China Books

River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze (P.S.)

Peter Hessler

Amazon Price: $10.17 List Price: $14.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Harper Perennial Amazon Marketplace: 88 new & used starting at $3.90

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> History -> Asia -> China -> General
Subjects -> History -> Asia -> China -> General AAS
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Politics -> International -> Relations

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 164 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In 1996, 26-year-old Peter Hessler arrived in Fuling, a town on China's Yangtze River, to begin a two-year Peace Corps stint as a teacher at the local college. Along with fellow teacher Adam Meier, the two are the first foreigners to be in this part of the Sichuan province for 50 years. Expecting a calm couple of years, Hessler at first does not realize the social, cultural, and personal implications of being thrust into a such radically different society. In River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze, Hessler tells of his experience with the citizens of Fuling, the political and historical climate, and the feel of the city itself.

"Few passengers disembark at Fuling ... and so Fuling appears like a break in a dream--the quiet river, the cabins full of travelers drifting off to sleep, the lights of the city rising from the blackness of the Yangtze," says Hessler. A poor city by Chinese standards, the students at the college are mainly from small villages and are considered very lucky to be continuing their education. As an English teacher, Hessler is delighted with his students' fresh reactions to classic literature. One student says of Hamlet, "I don't admire him and I dislike him. I think he is too sensitive and conservative and selfish." Hessler marvels,

You couldn't have said something like that at Oxford. You couldn't simply say: I don't like Hamlet because I think he's a lousy person. Everything had to be more clever than that ... you had to dismantle it ... not just the play itself but everything that had ever been written about it.

Over the course of two years, Hessler and Meier learn more they ever guessed about the lives, dreams, and expectations of the Fuling people.

Hessler's writing is lovely. His observations are evocative, insightful, and often poignant--and just as often, funny. It's a pleasure to read of his (mis)adventures. Hessler returned to the U.S. with a new perspective on modern China and its people. After reading River Town, you'll have one, too. --Dana Van Nest

China Road: A Journey into the Future of a Rising Power

Rob Gifford

Amazon Price: $11.56 List Price: $17.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Random House Trade Paperbacks Amazon Marketplace: 43 new & used starting at $9.82

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Business & Investing -> Economics -> Economic Conditions
Subjects -> Business & Investing -> Economics -> International
Subjects -> Business & Investing -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 62 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Route 312 is the Chinese Route 66. It flows three thousand miles from east to west, passing through the factory towns of the coastal areas, through the rural heart of China, then up into the Gobi Desert, where it merges with the Old Silk Road. The highway witnesses every part of the social and economic revolution that is turning China upside down.

In this utterly surprising and deeply personal book, acclaimed National Public Radio reporter Rob Gifford, a fluent Mandarin speaker, takes the dramatic journey along Route 312 from its start in the boomtown of Shanghai to its end on the border with Kazakhstan. Gifford reveals the rich mosaic of modern Chinese life in all its contradictions, as he poses the crucial questions that all of us are asking about China: Will it really be the next global superpower? Is it as solid and as powerful as it looks from the outside? And who are the ordinary Chinese people, to whom the twenty-first century is supposed to belong?

Gifford is not alone on his journey. The largest migration in human history is taking place along highways such as Route 312, as tens of millions of people leave their homes in search of work. He sees signs of the booming urban economy everywhere, but he also uncovers many of the country’s frailties, and some of the deep-seated problems that could derail China’s rise.

The whole compelling adventure is told through the cast of colorful characters Gifford meets: garrulous talk-show hosts and ambitious yuppies, impoverished peasants and tragic prostitutes, cell-phone salesmen, AIDS patients, and Tibetan monks. He rides with members of a Shanghai jeep club, hitchhikes across the Gobi desert, and sings karaoke with migrant workers at truck stops along the way.

As he recounts his travels along Route 312, Rob Gifford gives a face to what has historically, for Westerners, been a faceless country and breathes life into a nation that is so often reduced to economic statistics. Finally, he sounds a warning that all is not well in the Chinese heartlands, that serious problems lie ahead, and that the future of the West has become inextricably linked with the fate of 1.3 billion Chinese people.

“Informative, delightful, and powerfully moving . . . Rob Gifford’s acute powers of observation, his sense of humor and adventure, and his determination to explore the wrenching dilemmas of China’s explosive development open readers’ eyes and reward their minds.”
–Robert A. Kapp, president, U.S.-China Business Council, 1994-2004


From the Hardcover edition.

Lost on Planet China or How I Learned to Love Live Squid

J. Maarten Troost

Amazon Price: $15.61 List Price: $22.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Broadway Amazon Marketplace: 53 new & used starting at $11.00

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Entertainment -> Humor -> General
Subjects -> Entertainment -> Humor -> General AAS
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Social Sciences -> Customs & Traditions

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 27 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Amazon Best of the Month, July 2008: Maarten Troost is a laowai (foreigner) in the Middle Kingdom, ill-equipped with a sliver of Mandarin, questing to discover the "essential Chineseness" of an ancient and often mystifying land. What he finds is a country with its feet suctioned in the clay of traditional culture and a head straining into the polluted stratosphere of unencumbered capitalism, where cyclopean portraits of Chairman Mao (largely perceived as mostly good, except for that nasty bit toward the end) spoon comfortably with Hong Kong's embrace of rat-race modernity. From Beijing and its blitzes of flying phlegm--and girls who lend new meaning to "Chinese take-out"--to the legendary valley of Shangri-La (as officially designated by the Party), Troost learns that his very survival may hinge on his underdeveloped haggling skills and a willingness to deploy Rollerball-grade elbows over a seat on a train. Featuring visits to Mao's George Hamiltonian corpse and a rural market offering Siberian Tiger paw, cobra hearts, and scorpion kebabs (in the food section), Lost on Planet China is a funny and engrossing trip across a nation that increasingly demands the world's attention. --Jon Foro

Maarten Troost's Travel Tips for China

1. Food can be classified as meat, poultry, grain, fish, fruit, vegetable and Chinese. Embrace the Chinese. If you love it, it will love you back. True, you may find yourself perplexed by what resides on your plate. You may even be appalled. The Chinese have an expression: We eat everything with four legs except the table, and anything with two legs except the person. They mean it too. And so you may find yourself in a restaurant in Guangzhou contemplating the spicy cow veins; or the yak dumplings in Lhasa, or the grilled frog in Shanghai, or the donkey hotpot in the Hexi Corridor, or the live squid on the island of Putuoshan. And you may not know, exactly, what it is you’re supposed to do. Should you pluck at this with your chopsticks? The meal may seem so very strange. True, you may be comfortable eating a cow, or a pig, or a chicken, yet when confronted with a yak or a swan or a cat, you do not reflexively think of sauces and marinades. The Chinese do however. And so you should eat whatever skips across your table. It is here where you can experience the complexity of China. And you will be rewarded. Very often, it is exceptionally good. And when it is not, it is undoubtedly interesting. And really, when traveling what more can one ask for. So go on. Eat as the locals do. However, should you find yourself confronted with a heaping platter of Cattle Penis with Garlic, you’re on your own.

2. To really see China, go to the market. Any market will do. This is where China lives and breathes. It is here where you will find the sights, sounds and smells of China. And it is in a Chinese market where you will experience epic bargaining. The Chinese excel at bargaining. They live and breathe it. It is an art; it is a sport. It is, above all, nothing personal. If you do not parry back and forth, you will be regarded as a chump, a walking ATM machine, a carcass to be picked over. And so as you peruse the cabbage or consider the silk, be prepared to bargain. The objective, of course, is to obtain the Chinese price. You will, however, never actually receive the Chinese price. It is the holy grail for laowais--or foreigners--in China. Your status as a laowai is determined by how proximate your haggling gets you to the mythical Chinese price. But you will never obtain the Chinese price. Accept this. But if you’re very, very good, and you bargain long and hard, and if you are lucky and catch your interlocutor on an off day, you may, just may, receive the special price. Consider yourself fortunate.

3. Travelers are often told to get off the beaten path, to take the road less traveled, to march to a different drum. You don't need to do this in China. The road well-traveled is a very fine road. The French Concession in Shanghai is splendid. The Forbidden City is a wonder of the world. So too the Terracotta Warriors in Xi'an. Indeed, the Chinese say so themselves. There is much to be seen in places that are often seen. And yet... China is not merely a country. It is not a place defined by sights. It is a world upon itself, a different planet even. And to see it--to feel it--means leaving that well-traveled road. And China is an excellent place for wandering. From the monasteries of Tibet to the rainforests of Yunnan Province and onward through the deserts of Xinjiang to the frozen tundra of Heilongjiang Province, China offers a vast kaleidoscope of people and terrain unlike anywhere else on Earth. This may seem intimidating to the China traveler. Will there be picture menus in the Taklamakan Desert? (No.) Is Visa accepted in Inner Mongolia? (Not likely.) Still, one should move beyond the Great Wall. And if you can manage to cross six lanes of traffic in Beijing, you can manage the slow train to Kunming.

4. Hell is a line in China. You are so forewarned.

5. Manners are important in China. How can this be, you wonder? You have, for instance, experienced a line in China. Your ribs have been pummeled. You have been trampled upon by grandmothers who are not more than four feet tall. You have learned, simply by queuing in the airport taxi line, what it is like to eat bitter, an evocative Chinese expression that conveys suffering. This does not seem upon first impression to be a country overly concerned with prim etiquette. But it is. True, hawking enormous, gelatinous loogies is perfectly acceptable in China. And a good belch is fine as well. And picking your teeth after dinner is a sign of urbane sophistication. But this does not mean that manners are not taken seriously in China. It’s just that they are different in China. And so feel free to spit and burp, but do not even think of holding your chopsticks with your left hand. You will be regarded as an ill-mannered rube. So watch your manners in China. But learn them first.

---

Oracle Bones: A Journey Through Time in China (P.S.)

Peter Hessler

Amazon Price: $10.85 List Price: $15.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Harper Perennial Amazon Marketplace: 89 new & used starting at $3.97

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> History -> Asia -> China -> General
Subjects -> History -> Asia -> China -> General AAS
Subjects -> History -> Historical Study -> Civilization & Culture

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 26 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

An Honest View of Today's China 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I really loved Peter Hessler's Rivertown and found Oracle Bones just as enjoyable. The author's style of writing is original and surprising, at unexpected points of his books. I studied in Taiwan in the mid-70's and found Peter Hessler's descriptions of the Chinese to be very similar to my own experiences. I get the feeling that there are others who are finding his writing just as enjoyable - a few days ago I was in the Denver airport and saw a copy of The New Yorker with his article about the Olympics listed at the top. He is a wonderful writer and anyone picking up this book will finish it knowing quite a bit more than he did before starting it.

Editorial Review:

A century ago, outsiders saw China as a place where nothing ever changes. Today the country has become one of the most dynamic regions on earth. In Oracle Bones, Peter Hessler explores the human side of China's transformation, viewing modern-day China and its growing links to the Western world through the lives of a handful of ordinary people. In a narrative that gracefully moves between the ancient and the present, the East and the West, Hessler captures the soul of a country that is undergoing a momentous change before our eyes.

Beyond the Great Wall: Recipes and Travels in the Other China

Jeffrey Alford, Naomi Duguid

Amazon Price: $26.40 List Price: $40.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Artisan Amazon Marketplace: 63 new & used starting at $18.79

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Natural Foods
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Regional & International -> Asian -> Chinese
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Regional & International -> Asian -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

A bold and eye-opening new cookbook with magnificent photos and unforgettable stories.

In the West, when we think about food in China, what usually comes to mind are the signature dishes of Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai. But beyond the urbanized eastern third of China lie the high open spaces and sacred places of Tibet, the Silk Road oases of Xinjiang, the steppelands of Inner Mongolia, and the steeply terraced hills of Yunnan and Guizhou. The peoples who live in these regions are culturally distinct, with their own history and their own unique culinary traditions. In Beyond the Great Wall, the inimitable duo of Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid—who first met as young travelers in Tibet—bring home the enticing flavors of this other China.

For more than twenty-five years, both separately and together, Duguid and Alford have journeyed all over the outlying regions of China, sampling local home cooking and street food, making friends and taking lustrous photographs. Beyond the Great Wall shares the experience in a rich mosaic of recipes—from Central Asian cumin-scented kebabs and flatbreads to Tibetan stews and Mongolian hot pots—photos, and stories. A must-have for every food lover, and an inspiration for cooks and armchair travelers alike.

China: People Place Culture History

DK Publishing

Amazon Price: $26.40 List Price: $40.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: DK Publishing Amazon Marketplace: 47 new & used starting at $17.98

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Photography -> Travel -> Asia
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Photography -> Travel -> Far East
Subjects -> History -> Asia -> China -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Gorgeous journey through a vast country 5 out of 5 stars.
20 of 20 people found this review helpful.

I visited China earlier this year on business, so I was intrigued when I came across this book. When I opened it, I was not disappointed. This book celebrates China and its variety of culture, art, landscapes and rich history with beautiful photography and educational text.

The beginning section of the book draws you in with page after page of beautiful photographs of different landscapes in China, sprinkled with verses from Chinese poetry (translated to English, of course). It makes the reader aware of the varied landscapes (snow to desert, mountains to plans, forest to fields) that make up the vast country of China. Truly a treasury of photos!

The next section explains Chinese history, complete with a timeline. The information is provided in titled short paragraphs and articles so it is easy for the reader to get a glimpse of the history and read quick pieces for more detail. Small articles include items such as "The Grand Canal" and "The Boxer Uprising". All are sprinkled with old photographs and pictures of paintings and artifacts.

The most delightful section of the book is "A Day in the Life" which is a collection of stories about daily life of particular people in different areas of China. There's the life of a student in Shaanxi, a Chinese herbalist, a Buddist Monk, a Cricket Seller, and a farmer, just to name a few. The photos and text provide a window into the lives of the people of China to let the reader see life from their eyes.

There is also a section on Chinese Culture, which includes articles on philosphy and religion, painting, literature and Chinese opera.

The last segment of the book is entitled "Architecture" and contains pieces on various types of building styles, both old and new. From modern buildings such as the 88-story Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai to an old Buddist Monastery in Hebei, this chapter contains a wealth of information and beautiful photography. The Jin Mao Tower is truly stunning inside (I wish I had gone to see it while I was there!). The Couple's Garden is typical of the gardens in Suzhou that I visited while there. One of the most beautiful places shown in called the "Temple of Heaven" with colorful painted decor and detailed stonework.

I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone wanting to learn about China and its culture. It is not only informative, but makes a beautiful "coffee table book"!

Editorial Review:

As the world's oldest continuous civilization and most populous country, with the fastest-growing economy, China is experiencing profound social, economic, and political change. A detailed exploration of the country's long, rich history paired with its complex present makes China a one-of-a-kind reference that offers an eye-opening, thought-provoking and authoritative visual guide to one of the world's great nations. AUTHOR BIO: Written by an international team of China specialists.

Lonely Planet China

Damian Harper, Andrew Burke, Julie Grundvig

Amazon Price: $21.11 List Price: $31.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Sheila Shine - Model: 1 Amazon Marketplace: 63 new & used starting at $17.80

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Travel -> Asia -> China -> General
Subjects -> Travel -> Asia -> China -> General AAS
Subjects -> Travel -> Asia -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 92 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Death by Lonely Planet 5 out of 5 stars.
7 of 10 people found this review helpful.

An exceptional travel guide. Do not count on the prices being accurate but the big picture is spot on.

There are two problems with the Lonely Planet guide: it is too heavy for a traveler; it is on the banned books list in China (but my copy was not taken in my last two trips).

Death by Lonely Planet refers to guiding thousands of tourists to a once untouched spot. The Lonely Planet guide is a blessing and a curse.

China travel help 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

We are independent travelers who usually travel with Lonely Planet. China is changing so fast it is hard to keep any guide up to date, but the travel and site information here was generally accurate and very helpful. I was disapointed in some of the restaurant recomendations.

Did the authors actually go? 2 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I used this book only in Beijing and Shanghai, so I can only vouch for those two sections. The maps of Beijing were great, when they were there. Because the book appears not to have been copy edited, there are lots of references to more detailed maps there are not actually in the book.

Also, the Beijing section doesn't include some of the most interesting areas for tourists to visit. It seems like someone just did a google search on Beijing and listed the first few things that come up, regardless of their interest or relevance to tourists. A major park walking distance to the forbidden city surrounded by cafes, museums and excellent souvenir shops is simply not listed.

Shanghai was a little better.

It is a good book for dreaming though. I am keeping my copy so I can plan ahead for next trip. Before I actually go though I will be buying a different book.

Editorial Review:

Removes greasy film and water marks. Resists fingerprints and streaking. Preserves the surface against deterioration. Also works on Formica, porcelain, fiberglass, enamel, plastic, leather and furniture. USDA Classification A7. 12 cans per case.

China (EYEWITNESS TRAVEL GUIDE)

DK Publishing

Amazon Price: $29.40 List Price: $30.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: DK Travel Amazon Marketplace: 62 new & used starting at $9.91

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Travel -> Asia -> China -> General
Subjects -> Travel -> Asia -> China -> General AAS
Subjects -> Travel -> Guidebook Series -> Eyewitness -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 31 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A must for any traveler 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

The eyewitness travel series is the book of choice for any travel. And the China version doesn't miss.

I traveled to China for vacation 2.5 years ago when I didn't have the Eyewitness guide. I got a good sense of my travels a the time by reading multiple books and asking my guide many questions.

However in my trip this year...I had the Eyewitness guide. It not only strengthened my understanding of the many places, events, and culture which I experienced 2.5 years ago...it prepared me to open my eyes to a whole new world when I traveled in 2007.

What sets DK apart is that it gives you not only practical information...But provide maps/pictures/illustrations which other's cannot present. And this is all that much important for the Western traveler where China is still in the process of fine tuning tourism and how sights are communicated to visitors.

I recommend Eyewitness guides not only for any vacation...but especially for travels to China.

Editorial Review:

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.

Beijing and Shanghai (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

DK Publishing

Amazon Price: $15.64 List Price: $23.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: DK Travel Amazon Marketplace: 49 new & used starting at $9.99

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Travel -> Asia -> China -> Beijing
Subjects -> Travel -> Asia -> China -> Shanghai
Subjects -> Travel -> Asia -> China -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

These two fascinating cities reflect different aspects of China - Beijing is the traditional capital, the seat of political power and home to the ancient monuments of Imperial China; Shanghai is both a financial powerhouse and a city at the cutting edge of fashion with an interesting modern history. This DK Eyewitness Travel Guide provides in-depth coverage of these cities, including Beijing's Great Wall and Forbidden City, Shanghai's Bund and the French Concession, as well as the water towns of Suzhou and Hangzhou, graced with serene and timeless gardens and lakes. Explore China's cultural heritage through richly illustrated features - on everything from Beijing Opera to Confucianism, Chinese Gardens and the Cultural Revolution. Illustrated food features highlight the differing regional cuisines, and resident China experts have provided detailed listings of the best places to stay and eat. Specially devised walking tours take you easily to the heart of these bustling, enigmatic and ultimately bewitching cities.

Hong Kong & Macau (City Guide)

Andrew Stone

Amazon Price: $13.59 List Price: $19.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Lonely Planet Amazon Marketplace: 45 new & used starting at $10.99

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Travel -> Asia -> China -> General
Subjects -> Travel -> Asia -> China -> General AAS
Subjects -> Travel -> Asia -> Hong Kong

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

1* for accuracy, 3* for walking tours. 4* for background reading, THUMBS DOWN. 2 out of 5 stars.
4 of 5 people found this review helpful.

I just went to Hong Kong and Macau for 5 days. The book (Feb 2008 edition, so brand new)had some good background reading and has a pull out map in the back which was nice, until we realized it was inaccurate.

Our basic itinerary was: Day 1: travel/explore kowloon (where we stayed). Day 2, Disneyland AM, Hong Kong peak tram PM. Day 3: Explore hong kong island (AM and early afternoon), Ferry to Macau (afternoon-PM). Day 4: walking tour of Macau, Day 5, Ferry to hong kong airport and fly home. As you can see, we didn't have a lot of time and needed to just hit the highlights.

In general, I thought the walking tours we did were pretty good, though in the future, I'd photocopy those sections. It was hard to walk and look at the book. We only made it halfway through the kowloon walk but it was nice.
After going to disneyland (that section is inaccurate in the book as well), we took the MTR to central and attempted to go to the Peak. There were a few signs on street corners but we followed the map. Seeing that the base of the tram was still halfway up the hill, we opted to take a taxi instead of following signs. We hopped in one, asked for the peak tram, pointed on the map, and the driver, not speaking english or recognizing the location, wouldn't take us. This happened again with the next driver. So we started walking up the hill. But we found a taxi along the way- and to our surprise he took us down the hill and about 6 blocks! OH YES, the #1 tourist attraction in HK is NOT in the right place on the lonely planet map. We also discovered that there's a tourist bus that will take you there from the star ferry. Would have been nice to know that. There seems to be room for improvement in this department- they tell you how to use all the forms of public transport, but not a lot on how to get from one to the other (the ferry terminal is not near the subway, for example)

Day 3- after exploring the city, we wanted to try one of the "highly recommended" restaurants in the book. Arriving at the location after a fair walk, it wasn't there. The security guard at the building informed us that it HAD been there, but there was another restaurant now. Our time wasted, we ended up eating in a mall at about 3pm.

I did enjoy the walking tour of Macau and for that reason I'm not giving it 1*. But even it had basic flaws. For example, it tells you to stop at the fort "before climbing the hill". Actually, as with most forts, it is at the TOP of the hill.

In terms of accomodations reviews in Macau, don't bother, the construction is evolving so fast, no book could keep up.

To sum up, we didn't have a lot of time and we lost a fair amount of it (and general satisfaction) because of this book. NOT RECOMMENDED. We kept wishing we had the Groovy Map to Hong Kong (love the Bangkok one- should have ordered one!).

Groov HONG KONG Map 'N' Guide

Editorial Review:

Discover Hong Kong & Macau

Have your fortune told, Chinese Taoist style

Discover the site of a maze-like walled village, where prostitution and gambling (and illegal dentists) once thrived

Savor the finest Portuguese egg-custard tarts in Macau

Spot your hotel room from the twinkling heights of the Peak

In This Guide:

Two local Cantonese authors, one food critic, endless bowls of fortifying noodles

Fully revamped Macau coverage

Interviews with a political activist, property developer, seminal club owner, and one chef extraordinaire

Content updated daily - visit lonelyplanet.com for up-to-the-minute reviews, updates and traveler insights