Discover China

Nora D.S. Robins is co-ordinator of Internal Collections at the
University of Calgary Libraries.

Over the past few years there has been such a proliferation of travel books on the People’s Republic of China that one wonders why we need another one. The answer is that Discover China is directed primarily toward Canadian travelers by an author who, while born in China, now lives and works in Canada.

The author’s declared purpose in writing this guide is to describe places in China and to present the attitudes and mores of the Chinese. The book is divided into three parts. The first provides practical information on passport regulations, health needs, currency, hotels, climate, and food. The second part gives some background on China’s history, political system, culture, and major museums. There is also an interesting chapter on the role of women in the new society. The third and longest section is a guide to 60 cities and sites with a brief description of the major points of interest, accommodation, restaurants, shopping, and entertainment in each city. The book concludes with several appendices: a vocabulary of useful Chinese phrases, a list of related reading, city maps, and addresses and telephone numbers for hotels, diplomatic offices, and China Travel Service.

Discover China is quite successful in meeting the needs of travellers. There is a lot of helpful information for planning a trip and for appreciating the historic sites when in China.

The book suffers from an overwhelming laudatory tone, small print, and poorly reproduced black-and-white photos.