Beijing (City Guide) (Paperback)
- Paperback: 272 pages
- Publisher: Lonely Planet; 8 Pap/Map edition (February 1, 2010)
- Language: English
*Buy from Amazon.co.uk Beijing (City Guide)
*Buy from Amazon.com Beijing (City Guide)
Discover Beijing
Discover where the last emporer threw in the towel at the astonishing Forbidden City
Hone your haggling skills for must-have Mao memorabilia and silk everything
Learn to slurp noodles, wield chopsticks and avoid talking politics at the table
Experience Beijing’s rich culture, from ancient history to medieval temples to modern literature
In This Guide:
The only guide with Chinese script throughout the book and on maps makes navigating Beijing easy
Special chapters on Beijing’s historic hutong (alleyways) and China’s iconic Great Wall
Meet some of the 17 million inhabitants through interviews with a bar owner, a rock star, a Peking duck master and more
Reviews:
**** The latest edition of LP Beijing follows the new formatting that LP introduced in 2004 for its travel guides. There are inserts of colour photography for those of you so inclined. The Language section is OK, and chinese is used on the maps to assist you when dealing with taxi/bus drivers.
Generally speaking, the LP Beijing City Guide will do the job for short term visitors to the city, and these short term visitors are the target audience for these books. Those staying long term as ESL teachers or in other capacities will find it lacking after a while, but there is only so much you can squeeze into these books anyway.
Just a note to those planning on visiting the city in the next few months. A lot of the major sights, such as the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven, are under restoration as part of the city’s preparation for the 2008 Olympics (see the Olympic countdown clock outside the main entrance of the Museum of Chinese History), with scaffolding and workmen all over the show. You can still get into these places, but may not be able to see all the sights mentioned in the guidebook. But be sure to get a photo of the Starbucks which is slap bang in the middle of this historic city. Commercialism at its finest…
I’m normally a devoted LP customer, but I have to admit to making an impulse decision to purchase the Insight City Guide to Beijing. I found the Insight guide to be almost as good, particularly where maps are concerned. The Insight guide was also cheaper than the LP book, although I think the LP listed more activities. For me though, Lonely Planet still sets the standard for Travel Guides
**** I found this travel guide to Beijing to be very useful and nicely put together. Lonely planet always has nice graphics and pictures. The information was short and sweet. There was enough information to be useful, but not so much that it was overkill.
As has been pointed out, the chinese characters are included which is very helpful. Also, it is true that with development being what it is in China it is impossible to write a guide that is totally up to date. Clearly, being published going on 2 years ago, this book could use an update.
All that being said, this is the best guidebook to Beijing that I have seen out there. That is why I am giving it 4 stars. Happy Travels!
*** The information is good but there are no Chinese characters of locations/names to show to taxi drivers. The pronunciations are just too difficult for some one not adept at languages or who has not studied some Chinese. I have taken over a dozen trips to China and find books with Chinese characters far more useful.
*Buy from Amazon.co.uk Beijing (City Guide)
*Buy from Amazon.com Beijing (City Guide)
