Reviews (1)

Great guide
Just got back from my trip to Hong Kong, Macau, and some areas of China.This guide was invaluable and perfect for my needs.The maps and highlights are great.The photos are colorful and plentiful.I chose this guide over the Lonely Planet because Lonely Planet seemed to have more listings, like hotels and restaurants.My hotel accommodations were already taken care of, so I didn't need that. The Insight Guide gives a good recitation of the history and the contemporary culture.I highly recommend it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Asia - China    2. Guangzhou (China)    3. Guidebooks    4. Hong Kong (China)    5. Macau (China : Special Administrative Region)    6. Travel    7. Travel - Foreign    8. Travel Guides    9. Hong Kong    10. Travel & holiday guides   

Subjects:  1. Asia - China    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. Hong Kong    5. Travel & holiday guides    6. Travel / Asia / China   

Reviews (8)

Good overall guidebook...
I found this book to be extremely helpful in covering all the bases of transport, taxes, tipping, typical business hours, history, background, and a good overview of what's where, and how to get there.Often times, we'd have questions about things like poverty level, health coverage, average income, quality of water -- and found that the guide pretty much answered all of those, and more.
Great Guide!
This was the first time I bought a travel book from Lonely Planet.I loved it because it provides a historical as well as a modern background on the cities being visited.The recommendations for dinner, site-seeting, etc were great!The only thing I would've added is a rating of the top sites to see if you are only in the city for a short time.

Injustice!
This LP guide is a pretty good guide to HK and Macau. Being a foodie, I think their food guide section does not do HK's gastronomical scene justice! Beautiful food galore on the islands and LP can't even manage to cover half of that wonder. Oh well ;) Otherwise, it is quite a comprehensive guide to what's there to see around HK and Macau. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Asia - China    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign   

Subjects:  1. Maps    2. Maps & Road Atlases    3. Travel - United States    4. United States - Midwest - Ohio    5. Travel / road maps & atlases   

Subjects:  1. Maps    2. Maps & Road Atlases    3. Travel    4. Travel - United States    5. United States - South - Mississippi   

Subjects:  1. Atlases    2. Atlases - General    3. Maps & Road Atlases    4. Reference    5. Travel - United States    6. United States - General   

Subjects:  1. Maps    2. Maps & Road Atlases    3. Reference    4. Travel   

Subjects:  1. General    2. Travel - Foreign   

Subjects:  1. Maps & Road Atlases    2. Travel - United States    3. United States - New England - Massachusetts   

Subjects:  1. Asia - China    2. Reference - General    3. Travel    4. Travel - Foreign   

Subjects:  1. Asia - China    2. Travel - Foreign   

Subjects:  1. General    2. Travel - Foreign   

Subjects:  1. Asia - China    2. Asia - Japan    3. Travel    4. Travel - Foreign   

Subjects:  1. China    2. Travel & holiday guides   

Reviews (1)

Another very dated book about China
With the way China is screaming into the Twenty-First century, and the speed that things are changing, especially tourist facilities, this book was pretty useless. All of its hotel and restaurant information is over 13 years old. If that's what you're buying this book for, don't bother. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Asia - China    2. Travel - Foreign   

Subjects:  1. (Robert Bennet),    2. 1804-1889    3. Asia - China    4. Boston    5. China - History    6. Correspondence    7. Forbes, R. B    8. History    9. History: World    10. International Trade    11. Massachusetts    12. Merchants    13. Ocean travel    14. Opium trade    15. Sailing - Narratives    16. Sports & Recreation    17. Forbes family   

Subjects:  1. Asia - China    2. Travel - Foreign   

Editorial Review

If you're keen on delving into Hong Kong's culture, you'll do well with Moon Handbooks' guide (which also includes chapters on Macau and Guangzhou). Moon offers an amazingly thorough look at this vibrant city--from its historical beginnings under the Tang Dynasty to its dramatic hand over to China in 1997. Throughout, there are sidebars on a variety of topics, from Confucianism to Chinese medicine to mahjong. The "Food & Restaurants" section will intrigue (or perhaps repulse) readers with its descriptions of meals made from snake, dog, and shark's fin. There is also a chapter on shopping (from the best street markets for Chinese crafts to tailors who will custom-make silk shirts for a song). The body of the book discusses the major tourist areas (Hong Kong Island, New Kowloon, the New Territories) and lists not-to-miss sights such as a ride on the Star Ferry and afternoon tea at the Peninsula Hotel. There are also plenty of tips to make your trip as seamless as possible, from translations of place names into Chinese, Cantonese phrases (simple greetings, foods, etc.), a glossary, and an extensive booklist (from James Clavell's Read more

Reviews (4)

Covers Basics, But Could Be More Practical About Realities
As someone who lived in Hong Kong in the 90s and revisited on business since, I'd like to point out that this is a good guide book for the basics :Where to stay, what places to eat at, how to get around.It gives good coverage of the hikes in the unspoiled northern New Territories (Plover Cove, The Hunchbacks-Ma On Shan area, Stanley Mound - these are some of the most scenic walks in the world).You will be able to fit your budget with this guide.But where it is not so helpful is in the practical realities of life in Hong Kong - what you have to put up with in this crowded, not very happy city in China.Many tourists and expats are shocked by the not very gentle, wall-to-wall crowds of people in Hong Kong, a legacy of the terrible flood of millions of Chinese refugees who poured into China in the decades after the Chinese Revolution, swamping the tiny British colony.Much of Hong Kong's urban parts consist of miles of 40-storey tower blocks of shabby concrete.*Other books* (see below) will help you get a handle on these issues, which dominates all levels of life in Hong Kong, including especially the level of your comfort.Hong Kong people are understandably reluctant to talk about their refugee past; it is considered rude to refer to the shabbyness of much of urban Hong Kong (it causes loss of "face" in Chinese society), but, since it has such an impact on the visitor's stay today, knowing about such essential basics of Hong Kong will help make your trip/domicile more pleasant and rewarding. Another Great Tour Guide on the Pearl of the Orient
This is 1 of the 2 tour guides I recommend for Hong Kong besides Fodor's. As a local who grew up and used to live in Hong Kong, I was both surprisedand excited about how much foreigners can dig deep through this city. Post-colonial Hong Kong still preserves the heart-beat of Chinese heritageunderneath the burgeoning veneer of high-tech development and finances. A "must-have" for the serious explorer of Hong Kong.
Anyone planning a trip to Hong Kong would be wise to pick up a copy of this book. I recently returned from a two-week exploration of the SAR, and I found this book to be invaluable. Not only did it give me maps and allthe essentials, but it gave me insight into the people and culture thatsurrounded me. The only thing I found lacking was the glossary of Chinesephrases. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Asia - China    2. Guangzhou (China)    3. Guidebooks    4. Hong Kong (China)    5. Macau (China : Special Administrative Region)    6. Travel    7. Travel - Foreign   

Subjects:  1. Europe - Italy    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. Italy    5. Travel & holiday guides   

Subjects:  1. 1905-    2. Anecdotes    3. Architecture    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Canada    6. Country life    7. Historical - General    8. Medonte (Canton)    9. Medonte (Township)    10. Oille, Lucille    11. Ontario    12. Travel    13. Vie rurale    14. Wells, Kenneth McNeill,    15. Wells, Kenneth McNeill