lollylo25

I have researched many books for my upcoming China trip, and was told that China is changing so fast that even after 6 months, much is outdated. Is any one guide better than the other, i.e. Lonely Planet, Fodor's, Bradt? (Yes, I know we are on Fodor's website) I am solo, with no guide.

Nywoman

I spent about $30 on Lonely Planet and have barely looked at it. There is so much information on the net.
E.g. Travelchinaguide.com tells you more than you ever wanted to know about places. I have used L.P. some, but not nearly as much as I did in the past.

I am also a solo traveler in possession of a very heavy and thick book, that is not coming with me.

This forum alone has a wealth of information. So does Trip Advisor. If you use Google to ask a question, you need to quit your job to have time to look at all the answers.

I know it doesn't answer your question, but I am not sure that a guide book is the answer.

lollylo25

NYwoman:
I was thinking along those lines, but I never went anywhere without my guide book. You are right, it is another heavy item to carry along. I have printed many Fodor Forums (especially wiselindag)and I think cutting and pasting into a "home-made" guide book may be the best thing to do. I have researched many of the published guidebooks and some are 700 pages!
Thanks for the advice.

Amy

The one thing that a guidebook occasionally did for me was have the Chinese characters for what I wanted. (Not all of the guidebooks even have that!)

I found this site, Thorntree, and the Oriental-list (email list) to be much more helpful.

(I also traveled solo with no guide--no problems.)

PeterN_H

I would be the first to argue that in general guide books are far from being as good as they should be, but let's get real. No one who worries that a printed guide will be out of date could possibly have any reason to consider the sites mentioned as any form of substitute. The gaps in their information are vast chasms in comparison--in fact they are more gap than content.

One is only interested in selling you tours, and its threadbare information contains nothing of practical use, and is entirely joy joy luck luck happy happy in the little it does say. The other is as useless as all other sites that blindly compile contributor comments, mentioning only a tiny number of Beijing sights for instance, and often dismissing them in a single, inaccurate paragraph--and you'll be lucky if the place name is even spelled correctly. Are either of these sites providing the Chinese characters you'll need for showing to taxi drivers? Or even the most skimpy of maps?

Many guide books are very poor. But if you choose well you get peer-reviewed material written by people who have sampled dozens of experiences and compared them in order to pick the best for you. Some are rich with cultural material far beyond the ability of the casual traveller to supply, some are full of practical detail adequate to enable even the first-timer to navigate China by his- or herself. I must admit I don't know Fodor's guides at all, but Lonely Planet would be the last of my choices.

There are on-line sites that can help you, but not those listed above. The whole of the latest edition Frommer's China can be found on-line, for instance (I can't speak as to its content as I haven't looked at the new edition, but it's bound to be way ahead of the sites mentioned). In terms of restaurant reviews and finding out about nightlife and entertainment, you look at the sites linked to the expat-produced 'what's on' magazines, such as The Beijinger, City Weekend, and Time Out. Much of the content of these is daft, but it's written by local residents, and is refreshed at least every month.

Guide books to China are big because... it's a big country! If you're going to a limited number of destinations then shop for more detailed city guides. There's plenty of choice, however you like to travel, and if you only want to deal with the main sights, the predictable restaurants, and so on, several series produce both full-scale city guides and pocket highlights versions for those who just want to skim.

In short I think this needs thinking about again, and if you are travelling independently, and have no previous experience of China, a guide book is essential.

Peter N-H

Neil_Oz

We took our Lonely Planet guide to China and constantly referred to it. It wasn't perfect, of course, but we found it reliable and useful. We also accessed material such as city maps, tips and so forth on the Fodors and Frommers websites. I'm sure their guides would have been fine, but they do seem to be more oriented towards middle-class American travellers than the LP, whose style I prefer. That may be a cultural thing.

It's not easy to assemble from Web sources the cultural and historical background that a good guidebook supplies.

lollylo25

Peter NH

I like the idea of choosing a couple of major cities that one would visit and buying a guide book for those cities. I think the material would be more in-depth.

Syl

I travel with folders containing all my website forum printouts I've collected since deciding on my trip.As I arrive in each city, I take out that folder of printouts which is in chronological order of my itinerary e.g.if Day#1 is a Hutong walk, I will only carry with me that specific sheet of paper that will include info about the area & map.I also will carry on me at all times the pocket sized "me no speak" which can be purchased at www.menospeak.com for US $9.95. After compiling travel folders over the years of all the countries I've toured, I am seriously considering going into business as a travel planner.Like many of the contributors to these forums, I spend months researching & finetuning.

thursdaysd

No way I would go to China without a guide book (or two). However, I wouldn't lug the whole of one along either. I cut my guide books up and just take the sections for the regions I'm going.

At the very least you need a map, the Chinese characters for the places you'll visit (and if you print those out, you'll have problems if you change your mind), sightseeing info and likely some restaurant recommendations. I do use Tripadvisor, but only to research hotels, and I've seen too many annoying posts advertising travelchinaguide.com to consider using it.

Clark55

We always get the lonely planet for the history etc, but when we visit the places we take the DK Eyewitness guide as it has all colourful illustrations of the various sites. We bought them both on ebay & spent 20 dollars in total for the both of them.

annieandh

I'm with Clarke55. I love the DK eyewitness travel books. Easy to use & carry around.
I also take copied pages from my Loney Planet & take them with me as the LP is so heavy. It's okay for initial research but just too bulky to take with you.
I also put all my notes onto one page for each place we visit & then discard them when we leave.
But if I had to get rid of them all & depend on one it would be the DK guide.

tastravel

Lollylo25-
I agree the books are big and heavy. I did what several other here have suggested and purchased the Frommers and the DK books. I got just the Beijing versions, which were smaller and more in-depth. Obviously it is a massive country and these books will not cover everything, but I find that these two guides compliment each other. Frommers is better on food, subways, getting around..while DK has great maps of the big sights like Temple of Heaven and Forbidden Palace. I didn't carry my books around, but ripped out the appropriate pages each day.