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The DK travel guide helps you to get the most out of your trip to China, providing expert recommendations as well as detailed practical information. The opening chapter Introducing China maps the country and sets it in its historical and cultural context. Each of the seven regional sections is divided into area chapters that cover from one to three provinces each. Here you will find descriptions of the most important sights with maps, pictures and illustrations. Hotel and restaurant recommendations can be found in Travelers Needs . The Survival Guide contains practical information on everything from transport personal safety.
672 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
About the author
Hugh Sebag-Montefiore
13 books44 followersHugh Sebag-Montefiore was a barrister before becoming a journalist and historian. He has written for the Sunday Times, Sunday Telegraph, Observer, Independent on Sunday, and Mail On Sunday. His first book Kings On The Catwalk: The Louis Vuitton and Moët-Hennessy Affair was published in 1992.
Bletchley Park, the backdrop to much of the action in his first history book Enigma: The Battle For The Code (published in 2000), used to be owned by Hugh’s great great grandfather, Sir Herbert Leon. Hugh’s father, Stephen, used to stay at Bletchley Park every Christmas, at a time when the house was humming with servants, and when the garden was tended by no less than forty gardeners. During the run up to the 70th anniversary of the capture of the Enigma codebooks from German U-boat U-110, Hugh was commissioned by Bletchley Park to supply the text and photos for an exhibition describing the capture.
The location for the climax of his next book, Dunkirk: Fight To The Last Man (published in 2006), also summoned up forgotten memories within Hugh’s family. His cousin Denzil Sebag-Montefiore lost his precious ivory backed hair brushes engraved, with his initials, which had to be thrown into the sea at Dunkirk, along with other heavy items in his backpack, so that he would be more buoyant. He eventually made it back to England, after being heaved into one of the boats ferrying British soldiers out to the larger ships waiting off shore. Another cousin, Basil Jaffé, passed the time waiting to be rescued from the shallows near one of the Dunkirk beaches by reading his miniature edition of Shakespeare’s plays.
Hugh’s next book will tell the story of another great British military enterprise: the 1916 Battle of the Somme. It is to be published by Penguin in July 2016, at the beginning of the Somme centenary.
From http://www.hughsebagmontefiore.com/th...
Bletchley Park, the backdrop to much of the action in his first history book Enigma: The Battle For The Code (published in 2000), used to be owned by Hugh’s great great grandfather, Sir Herbert Leon. Hugh’s father, Stephen, used to stay at Bletchley Park every Christmas, at a time when the house was humming with servants, and when the garden was tended by no less than forty gardeners. During the run up to the 70th anniversary of the capture of the Enigma codebooks from German U-boat U-110, Hugh was commissioned by Bletchley Park to supply the text and photos for an exhibition describing the capture.
The location for the climax of his next book, Dunkirk: Fight To The Last Man (published in 2006), also summoned up forgotten memories within Hugh’s family. His cousin Denzil Sebag-Montefiore lost his precious ivory backed hair brushes engraved, with his initials, which had to be thrown into the sea at Dunkirk, along with other heavy items in his backpack, so that he would be more buoyant. He eventually made it back to England, after being heaved into one of the boats ferrying British soldiers out to the larger ships waiting off shore. Another cousin, Basil Jaffé, passed the time waiting to be rescued from the shallows near one of the Dunkirk beaches by reading his miniature edition of Shakespeare’s plays.
Hugh’s next book will tell the story of another great British military enterprise: the 1916 Battle of the Somme. It is to be published by Penguin in July 2016, at the beginning of the Somme centenary.
From http://www.hughsebagmontefiore.com/th...
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
April 7, 2012
I've recently returned from a business trip to Beijing and will be going to Canton in the summer. The most useful part of this guide for me so far were the very detailed and helpful street maps of Beijing, but there are also some good tips for shopping and customs. I was completely underwhelmed by the guides to major tourist attractions including the Temple of Heaven complex, the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace. There was very little helpful and relevant material in here, and whilst the cut-away pictures are a nice gimmick, these might be more suited to armchair travellers, as they are of little use in the field. There is insufficient information for even the most cursory of visits to these sites, and those with an interest in more than "ticking off" the sites will need to do additional research or take an additional guidebook. I am hoping that when I go south, I will find this book more useful...
July 19, 2018
This book is fairly standard. It was the highest rated China travel guide on Amazon, at the time I bought it. I also purchased the most recent edition, which was more expensive, but necessary. I can’t give it the most helpful review, because I didn’t use it enough to speak to its accuracy. Here are the down sides: no prices; restaurants are all listed in the back instead of with the city; it’s heavy to carry around. What it comes down to is this: if you are travelling to only one or two cities (like I was), this isn’t really worth its weight in your luggage. You would be better off to borrow it from the library and copy off the few pages that would be applicable to you (not exceeding any copyright laws, of course). Otherwise, this strikes me as a standard travel information guide, and would be best if you were traveling without a tourguide to multiple places. It has information, as well as a smattering of history and fun facts and photos. Would be most useful in planning your trip.
***REVIEW WRITTEN FOR THE STARVING ARTIST***
***REVIEW WRITTEN FOR THE STARVING ARTIST***
January 18, 2020
Great photos. Not enough information on suggested areas to see -- just a bit too broad to be useful for travel planning. I'm going to look for more information on specific cities. It would be like getting a single book on the United States: there is too much information to pack into a single book.
May 20, 2019
4 - 4½ stars
March 18, 2020
Practical book and definitely will use when will travel to China. Unfortunately now it should be postponed.
October 14, 2020
I have never traveled to China. This book was a good read on the highlights in traveling there.
August 27, 2021
Great book for planning your first trip to China (or more!)
October 9, 2024
" Thượng hữu thiên đàng. Hạ hữu Tô Hàng" Cuốn sổ tay du lịch nhưng với vô vàn kiến thức về lịch sử, văn hóa, địa lý của đất nước Trung Hoa. Sách được in màu với vô số hình ảnh đẹp Chất lượng 5 sao.
February 21, 2014
This book encompasses a wide range of information for tourists in China. From Beijing to Hong Kong, it provides detailed descriptions of each area of interest in China. Also, it includes insider tips written by people who have went and touches on the history of each area of interest. Furthermore, the book provides a detailed picture of most areas of interest, including street by street maps to real life pictures of each area. Culture is also touched on in most pages of the book, and the author describes the culture and traditions of each province touched on.
Overall, it is a great book that gave me a detailed insight to the attractions ill be seeing when I go there. But, since I'm not actually in China, the book could be kind of dry to read. But, it was overall a fantastic book that I would recommend to anybody.
Overall, it is a great book that gave me a detailed insight to the attractions ill be seeing when I go there. But, since I'm not actually in China, the book could be kind of dry to read. But, it was overall a fantastic book that I would recommend to anybody.
October 9, 2023
? Ik was op zoek naar informatie over China omdat ik een Chinees gezin ga voorlezen deze week. Mijn Nederlandse vertaling heeft dezelfde cover.
🤔 Ik heb vooral de algemene informatie over China gelezen inclusief de geschiedenis en topografie (waar liggen de bekendste steden Beijing, Hongkong en Wuhan...)
MW 10/10/21
🤔 Ik heb vooral de algemene informatie over China gelezen inclusief de geschiedenis en topografie (waar liggen de bekendste steden Beijing, Hongkong en Wuhan...)
MW 10/10/21
August 14, 2013
An excellent guide for an extended trip to China that I took in 2010-11 - I particularly liked the street plans and detailed sections on key sites in Beijing, Shanghai, etc.
I will definitely be using this book again when I return to China later this year.
I will definitely be using this book again when I return to China later this year.
July 7, 2015
DK travel guides are hands-down the best. Every time I carry one people ask, "Where did you get that?" There are tons of pictures and maps, and it's organized much more logically than most travel guides.
February 17, 2020
Very informative. Planned a trip to China for Christmas last year. This book is simple, has detailed maps, (including bus, plane and train routes to destinations) detailed pictures and history of each site to visit. Very helpful for someone like myself.
October 14, 2020
Great book full of some great hits and tips on travelling to and through China. I liked all the extra info it gives covering cultural things to note and local things of interest.
Will be reading lots of it before our trip to China next year adn definitely taking it with us!
Will be reading lots of it before our trip to China next year adn definitely taking it with us!
September 27, 2010
the glossary would have been more helpful if pinyin accents were indicated.
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August 1, 2011A very useful guide. Makes me feel like I have some idea of what I'm heading into.
August 14, 2012
"Eyewitness" is my favorite guidebook series! While skimpy on budget traveler information like location of laundrettes,the pictures and diagrams are incomparable.
October 19, 2012
These are the best guide books with great photos and important information well organized.
December 31, 2012
This guide came in quite handy when I was in China. I will purchase DK Guides to plan for future vacations.
February 26, 2014
Read on Chinese New Year
November 16, 2016
Good photos but poorly organized. Nice book if used in conjunction with another more informative travel guide.
February 20, 2019
This was a different kind of book; never read a travel guide before. Heavy and full of stuff.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews