National Geographic Traveler China (National Geographic Traveler)

Our son and daughter-in-law were taking a trip to China as part of her dance career. I ordered a few books that seemed easy and thorough. The National Geographic Traveler China fit that bill and more. My husband and I enjoyed reviewing it ourselves. I'll get more feedback when they return.

I found this book invaluable on my recent trip to China. It is not a typical tourist book, however, it provides a treasure of genuinely valuable background information for the serious traveler.

The National Geographic Traveler China provides a very well balanced guide...gives excellent background...so the traveler can interpret and experience the wonders of China through high quality text, pictures and maps.

As for knowledge of China. The author of National Geographic Traveler China (Damian Harper) co-authored several guides of China, Beijing, and Hong Kong for Lonely Planet. To validate...click the D. Harper's name near the book title above. Same author...but with the quality of National Geographic.

I received a copy of the Lonely Planet China as a gift. I am neutral about the book. Good general information. However...China is so dynamic and changing...it doesn't ring true in many cases. I ended up with many dead-ends and wasted time based upon the book

The Lonely Planet guide is for those that have not travelled much...and as a starting point. But those that have past international travel experience will find it much too basic and generic.

Nat'l Geographic will provide a comprehensive pretrip planning guide so you can best tailor your trip and will enhance your experience while visting.

Update... I traveled to China again...this time with the 'China Eyewitness' travel guide by DK Press. Highly recommend the DK Eyewitness...and still...the NatGeo is still worthy to supplement. Order both.

Excellent book for general knowedge on planning a trip. worththe $.

I ordered five different guidebooks on China to plan an upcoming trip. This one was defintitely the best at giving an overview of the various cities and attractions -- the descriptions are just the right length to give you a good overview, the book doesn't shy from giving recommendations and opinions, and there are many beautiful pictures to give you a better sense of each place. My wife and I both fought over this book as the one to read before our trip! NOTE: this is NOT a subsititute, but rather a complement, for a book that lists hotels, restaurants, etc. -- it does not give all the useful info. We'll probably leave it behind when we go on our trip, but will be very grateful we were able to use it in planning where to go, especially for a country as vast as China. This is the perfect "advanced reading & planning book" -- by far our favorite for China!