Lonely Planet Shanghai City Guide [ペーパーバック]

I took this book with me on my recent trip to Shanghai, and I found it very helpful. It includes a large section on the history of the city and how it has evolved over time, which is something I really enjoy. It then goes on with a good variety of recommendations for every budget, separated by area. It was very helpful that each area section had its own mini map with the landmarks and recommendations highlighted. The foldout full color city map in the back was also helpful, and I was able to take that along on day trips when I didn't feel like lugging the book around. I didn't find the writing style derogatory or unappreciative of the culture as it is, it is simply a fact that the city does very little to preserve its historical aspects. The writing was objective and informative and gave me a good idea of what to expect while there. It also had a helpful section on the World's Fair, which was going on while I was there. All in all, a good reference book. I'll look to lonely planet again for future trips.

We just spent three weeks in Shanghai, and 10 days last Spring. During both trips we used this guide extensively. It's in-depth and, most important of all, provides names and locations *in Chinese* for all attractions - this is key information if you're trying to take a cab or get help with finding a location. The maps of each area of the city are good in showing you an integrated view of attractions, shopping, restaurants, etc. all in one spot, vs. other travel guides we've used. These maps are passable; combined with the map you'll get at your hotel you'll be good to go. All in all, we found this to be the best guide to the city.

That said, there are a few weaknesses to the book. First, the "enclosed color map" is almost useless, showing only absolutely major street names. Just leave it at home and get the "official" map at your hotel when you arrive. More serious is the lack of cross-referencing at times. Some restaurant chains, such as Ding Tai Feng, are listed under only one part of the city. In that listing it will say "there are other restaurants in the chain in the following locations". Only if you've read the whole restaurant section and marked these locations will you know that they're there. For example, Indian Kitchen and Element Fresh have branches in the Pudong area, which you wouldn't know if you looked in this book's Pudong section - these chains are listed elsewhere. A simple "the following restaurants have locations in this area" addition in each dining area's section would make the book considerably more useful. The restaurant list is, of necessity, somewhat thin in places - the impression given is that the French Concession area is where most of the eateries are located. Some pleasant chains like Wagas are absent. Still, the choices provided are generally great; this book will always get two thumbs up from me for their recommendations of places like Bali Laguna and Yang's Fried Dumplings.

The greatest weakness of this guide is the abysmal index. It consists of two parts, a general (and quite incomplete) index, followed by a categorization of places by type. Very specific type, such as "Restaurants, Thai". This can be helpful if you're browsing by cuisine or by what you want to buy, but it's absolutely maddening if you are trying to look up a place that you read about earlier. A perfect example of this is the Shanghai Propaganda Poster Art Center (a great museum to visit, by the way). The guide gives the best description of how to find it (it's truly obscure, being in the basement of an apartment complex). However, finding the entry in the book by using the indices is nearly impossible. It's not in the normal index, so you check the categories quasi-index. Look under museums, art, and other categories - no go, it's not there. I was curious where in the world the authors had placed the entry, and I finally found it under Galleries, and it was listed there without the word "Shanghai" in front. True, there's a gallery of posters you can buy, but that's like listing the Zoo under "Shopping, Stuffed-Animals" - the art center is mostly dedicated to the display of posters (with some of the best English explanatory signs of any museum we visited), with a museum shop next to it. If this quasi-index is all that important to the authors, they should at least include some sights under more than one category. Better yet, add an additional 4 pages to the book and include every sight in the regular index.

Knowing these problems, you can work around them: bookmark pages or note them down as you find them, scribble in the margins, etc. It's an imperfect guide, it's a bit dated (Shanghai's changing fast, e.g. I recommend you download a Metro app for your mobile phone or other device - the subway is great), but it's head and shoulders better than the various pretty guides out there in terms of usability. Combined with Wikitravel to help fill in details (get a Jiao Tong travel card if you're there for a week or more) and searching the web for other info (Frommers had some additional restaurants, Time Out Shanghai the occasional event listing, etc.) and you're good to go.

I haven't actually gone yet but I'm somewhat annoyed after reading this guide. The perspective of the authors seem to be of the typical sort that thinks that the only good things about China are at least 100 years old and who deny that anything about modern Chinese culture can possibly be good or valuable. The prejudices really come through in this book; in fact they quite literally begin on page one. Since this book just recently came out I thought it would have some updated information in light of Expo '10, but instead there is nothing - perhaps because the authors don't actually live in Shanghai (they live in Paris and Beijing). I'd rather have a guide that actually likes the city and wants visitors to appreciate it as much as they do, thanks.

There is absolutely nothing in this book that can't be gotten from another guide or (especially) from the forums on TripAdvisor, which has contributions from actual locals.