Graham Bond - Frommers EasyGuide to Beijing, Xian and Shanghai

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ISBN 978-1-62887-170-8 (paper), 978-1-62887-171-5 (e-book)

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Frommer's Star Ratings System

Every hotel, restaurant and attraction listed in this guide has been ranked for quality and value. Here's what the stars mean:

Recommended

Highly Recommended

A must! Don't miss!

AN IMPORTANT NOTE

The world is a dynamic place. Hotels change ownership, restaurants hike their prices, museums alter their opening hours, and busses and trains change their routings. And all of this can occur in the several months after our authors have visited, inspected, and written about, these hotels, restaurants, museums and transportation services. Though we have made valiant efforts to keep all our information fresh and up-to-date, some few changes can inevitably occur in the periods before a revised edition of this guidebook is published. So please bear with us if a tiny number of the details in this book have changed. Please also note that we have no responsibility or liability for any inaccuracy or errors or omissions, or for inconvenience, loss, damage, or expenses suffered by anyone as a result of assertions in this guide.

CONTENTS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Graham Bond has spent more than a decade writing about China. He lived in mainland China for 5 years, working on the editorial desks of the Shanghai-based travel magazine Asia and Away and Beijings China Daily, and contributing to a number of international publications, including The Times, the South China Morning Post, and The Australian. Graham currently lives in Hampshire, England, where he has recently completed a doctorate in Chinese communications. He is the author of several guidebooks, including Frommers Day by Day guides to Shanghai and Hong Kong.

ABOUT THE FROMMERS TRAVEL GUIDES

For most of the past 50 years, Frommers has been the leading series of travel guides in North America, accounting for as many as 24% of all guidebooks sold. I think I know why.

Although we hope our books are entertaining, we nevertheless deal with travel in a serious fashion. Our guidebooks have never looked on such journeys as a mere recreation, but as a far more important human function, a time of learning and introspection, an essential part of a civilized life. We stress the culture, lifestyle, history, and beliefs of the destinations we cover and urge our readers to seek out people and new ideas as the chief rewards of travel.

We have never shied from controversy. We have, from the beginning, encouraged our authors to be intensely judgmental, criticalboth pro and conin their comments, and wholly independent. Our only clients are our readers, and we have triggered the ire of countless prominent sorts, from a tourist newspaper we called practically worthless (it unsuccessfully sued us) to the many rip-offs weve condemned.

And because we believe that travel should be available to everyone regardless of their incomes, we have always been cost-conscious at every level of expenditure. Although we have broadened our recommendations beyond the budget category, we insist that every lodging we include be sensibly priced. We use every form of media to assist our readers and are particularly proud of our feisty daily website, the award-winning Frommers.com.

I have high hopes for the future of Frommers. May these guidebooks, in all the years ahead, continue to reflect the joy of travel and the freedom that travel represents. May they always pursue a cost-conscious path, so that people of all incomes can enjoy the rewards of travel. And may they create, for both the traveler and the persons among whom we travel, a community of friends, where all human beings live in harmony and peace.

Arthur Frommer

The Best of China

C hina is a continent-size colossus that swats away those who to try to pin it down with platitudes. Its the font of an ancient, unyielding culture, sure, but its also as modern and fearless as a joyriding teen. Its deeply traditional, no doubt, but remains oddly calm in the face of relentless change. Its a communist country, in name at least, but run by technocrats whose financial scheming would put even Wall Street to shame. If theres one thing that can be said with reasonable confidence, its that China rarely stays still for long. The three cities at the heart of this book are rightly renowned, not only for being jam-packed with world-beating tourist sights but also for capturing the different sides of these beguiling contradictions.

Beijing is fast becoming a full-on megacity, dynamic and diverse with pockets of imperial grandeur and low-rise charm. Xian is the original melting potthe New York City of the first millenniumand reels off its ancient hotspots like tomorrow never actually came. Shanghais swagger is of the modern, moneyed variety, but the city tells a seductive tale of former colonial glory and soaring modern ambition. Amid this abundant tourist treasure, hidden dangers lurk: Pollution has become a serious problem for both residents and visitors, navigating what are increasingly large and crowded cities isnt always easy, and the startling rise of domestic tourism has transformed some of the best-known sights into overpriced circuses. Fortunately for every problem in the People's Republic, there is generally a clever solution. You just have to know the secret. Thats what this book is all about. As an entre to the very best that China has to offer, follow the lists overleaf.

Chinas best Authentic Experiences

Walking on the Great Wall (Beijing) Seeing the Great Wall for the first time is sure to get the spine tingling, but for the full blood-pumping experience, you need to clamber up and walk. The section near Jinshanling is still in a pleasingly varied state of repair, some areas freshly restored, others thoroughly crumbling. It runs over steep peaks, through patches of astonishing wilderness, and is a worthy introduction to this magnificent monument. See .

Exploring Shanghais French Concession This is the most well preserved of Shanghais former colonial enclaves, with roads lined with plane trees imported from Paris and gorgeous villas from the 1920s and 1930s, the heyday of swinging Shanghai. Art Deco gems abound, hidden behind years of grime and beneath webs of laundry polesso keep your head up as you wander. See .