Frommer's China (Frommer's Complete) | 
| Authors: Jen Lin-liu, Dinny Mcmahon, Paul Mooney, Sharon Owyang, Beth Reiber, Graeme Smith, Christopher D. Winnan
Publisher: Frommer's
Category: Book
List Price: $24.99
Buy Used: $0.44
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Avg. Customer Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 644583
Media: Paperback
Edition: 2nd
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 843
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.1 x 1.8
ISBN: 0764597434
Dewey Decimal Number: 915
EAN: 9780764597435
ASIN: 0764597434
Publication Date: April 3, 2006
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Product Description
Choose the Only Guide That Gives You: - Complete coverage of China’s top attractions, plus introductions to unique places unknown to other guidebooks.
- Outspoken opinions on what’s worth your time and what’s not, written by current and former residents with comprehensive knowledge of the language and culture.
- Includes establishment names listed in both English and Chinese characters, making it easier for you to get around and find the places you're looking for.
- Includes detailed Chinese language and menu guides.
- Our authors, experienced China travelers who've written about the country for years, offer valuable insights and paint a vivid picture of a country that's undergoing one of the most fascinating cultural and economic transformations in history.
- Download a free companion podcast about traveling in China at Frommers.com
Download Description
Choose the Only Guide That Gives You: Complete coverage of China's top attractions, plus introductions to unique places unknown to other guidebooks. Outspoken opinions on what's worth your time and what's not, written by current and former residents with comprehensive knowledge of the language and culture. Includes establishment names listed in both English and Chinese characters, making it easier for you to get around and find the places you're looking for. Includes detailed Chinese language and menu guides. Our authors, experienced China travelers who've written about the country for years, offer valuable insights and paint a vivid picture of a country that's undergoing one of the most fascinating cultural and economic transformations in history.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
 Don't Bother June 11, 2007
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
We just returned from a month in China and needless to say we shipped this book back stateside. Very disapointed in it Was more like reading some other persons vacation instead of giving helpful tips of where to go and what to see.
Disappointing second edition April 6, 2007
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
This 2006 second edition follows the first edition of two years earlier. Some of the detailed listings (including such things as hotel tariffs and phone numbers) have changed, a very few towns or attractions have been added or deleted, and a four-page introductory chapter, What's New in China has been added listing some of the few changes.
The revision can scarcely be described as thorough. The remark that Chinese currency is "not easily obtainable overseas" has not been true generally since well before the date of this new edition; the report concerning the Lhasa railway, that "foundations have already (sic!) been laid for over half the track", speaks of a thousand-kilometre railway which opened for service on 2nd July in the year of publication, years after foundations for "over half the track" had been completed. The fewness of changes to tariffs, charges and phone numbers suggests that checking has been far from complete.
Each chapter is attributed to an individual author. The puzzle is that, although with only one exception every chapter in the new edition is attributed to a different author from the chapter in the first edition, most of the text is identical. Nowhere does this edition seem to acknowledge the contribution of the original authors. Perhaps an essential ingredient of plagiarism is a degree of furtiveness that is lacking her, and perhaps the original authors agreed to their text being attributed to others; but the reader is entitled, observing the differences of asserted authorship, to expect revision and rewriting altogether more substantial than what has occurred.
Any guidebook to such a vast country as China faces the danger that thinness of coverage will limit its usefulness, and that calls for the greatest discipline in deciding what should be included and what may be left out. In large measure, this book fails that test. In particular, it fails comparison with what has become, whether begrudgingly or otherwise, the industry standard - Lonely Planet.
Roughly comparable with Lonely Planet China in terms of weight, Frommer's China contains substantially less text. The book has no qualities to outweigh that disadvantage.
Jaded; sarcastic; superficial, and inaccurate September 19, 2006
8 out of 13 found this review helpful
I might give Frommer's 3 stars for quantity of content, but when I compare what they've written with the places I'm familiar with (and I've been in China over 20 years), I find their negative, jaded slant puts such a spin on some places that they are unrecognizable.
For example, Frommer's online description of Xiamen reads: "Much of the island is a hideous white-tiled wasteland to match anything else in China, but even so, the odd turret and spire reflect the city's pride in its stock of original European architecture." From that description, one would have no idea that Xiamen is in fact one of China's most beautiful cities, loved by foreigners and Chinese alike for its natural beauty and historic heritage. In fact, Xiamen won the gold in the 2002 Livcom Awards competition in Germany, (the "Oscar" of environmental awards), and it has won numerous other international awards.
The authors wrote that Gulangyu Islet is supposedly the "Piano Island" but "no one seems to have told the locals." Did they talk to the locals? Gulangyu Islet is known throughout Asia for its pianos (1 in 5 families has one). If their writing about Xiamen, my adopted home, is so inaccurate, how can I trust what they write about other areas of China?
I'm used to the sarcasm of jaded travelers and their jaded travel guides; I even chuckle at some of it. But Frommer's takes it a bit far this time. They remind me of the fictitious author of the hilarious fictitious guidebook to the Asian country "Phaic Tan" who said, "I visit every place twice--the first time to experience it and the second time to complain about the changes."
I don't think Frommer's need visit China a third time. I'll stick with Lonely Planet.
 Over 800 pages, but still too thin! September 17, 2006
11 out of 13 found this review helpful
Frommer's "China Complete" tries hard to include a lot of information, but there's just not enough room in "only" 800 pages to pack it all in. Let's face it, China is too big a country to be covered adequately by an all-in-one guidebook. I'd definitely go for more specialized, regional and city, guidebooks whenever you can find them.
For something more inclusive, though, I can suggest two possibilities, especially for first-timers: (1) "Frommer's China: The 50 Most Memorable Trips" and (2) "The Eyewitness Travel Guide to China." The Eyewitness Guide is very attractive and informative visually, while "50 Trips" has excellent descriptive text and not a single photograph! You could decide which one to buy, depending on your own preferred orientation (visual or text). Both do a fine job of describing China's many cultural sights: temples, palaces, gardens, and more. They are cultural guides, rather than "Frommer's Complete" all-things-to-all-people approach, but I prefer them for that very reason. In trying to do too much, "Frommer's Complete" doesn't really fit the bill.
 A userful guide with some shortcomings July 22, 2005
13 out of 14 found this review helpful
To begin with, readers should know that this guide was severly pared down, which explains why there are so few budget hotels and budget restaurants listed. Many section writers knew plenty of cheaper hotels and restaurants, but due to space limitations the decision was made by the publisher to list only the upper-level accomodations. This is partly because Frommer's really isn't geared towards the budget traveller.
The Beijing section is excellent, and you should go with their recommendation of staying at the Far East International Hostel, or the hotel across from it.
I am suprised by the review that felt that the authors had never been to China. In fact, all of the authors were actually foreign residents of China. While this means that they have a more intimate understanding of their region, it often means that they are less focused on the area as a travelling destination, which may explain why they don't go into the kinds of historical and cultural detail that a travel writer (who is experiencing the city differently) might.
Also, it means that much of the recommendations for certain sections of the book are not at all written from a traveller's perspective. In particular, the section on Chengdu focuses nearly all of its restaurants in the middle-south of the city. After hearing locations described in terms of their proximity to the US Consulate three times, it certainly makes me suspect that the writer of the section spent a long time there. In fact, 7 of 12 of the restaurants were located no more than half a mile from the consulate. Good luck finding a description of many places to eat within a 30 minute walk of the fairly popular Dragon Town Hostel (which, although offering pretty good accomodation, was not mentioned at all in the guide) located slightly northwest of center.
As other reviewers have noted, the section on Shanghai is pretty worthless. Even the editor of the book will tell you this. Against his recommendation, the publisher cobbled on a highly shortened version of the already out-of-date Frommer's Shanghai into the Shanghai section of the book. It is out of date and not all that helpful as a guide.
For those who travel to a new place just to try the food, you'll love this book. It has an entire section in the back listing common dishes, dishes unique to featured restaurants, and specialities. The listing includes Chinese characters and pinyin.
If your travel plans include Beijing, this book is a must. If you're going only to Shanghai, choose any other book.
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