Rating: 
Summary: Inaccurate even when brand-new
Review: I was carrying around a copy of the 7th edition LP China in Yunnan this past summer, and when I saw the newly-released 8th edition in a bookstore in Dali I snatched it up right away. Unfortunately, in Dali and in fact in most of Yunnan even the 8th edition seems to be already out of date; many of the Dali restaurants they mentioned didn't exist any more, and several of the hotels had either disappeared or become much more seedy than LP let on. Plus their descriptions seem out-of-date; in the last few years, all but the farthest reaches of Yunnan have gotten smothered with Chinese tourists, so a lot of the old town charm that they go on and on about simply doesn't exist any more. Admission fees at several places had gone up, too, in some cases (like Shilin) to such an extent that a budget traveler might change their mind about visiting them at all. This wasn't just confined to Yunnan, either; even in Shanghai it seemed that the guide was already out-of-date on several fronts.There are also the usual LP problems: the arrogance and cynicism of previous LP China editions persists in this one, and while the maps are good (and expanded in detail) it would be nice if they'd list a few more hotels, particularly in China where they close and open so frequently. If you've got an older edition of LP, don't bother upgrading; and if you're shopping around for a new China guide, don't let LP's publication date fool you into thinking it's any more accurate than its competitors.
Rating: 
Summary: A decent foundation for an enormous destination
Review: I will agree that the LP China is out of date in many places, but in all fairness the only way to bat a thousand would to assign a team of writers working 365/24/7 to cover a nation as immense.
That said, I have to slam LP for misleading buyers that these new editions have much new data. They also put down their host country and that is not appropriate for a travel guide. I know the writers are mostly young and from either Oz or USA. So they try to impose their cultural/political views on the reader. I know this because in the 7th Edition I am credited in the Nanjing/Jiangsu section by the writer. I was a student at Nanjing Univ.
LP's Robert Storey is guilty of slamming China too often. He lives in Taiwan and his head is full of pro independence nonsense. BTW - having also lived in Taibei - Storey is a bit of a joke amongst young expats as telling to many "stories" - pun intended! He misses critical details for a traveler and instead romances the reader with his BS!
As with other reviews, this book is a set of training wheels but it is not the Bible. DO NOT PAY $30...get it used!!!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: the not so holy travel bible
Review: i would have to agree with the negative reviews i've seen, and also the majority of travelers i have met in china. we all carry around the lp "bible", but also agree that it is one of the worst publications they have. it seems as you travel along that maybe lonely planet has not visited china or the places it talks about in a while. unfortunately it is one of the only publications of its type and it does contain a minimum of information that one may find useful at times. most of the informatino is outdated, even though i'm using the 2003 edition. Not to mention that they add the poorly written humor instead of a little more chinese script, which let me tell you goes a long way in a country where once you're out of the main cities, very few people speak english, and when they do it is not the best. some more useful word and phrases would be great, instead of how to say "eel fried with spinach and mushrooms". just the words for muchrooms, noodles, and rice would be nice, instead of forcing you to buy the mandarin phrase book, just to get the basics. another complaint i would have is in the compactnes. i realize this is a large country, but i feel like a lot of the space dedicated to useless information and adveritisments that you can't ever remove (for more lp bibles...) could be put to some much better use. All in all i have to say that while containing some very useful information, you're much better off photocopying the important pages and leaving the book at home.
Rating:
Summary: the not so holy travel bible
Review: i would have to agree with the negative reviews i've seen, and also the majority of travelers i have met in china. we all carry around the lp "bible", but also agree that it is one of the worst publications they have. it seems as you travel along that maybe lonely planet has not visited china or the places it talks about in a while. unfortunately it is one of the only publications of its type and it does contain a minimum of information that one may find useful at times. most of the informatino is outdated, even though i'm using the 2003 edition. Not to mention that they add the poorly written humor instead of a little more chinese script, which let me tell you goes a long way in a country where once you're out of the main cities, very few people speak english, and when they do it is not the best. some more useful word and phrases would be great, instead of how to say "eel fried with spinach and mushrooms". just the words for muchrooms, noodles, and rice would be nice, instead of forcing you to buy the mandarin phrase book, just to get the basics. another complaint i would have is in the compactnes. i realize this is a large country, but i feel like a lot of the space dedicated to useless information and adveritisments that you can't ever remove (for more lp bibles...) could be put to some much better use. All in all i have to say that while containing some very useful information, you're much better off photocopying the important pages and leaving the book at home.
Rating:
Summary: To much opinions one can do without
Review: It is unfortunate that most so-called "independent" travellers keep a book from the Lonely Planet series as their travel companion and they more or less blindly follow its advice as an instruction. Somehow one suspect that by now the publishers are aware of this fact and hence they would subject the content of the books to a more rigorous scrutiny. I am particularly appalled to see the Lonely Planet's China being used/misused as a reference book by many local Chinese. The phrase "good places go bad, bad places go bankrupt" gets a new dimension in the light of the active involvement of Lonely Planet in its actual realization. I think that the book on China, more than other books in this series, often shows a remarkable lack of judgement. Their advice for caution is sometimes so out of proportion that it only seems to encourage mistrust. It often expresses a blatant disrespect for the culture (including every-day life and contemporary values of ordinary people) and the regulations of the country. (The book issues "warnings" that the attraction is meant for chinese tourists, i.e. it may seem "tacky" for non-Chinese; it advises you to put in the music cassette you brought from home if you do not like the music they play on the bus (would this apply for Chinese coming to Europe, for instance?); it gives instructions on how to get a fake student ID to get cheaper tickets; the criterion for a "nice place" is the quality of the western food they serve or abundance of beer, etc., etc.). Apparently, the book targets people who are not particularly interested in China or Chinese culture, who preferably do better staying at home listening to their own music and eating their own food. The two stars rating is because of the informations on the hotels and the maps you may need while not having time to search for better yourself. If most of the highly subjective opinions are omitted the book would not be so bulky; a fact of great concern for backpackers
Rating:
Summary: useful but not always accurate
Review: it must at once be pointed out this guide is not always accurate and up-to-date in its coverage of china, though, to be sure, part of the problem lies in the country itself, which is so vast and changing at such a rate that nobody can really catch up. now is a good time to visit china because prices are at an all-time low, generally much lower than the lp guide indicates. in beijing, even, i've seen 18 yuan ($2) peking ducks and 2 yuan (25 cents) beers! of course there are all sorts of places where you can spend thousands, but lp doesn't give you an adequate idea of how cheap china can be, which is really one of the chief reasons for travelling there. the truth is that much of what this country has to offer can be enjoyed elsewhere, and more easily. modern china is a surprisingly new country, and all the fabled ancient sites have been destroyed long ago. other than some beautiful natural sights, which you can after all find all over the world, 99% of what you find are later reconstructions. the primary attractions are the cheap prices and 1.3 billion people,which is an experience to be remembered forever. surprisingly this guide does not mention zhouzhuang, a village near shanghai, in which relatively large portions of old china has been preserved.
Rating:
Summary: Needs massive overhaul - 3 1/2 stars
Review: Just got back from China and used the latest edition as guide. That's all it is... a guide. Tries to be your "insider" pal but fails on several fronts. China's too darn big and changing too fast for any publisher to dare think a single "China" volume is sufficient. I mean, would you trust a single "USA" guidebook? Of course not, even if it's as thick as a phone book (and this ungainly little brick is just that). Many wonderful sights/attractions/wonders are not even mentioned... Did editor decide to excise them, or do researchers look only so far?? I, for one, would have liked to see more attractions mentioned. But if the LP people are going to keep up the chatty little comments with every such entry (a Lonely Planet hallmark), they will have to break up "China" into many volumes. For example, book does not even show on Wuhan map the fascinating, large Taoist temple there... cutting the chit-chat about Mao's Villa there (worth visiting but the text on it is useless) could have made room. But if they want to keep the cute comments (surfing buddhas on a temple wall in Kunming, overrated herbalist in Lijiang, Europe in miniature in Chengdu), they are going to have to break the book up into at least three volumes. Restaurant reviews could be chopped in half, that's for sure. They are boring, outdated, sometimes wholly erroneous. Phone numbers have always been a joke in LP editions for any country I have used ...I own some seventeen LP's... but these numbers were wholly useless to me on my recent trip. As other reviewers note, it is necessary to concede that China is always changing, and with growing speed. Perhaps LP just can't send their researchers out fast enough. But there are enough expats living in Chinese cities to be tapped for updates. Incidentally, expats are a great resource for any traveller... already Shanghai and Beijing have weekly "what's on" style tabloids in English that are very helpful to the visitor. Anyway, on the expat account alone, generally clever LP editors really have little excuse for not having a finger on China's latest and greatest. What's good about Lonely Planet China?? Liberal use of Chinese characters and Pinyin romanization, for one thing. Made it super easy to communicate with taxi drivers. The Orientation section for each city is excellent... three paragraphs to prepare you for the layout and characteristics of the city. History section is good, too. I truly love the off-the-beaten path viewpoint that makes Lonely Planet so much fun... so I hope future editions retain this, while getting on the ball with useful / necessary details. Using this book, traveller / reader will get a generally good trip, but will be led astray / waste time more than once by old info (where to catch bus to Buddha, where to find Muslim food, etc), and from incomplete phone numbers.
Rating: 
Summary: The experience of my life !
Review: Last April I visited China for the first time. It was one of the best experiences in my life. I love traveling. Thanks to my LP of China I planned my trip and I took advantage of the time I spent there. For those that never had used a LP guide and are planning to travel anywhere in the world, the sense that the place you are visiting for the first time is familiar, will become a day to day experience while traveling... thanks to your LP guide. Regards from Mexico.
Rating:
Summary: LP Guide Delivers A Great Outline for Adeventurous Travelers
Review: Last summer I had the incredible oppurtunity to travel throughout China, from China's wild wild west Xinjian Province to Beijing, when I was only sixteen. Although, from reading others' review of the Lonely Planet Guide, it seems as if it is a horrible way to get around, it sincerely is not. I found that LP delivered a safe and secure sense of being while traveling throughout China. Although sometimes some information was incorrectly stated, such as prices, for the most part be found that it only was in our favor. If you are planning to travel to China and are looking forward to traveling without ties, the LP Guide will help you accomplish this. I think LP is a good starting off point and will get you where you need to go, but the real adventure and lure of China lies with what is not written in the pages of any book.
Rating:
Summary: Already Out of Date
Review: Let's face it, China's a big place and changing at the speed of light. I credit this newest edition of LP China for trying to keep up but as a frequent traveler to China, I've been frustrated to no end in seeking the dead-end addresses and recommendations that's listed in this edition. There's so many inaccuracies, it's embarrassing. Previously "undiscovered" spots are now teeming with tourists, there's a sorry list of restaurants and most of the ones listed seem to cater to foreigners anyway, making redundant the China experience. I'm usually a big fan of Lonely Planet, but LP books seem increasingly to be chock full of unnecessary and often demeaning commentary towards the local population. Noone can hope to try to understand China, so keep your smarmy opinions out of it, editors! I can buy Paul Theroux for that and have a LP that's lighter in the backpack.
|
