[.ca] Beijing (ISBN 1740597826)

Tough Task:
Since gaining WTO membership and winning the bid to host the 2008 Olympics two years ago, China has been doing a great deal of house cleaning in its major cities. Beijing in particular is currently undergoing an incredible amount of construction. Ancient neighborhoods and alleyways are being torn town and replaced by mammoth skyscrapers at an incredible rate. Almost anywhere you go in the city you will encounter cranes towering above scaffolding or as yet undeveloped land. New subway lines and major roads are being added at an incredible rate. That being the case, it is impossible to write a 5 star guidebook for the city. The lonely Planet's guidebook does a pretty good job of keeping on top of things, but is unfortunately out of date from the day it hits the presses.

Not up to Lonely Planet Standards:
Lonely Planet guides generally provide good, useful information. This guide, however, is not up to the LP usual standard. The maps are insufficient, even the tear-out map, which is a complete waste -- you can get better maps for free just about anywhere in Beijing. Moreover, LP changed its format, placing the nuts-and-bolts information in a condensed "Directory" section in the back which is not sufficiently detailed. All in all, you're better off with the Time Out guide. The basic information in the two books is about the same, but Time Out does a far better job of recommending restaurants, bars, shops and markets.

Beijing Review:
This book was very helpful to us while we were in Beijing. This is one of the few books that has the Chinese version of the places written out, which was VERY helpful for the taxi drivers. The reviews of the top sites were right on. The only thing we could find wrong with this book was that there is no Rainforest Cafe in Beijing as listed in the book. But looking for that lead us to an Outback Steakhouse that we didn't know was there so it all ended well. If I were going to Beijing I would take this book with me.