China Book

	List of Maps	viii
1	The Best of China	1
1	The Best China Experiences	1
2	The Best Small Towns	3
3	The Best Countryside Trips	3
4	The Best Mansions & Palaces	5
5	The Best Museums	6
6	The Best Temples	7
7	The Best Markets	8
8	The Best Festivals	9
9	The Best Up-and-Coming Destinations	9
10	The Best Local Accommodations	10
11	The Best Buys	11
12	The Best Chinese Restaurants	12
2	Planning Your Trip to China	14
1	The Regions in Brief	14
2	Visitor Information	17
3	Entry Requirements & Customs	18
4	When to Go	24
	China Calendar of Events	27
5	Travel Insurance	32
6	Health & Safety	32
7	Specialized Travel Resources	35
8	Planning Your Trip Online	36
9	The 21st-Century Traveler	37
	Online Traveler's Toolbox	38
10	Getting There	39
11	Packages for the Independent Traveler	42
12	Escorted General-Interest Tours	43
13	Special-Interest Trips	48
14	Getting Around	49
	Ten Rules for Taking Taxis Around Town	53
15	Tips on Accommodations	54
16	Tips on Dining	58
17	Suggested Itineraries	58
18	Recommended Reading	59
	Fast Facts: China	61
3	Beijing, with Tianjin & Hebei	67
1	Orientation	68
	Neighborhoods in Brief	72
2	Getting Around	73
	Fast Facts: Beijing	74
3	Where to Stay	76
	Airport Hotels	88
4	Where to Dine	88
5	Exploring Beijing	97
	The Big Makeover	101
	Waling Tour: The Back Lakes	110
6	Side Trips from Beijing	113
	On the Wild Wall	114
7	Shopping	121
8	Beijing After Dark	124
9	Chengde	128
10	Shanhaiguan	134
11	Shijiazhuang	137
	Walking Tour: The Pagodas of Zhengding	139
4	The Northeast	146
1	Shenyang	146
	Minorities & the Manchu Myth	151
	Model Citizens?	155
2	Dandong	156
	Border Crossing: North Korea & Russia	158
3	Dalian & Lushun	159
4	Changchun	167
5	Jilin City	172
	Wild China: Yanbian	174
6	Changbai Shan	178
7	Harbin	181
8	Wu Da Lianchi	190
9	Manzhouli	191
5	Along the Yellow River	195
1	Datong	195
2	Hohhot	202
	Walking Tour: Hohhot: Temple to Temple	204
3	Yinchuan	211
	The (Nearly) Lost Dynasty of the Xi Xia	212
4	Yan'an	217
5	Pingyao	220
6	Taiyuan	224
7	Wutai Shan	228
6	The Silk Routes	234
1	Xi'an	237
2	Hua Shan	255
3	Tianshui	257
4	Lanzhou	260
5	Linxia	265
6	Hezuo	266
7	Xiahe (Labrang)	266
8	Langmu Si (Taktsang Lhamo)	269
9	Jiayuguan	271
10	Dunhuang	276
11	Turpan (Tulufan)	282
12	Urumqi (Wulumuqi)	288
13	Kuqa (Kuche)	294
14	Kashgar (Kashi)	298
15	Tashkurgan (Tashikuergan)	306
16	Khotan (Hetian)	307
	Wild China: Yining (Gulja)	310
7	Eastern Central China	313
1	Zhengzhou	314
2	Dengfeng & Song Shan	320
3	Luoyang	324
4	Kaifeng	329
	Kaifeng's Jews	332
5	Ji'nan	334
6	Tai Shan & Tai'an	337
	The Great Mountain	338
7	Qufu	343
	Confucius Says	344
8	Qingdao	350
	Wild China: The Funeral Pits of Zibo	358
9	Nanjing	360
	The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom	364
	The Nanjing Massacre	368
10	Yangzhou	373
	The Grand Canal	374
	Huaiyang Cuisine	378
11	Wuxi, Tai Hu & Yixing	379
	Wild China: The Water Village of Tongli	383
	Wild China: Xuzhou	384
12	Hefei	386
13	Huang Shan	388
14	Tunxi	393
	Huizhou Architecture	396
8	Shanghai	399
1	Orientation	400
	Neighborhoods in Brief	402
2	Getting Around	403
	Fast Facts: Shanghai	404
3	Where to Stay	406
4	Where to Dine	417
5	Exploring Shanghai	423
6	Shopping	432
7	Shanghai After Dark	434
8	Suzhou	435
9	Hangzhou	438
9	The Southeast	442
1	Shaoxing	443
	The Straight Story	447
	Honk if You Like Calligraphy	449
	Walking Tour: Anchang Gu Zhen	450
2	Ningbo	455
3	Putuo Shan	459
4	Wenzhou	463
5	Fuzhou	473
6	Wuyi Shan	476
7	Quanzhou	480
8	Xiamen	486
	Wild China: The Earth Houses of Yongding	496
9	Jingdezhen	498
10	Jiujiang	502
11	Guangzhou	505
12	Shenzhen	520
10	Hong Kong	525
1	Orientation	525
	Neighborhoods in Brief	532
2	Getting Around	533
	Fast Facts: Hong Kong	534
3	Where to Stay	536
4	Where to Dine	543
5	Exploring Hong Kong	550
6	Shopping	556
7	Hong Kong After Dark	560
8	A Side Trip to Macau	563
11	The Southwest: Mountains & Minorities	573
1	Nanning	576
2	Guilin	581
3	Yangshuo	588
4	Longsheng	595
5	Sanjiang	597
6	Beihai	598
7	Guiyang	601
8	Kaili & the Miao & Dong Autonomous Prefecture	607
	The Miao	608
	The Dong	612
9	Kunming	615
	China's Columbus	626
10	Dali	628
	The Burma Road	630
	The Bai	632
11	Lijiang	636
	The Naxi	640
12	Xianggelila (Zhongdian)	648
	The Search for Shangri-La?	649
13	Baoshan & Tengchong	652
	Crossing into Myanmar	658
14	Jinghong & Xishuangbanna	658
	The Dai	659
15	Jianshui	664
16	Hainan Island	668
12	Yangzi & Beyond	673
1	Chengdu	673
	The Ways of Tea	687
2	Emei Shan	688
	A Proper Visit to Emei Shan	689
3	Le Shan	691
4	Qingcheng Shan	693
5	Wolong Nature Reserve (Wolong Ziran Baohu Qu)	695
6	Jiuzhai Gou (Valley of Nine Villages)	697
7	Chongqing	700
8	Dazu (Dazu Buddhist Grottoes)	708
9	Middle Reaches of the Chang Jiang	711
10	Wuhan	716
11	Wudang Shan	723
12	Changsha	724
	Mao's Roots	728
13	Nan Yue Heng Shan	730
14	Wulingyuan/Zhangjia Jie	732
13	The Tibetan World	737
1	Xining	738
	Tsongkapa: Tibet's First Catholic?	743
2	Tongren (Repkong)	745
3	Yushu (Jyekundo)	747
4	Maqin (Dawu)	750
	The Panchen Lama's Letter	751
5	Golmud (Ge'ermu)	753
	Highway Robbery	754
	Railway on the Roof of the World	755
6	Lhasa (Lasa)	755
7	Shigatse (Riikaze)	767
	Where Is the Panchen Lama?	768
8	Gyantse (Jiangzi)	770
9	Sakya (Sajia)	772
10	Lhatse (Lazi)	773
11	Pelbar (Dingri)	774
12	Tingri (Lao Dingri)	775
	Everest Trekking	776
13	Zhangmu (Dram)	776
	Wild China: Mount Kailash & Lake Manasarovar	778
Appendix A	The Chinese Language	780
1	A Guide to Pinyin Pronunciation	782
2	Mandarin Bare Essentials	783
3	Selected Destinations by City	788
Appendix B	The Chinese Menu	803
	Index	818