Frommer's China
Simon Foster, Jen Lin-Liu, Sharon Owyang, Sherisse Pham, Beth Reiber, Lee Wing-sze, Christoper Winnan
We are using this book to prepare for our trip to China in the fall. I checked out several China guidebooks from the library for a trial read, and this one seems to be the most complete and helpful. For example, it was the only one that had a good discussion of the pros and cons of using a tour company, and that recommended a list of companies, which have some expertise in working around the corrupt Chinese infrastructure. For trip planning purposes, I am also get a lot of value out of the Frommer's "star" ratings. For example, this is leading me to re-consider a Yangtze River cruise, that is still included in many conventional tours, despite the 2009 flooding project.
