China "Guide" Books
We managed to get a bootleg copy of the new Lonely Planet (2007) edition. As the Chinese govt doesn't allow the import of the China Lonely Planet - probably because it is not very flattering, and also as it has 'Taiwan' on ti's map - we have been struggling along with our 2005 edition (the latest when we left in May).
This being China, some enterprising person simply smuggled in a new one, and photocopied it and voila, we have the new edition. Very nicely done bootleg, by the way.
I really don't know why the government bothers. Every Chinese kid knows how to install or use proxy servers so that they can view any website they want. Every movie you can think of is for sale for peanuts within hours on DVD (I went to see Harry Potter in Chengdu and there was at least one guy with a video camera there, sitting within 3 feet of the usher). It's all about market demand and free enterprise here, and I more often than I can count have to remind myself that I am in a Communist country....
Anyhow, even the new Lonely Planet is bloody useless. Honestly, I think it causes us more grief than help, as we spend hours slogging around trying to find a hotel that is now a hole or a restaurant that is now a building site. But then they have a daunting job, trying to explain to the hordes of lost and hungry foreigners this vast and heaving country. China is changing so fast and building so quickly that it's just breathtaking. No wonder the guide books can't keep up...
You should see the building sites. Everywhere. We read that workers on building sites in Beijing are making 500 yuan a month, and are happy to get the gig. We spent 120 on a hotel last night without batting an eyelash. And they work hard: long days, six days a week, and any concept of 'Health and Safety' is just a concept.
With the huge workforce they have here, they can, and are, literally moving mountains.
Meantime, I am trusting to my instincts and finding the best food you can imagine. A crowd, and a clean work surface is about all I ask for in a restaurant now. And these street vendors are a godsend. Simple, fast and clean food. In the past 12 weeks in China we have only had one crappy meal, and that was from a Lonely Planet recommended restaurant. Maturally.
