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Title: Beijing (City Guide)
ISBN: 1740598423
Author:
Damian Harper
Publicate Date: 2007-08-01
Publish: 2007-08-01
List Price: $18.99
Average Customer Rating: 4.0
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $7.74
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $7.75
Amazon Merchant Price: $12.91
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Dated
I bought this book for the Olympics and was disappointed. It didn't have the full subway maps updated and the Olympics section was sparse. It needs an update as Beijing is changing rapidly
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2: Great resource, especially with Chinese venue names
Compared to the other travel guides (I have them all - Frommer's, Time Out, Fodors, HoodHot), this one has good maps, conveniently located in the back of the book (you'll need em! and quick! to try and figure out how to tell the driver where you want to go) and a great index where you can look up venues that you wanted to go to etc. Great for finding good places to go in Beijing, and better when I used it with my iPhone (downloaded the HoodHot Beijing Taxi Guide app from the app store, which translates English venue names to Chinese and gives Chinese addresses), so I didn't have to bring the clunky book around!
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3: Just OK
The quality of the book does not compare with many others available. Very few pictures let alone even fewer color pictures. Information is pretty helpful. However nothing really stands out.
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4: Very Good, But Then You'd Hope So, Wouldn't You?
I saw this book in a book store the other day and sat down to take a peek through it. Two hours later and I realized that, well, it was two hours later. This is a very good guide, but for a city as culturally interesting as Beijing, one wouldn't really expect anything less. Beijing is easy to get around (it's essentially a giant grid enveloped by a handful of ring roads) and the transportation system is a breeze, if not a little dingy. Also, there are plenty of engaging sites and areas to take in (the hutong are fascinating) and it is quite obvious which places you should see and which you may want to forego. The Lonely Planet doesn't always come through in the way you expect it to, but it does here. Moreover, it doesn't prattle on in flowery, over-generous language like it does it some volumes. I give this book a bouyant four stars.
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5: A Resource & A Bargain
Comprehensive, concise and well-organized. A great resource and a true bargain. The fact that this series proudly features long-time local residents in their guides says a lot about their commitment and values. I also appreciate that they inspire enthusiasm and exploration in the reader almost from the first page. Also note this is hot off the presses in August 2007. Unless they somehow got everything totally wrong (I'll know when I visit over New Year's) this is 5 stars easily.
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