Fodor's Beijing

by Fodor's Travel Publications Inc. and Fodor's

Book Overview

Exciting, rich, and kaleidoscopically colorful, the city of Beijing is a must-visit for travelers to China. Everyone heads here to experience the many ways this capital has used China's economic boom to fuel the country's artistic, culinary, and sociological revolutions. Here travelers hurtle through the centuries, from courtyard-lined hutongs to brash, breathtaking skyscrapers, from the ancient opulence of the Forbidden City to the Dashaizi 798 Art...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 077043245X
• ISBN13: 9780770432454
• Release Date: October 2013
• Publisher: Fodor's Travel Publications
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.73 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

For one with limited time in Beijing--not bad

If you have just a few days in Beijing, this isn't a bad book to take with you. You'll find the highlights of the city that a tourist most likely would want to see. The book contains tips on making the most of your stay and maps that are adequate enough to get your where you want to go. It does have just a small listing of restaurants available, so if food is one of the major reasons you travel, you may want to supplement the book with your own list of restaurants and eateries. The book is light and won't take up much room and with the maps, it can be an all purpose guide book for a short stay!

Pretty Good.

I'm leaving for Beijing this Thursday, May 17, 07, and prior to having this book, I was worried about names, cities, map, language, and pretty much EVERYTHING. Having the book has calmed me, there's great suggestions, events, places to see, walk, bike, and drive to. There's English names, there's pronunciation, and most impressively, there's clear Chinese characters given at the end of each chapter for you to show the taxi drivers. This is, if I'm not mistaken, the most updated version on the market, (as LP and others are releasing editions later on this spring/summer) so it's an obvious pick for anyone looking for an updated guide to Beijing and surrounding areas. I'll further continue my review upon my arrival home, after putting this guide to the test. ----- June 4, 07 Baaack! I was there for 9 days, and in those nine days I've probably seen more than the residents of Beijing. The hutongs, the markets, the million and one temples, all breath-taking. I took most of the suggestions on sightseeing, went to the Lama Temple, Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven, Forbidden City, basically all the sites that Fodor suggested. I did most of my shopping for gifts and souvenirs in beijing, but held back because a lot of people were telling me that hong kong was the place to shop (as i was going there after beijing). Well I learnt on my own that if you want the knockoffs, then beijing is the place to be. But if you want the authentic stuff, then hong kong is the place to be. Anyway, this guide had great and up to date information concerning where to shop and for what. I did not test the nightlife section. Not really my thing. I need sleep. I did test the Food suggestions, as I went to Metro Cafe (an italian place which was apparently very good). It was good, but not the best italian food i've had. If anything, I was just glad to be eating something familliar. THE BEST italian place that I found was at the Ritz Carleton Hotel, called Cepe. I'm telling you, it was like a breath of fresh air after eating chinese food for all those days. The reason I'm not giving the guide a 5 is because spending all the time in Beijing, I started meeting various people who'd give me their personal favorites on where to go and what to do so I found myself going against the guide and more on word of mouth by the end of my trip. I also wasn't fond about the organization of the book. I found myself constantly looking for a specific place or a specific map with the translation and it wasn't fun flipping through and through a million times. All in all, I would not have had such a great time if I didn't have this guide. I only wish i had Fodor's Hong Kong for the little time I spent there. I had to take a tour instead. cheers.

Better than expected..

When we went to China..we bought the Eyewitness Guide that everyone raved about...as well as Lonely Planet for Shanghai and Beijing...and we usually love Lonely planet books...this book was a gift..and since we don't usually like Fodor's..we didn't expect much..however we did find it very helpful on the places to eat, places to visit, things to see. Although Eyewitness..and the Insight Guide were much more informative on China culture/history etc..but for getting around.. I would reccommend this book.

Quite Handy

This book packs a lot into a small package. The most helpful part, was the useful phrases in the back of the book. It describes all of the touristy spots well. You won't miss a beat with this one!

Lots of information in a small, handy book.

I liked this book because it covers all the necessary information and is small enough to carry in a pocket. The map is detailed and easy to read. This is a better buy than the larger travel books. The only draw-back is that, because of its size, it cannot include areas on the outskirts of the city.