A Timely New Travel Guide for Seeing China on a Budget

A Guide to Hiking China's Old Road to Shu by Hope Justman is recommended for anyone traveling in China on their own and especially for those who want to get off the beaten track and see a part of China that has thus far been ignored by most guidebooks.

Philadelphia, PA (PRWEB) May 19, 2009 -- The current state of the economy need not deter travelers from visiting China if they forgo the standard tours and follow the advice in an unusual travel guide which tells how to do it for under $25 a day. Although this guide is intended primarily for hikers, it is packed full of useful information on getting around without any prior knowledge of the Chinese language. There are chapters on finding lodging (in all price ranges but especially cheap ones), taking local transportation (including pedicabs and three-wheel taxis), and ordering in restaurants (with seven pages of Chinese/English menu listings augmented by detailed descriptions of unusual dishes not found in American Chinese restaurants). Dog, it turns out, is quite expensive so fears of it being surreptitiously substituted for beef are completely unfounded.

Hikers will enjoy the 19 listed hikes which lie far off the beaten track along an ancient flagstone road that for two thousand years was the only overland route between Xi'an and Chengdu. The hikes are both isolated and scenic as the only sections of the old road that were spared by new highway construction were those stretches in the steepest and most remote mountains. Most of the shorter hikes are close enough to towns for the hiker to find accommodations for the night in a comfortable double room with bath for under $20 or without bath for $5. More intrepid travelers might want to try some of the two- to three day hikes where lodgings are as cheap as $1 a night and the option of staying at a local farmhouse is available. Guides are strongly recommended for these longer hikes and the author lists six local farmers who will perform this service for about $5 a day. They speak no English, but Chinese/English phrases for arranging hikes are included in the book. For those who want to hike without a guide, there are detailed directions and maps in Chinese and English. For GPS enthusiasts, a CD with GPS waypoints can be ordered from the author's website.

Non-hikers will enjoy visiting the region for its scenery and attractions. This is an area that has thus far been ignored by most guidebooks and yet many of its towns retain traces of their past that are well worth a look, including cobbled streets, city walls, gates, and bell towers. In addition to listing the recommended lodgings, restaurants, attractions, and history of these towns, the author has included sidebars containing the impressions of 19th century Western travelers who traversed and wrote about the same route. Many aspects of traditional culture which they describe can still be seen today. To aid the traveler in accessing such remote areas, the English/Chinese phrase section of the book has dropped such staples as "Does this hotel have laundry service?" in favor of "How far to the next village" and "I want to hike for two days."

Despite being a guidebook, the many historical sidebars and the author's own observations go a long way toward making the book quite an enjoyable read. At one point, commenting on the bizarre juxtapositions that often result when the Chinese use English names on their shop signs, she writes: "If I ever need to visit a machine shop in Chengdu, 'Everhot' will definitely be my first choice; and if I'm pressed for time and have to chose between getting my brakes fixed and having a manicure, no problem. At the 'Tian Long Motor Repair and Beauty Shop' I can get them both done at once."

For more information or to order the book, visit the author's website at www.chinasgreatroads.com. The book can also be ordered from Amazon and other major online booksellers. This book is recommended for adventurous travelers of all ages and incomes.

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