bustard

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 30, 2016

Verified Purchase

Good info

Adrienne Winterhelt

OUTDATED

Reviewed in Canada on April 16, 2019

Verified Purchase

We just came back from China and very little was helpful in this book other than to bring hand sanitizer and toilet paper. Most of the information is old.

China is a VERY SAFE place to travel, especially if you are on a tour going to big cities.

Lisa

A must read before visiting china.

Reviewed in Canada on January 30, 2016

Verified Purchase

Bought as a gift for my parents before their trip to china and i'm pretty sure it saved them from several common scams. They went on a group tour but were constantly invited to sample teas or to join vendors in the back room for secret deals. There were clear warnings in the book about these kind of scams and my parents were not only able to avoid them but also warn other members of their tour who were nearly caught up.