Eastern China is the country's boom-belt and its heart is the Pearl of the Orient, Shanghai, a city which was recently wonderfully described to me as "Hong Kong on steroids." Shanghai is the country's most modern city, but manages to retain both its Chinese and European history and its economic development is also helping a renaissance in culture and the arts, along with a shopping and nightlife scene matched only by Beijing and Hong Kong. Around Shanghai, the Water Towns have picturesque canals lined with classic Ming architecture and can make for great day trips, and a little further out, the city of Suzhou offers more of the same, albeit on a larger scale, along with some of the country's finest gardens and the opportunity for some serious silk shopping. Nearly 100 miles south along the Grand Canal, the former Southern Song dynasty (1126-1279) capital of Hangzhou is set on pretty West Lake and is a prime tea-growing region. Away from the lake the city is much like any other Chinese city, but the surrounding countryside and its smattering of temples and tea villages make for some excellent bike rides. Some 110 miles west of Hangzhou, Huangshan is arguably the most beautiful of eastern China's mountains and offers the region's finest scenery and best hiking. The mountain's mist-shrouded, jagged peaks, lone pines and perched temples are straight from a watercolor and it's no wonder Huangshan attracts so many visitors. But fortunately there are enough paths to ensure you can always find yourself a quiet spot. Known as the Pearl of the Orient, Shanghai has endured a boom-bust cycle like no other city in China and is a must-see for a glimpse into the China of the future. It currently has some 20 million residents. A walk along the Bund on the banks of the Huangpu River offers a cityscape to rival Hong Kong's, taking in the glory of Shanghai's colonial past, while at the same time giving views across the river to the city of tomorrow, Pudong. Less than 20 years ago, this was just marshy farmland, but today it boasts countless skyscrapers, among them China's highest tower, the Pearl Oriental TV Tower, and loftiest lodgings, the 88-floor Grand Hyatt. Traditional Chinese sights are a little sparse due to Shanghai's comparative youth, but its colonial and revolutionary history over the past 150 years has left it with a series of significant political buildings. What is more, there are modern activities aplenty, reflecting the city's dynamic and modern heart -fine dining, nightlife, shopping and a kaleidoscope of exhibition centers and good museums await. This a highly detailed guide to everything you need to know about Shanghai and its surroundings - the places to stay, the restaurants, and what to see and do - along with an extensive introductory section on China as a whole. The author lives in China and has been a tour guide there full-time for close to 10 years. This guide is an excerpt from his much larger guide to all of China, also published by Hunter, which is 650 pages in the print edition.

In Touring China, Yajun Mo explores how early twentieth century Chinese sightseers described the destinations that they visited, and how their travel accounts gave Chinese readers a means to imagine their vast country. The roots of China's tourism market stretch back over a hundred years, when railroad and steamship networks expanded into the coastal regions. Tourism-related businesses and publications flourished in urban centers while scientific exploration, investigative journalism, and wartime travel propelled many Chinese from the eastern seaboard to its peripheries. Mo considers not only accounts of overseas travel and voyages across borderlands, but also trips within China. On the one hand, via travel and travel writing, the unity of China's coastal regions, inland provinces, and western frontiers was experienced and reinforced. On the other, travel literature revealed a persistent tension between the aspiration for national unity and the anxiety that China might fall apart. Touring China tells a fascinating story about the physical and intellectual routes people took on various journeys, against the backdrop of the transition from Chinese empire to nation-state.

"... Mainly an account of two journeys taken through China and Tibet by the late Lieutenant Brooke, F. R. G. S. ... Of [Mr. Brooke's diary and photographs] ... and my own and Mr. Meares's observations ... I hope to make something which shall commemorate the real begetter of this volume, and interest the general reader ..."--Prefatory.

While regions such as Europe, Asia and the Pacific, the Americas and the Middle East enjoy their fair share of the tourism cake, Africa still only accounts for five percent of international tourist arrivals worldwide. Tourists who visit Africa from Asia represent only about 3% of the 47 million international tourists the continent receives. One of the reasons for this low traffic from Asia to Africa could be insufficient knowledge about how to tap into the growing Asian source markets. The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is intending to undertake a series of studies primarily to enable African destinations to better understand the Asian tourist consumers' behaviour and needs. This will in turn serve as an effective marketing tool for attracting and increasing tourist flows from Asia to Africa. China has been the first focus of attention for a number of strategic reasons; over the last decade, China has consolidated its status as Asia's largest outbound tourism market. This is in line with UNWTO's projection that by 2020, China will become the largest tourist receiving country and the fourth largest source of outbound travel in the world with 100 million outbound travellers. Besides, China has signed bilateral agreements with a number of African countries as well as has Approved Destination Status.

The Rough Guide to Beijing is the ultimate insider's guide to China's fascinating capital. With the extravagant 2008 Olympics having served as its coming out party, the city has matured; as well as fantastic historic sites that testify to its thousands of years at the heart of the Chinese empire, the city now offers world beating hotels, super-fashionable restaurants and the coolest clubs. All the major and off beat sights are covered, from the avant garde architectural projects such as the new CCTV Tower, to hip bar district Nanluogu Xiang, and the achingly cool arts districts of 798 and Caochangdi. Brushing aside the hype, the guide also reveals the best places to try every kind of cuisine, including, of course, Beijing duck, and the best places to stay, from charming youth hostels tucked down alleyways and courtyard boutique hotels to the most luxurious business behemoths. When the pace of the city gets too frenetic, there's all you need to know for great daytrips, from the magnificent temples of Chengde to the grandest and most secluded stretches of the Great Wall.Easy to read maps are provided throughout the guide, plus there's a handy colour subway map, and the pinyin and Chinese characters are given for all destinations. Originally published in print in 2011. Now available in ePub format.