The China Guidebook

by Fredric M. Kaplan, Arne de Keijzer, Julian M. Sobin

Includes comprehensive listings of more than one thousand hotels, detailed coverage of hundreds of cities and points of interest, and a Chinese language guide

Genres: Reference, Nonfiction

800 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1985

Reviews

[Denise Spicer · Rating 3 out of 5]

1987 was quite a while ago so lots of the details in this book are out of date but it is fun to browse through and gives you a sense of what to think about as a tourist. For instance, the book contains sections on planning your trip (group tours or on your own), food, restaurants/banquets, reginal cuisine, how to eat with chopsticks (p. 140 “Don’t get discouraged. If more than one fourth of humanity eats with chopsticks on a daily basis, so can you.”), culture, recreation, shopping, education, health care and religion, arts, handicrafts and museums. Then there are separate sections on cities and sites from Anshan – Zhuhai and the “gateway” cities of Hong Kong and Macao. The book also includes Maps and an Appendix which covers reading lists and language info – common phrases useful for travelers. Prominently displayed across the front cover is a banner proclaiming “All-New Section on Hong Kong”. That section makes for interesting reading in light of the fact that Hong Kong is currently (2019) prominently featured in the news.