Chinese Travelguides

[jbradfor]

Unless I have reason to believe transport is an issue (scarce or just important that I make the transfer in time) I inform locally and/or just head for the transport hub and see what my options are.

I too like that method of travelling -- when I'm travelling by myself (or with certain friends). With a wife and a young child, the "penalty" for mistakes / waiting / issues is much much greater, so it behoves me to plan better.

But in any case that's besides the point. Good for you for liking to travel that way. For people that do not wish to travel like that, we want a greater level of detail. And the point of this discussion is that such level of detail is more prevalent in western travel guides than in Chinese ones.

I mean there's a fair time lapse between reasearch and printing of a travelguide.

Valid point for printed guides. Somewhat valid for electronic / on-line guides. Not at all valid for crowd-sourced guides (e.g. wikitravel).

[skylee]

People have different styles. Some people like more info, if only just to feel assured, some can live with less info and improvise. No point in arguing about this.

I do agree about checking out the bus/train stops/terminals to familiarise oneself with their locations and layout and to get more updated information. I always do this whenever feasible.

[Silent]

For people that do not wish to travel like that, we want a greater level of detail.

To me it's not a matter of wanting but a matter of feasebility. I mean complete info is great, but how much detail can you give with keeping an eye on the amount of paper (weight to carry) and reliability in mind? What is better, very detailed, but dated, info that tends to result in incorrect expectations or more general but (more) correct info? Personally I prefer a correct statement that says "there are hourly buses during the day" then an incorrect statement "hourly busses run at 10 minutes past the hour between 6:10 and 20:10" only to find out on arrival at 7:00 that times have changed to 5 to the hour and that I've to wait for the 7:55 bus. For correct up to date info you'll always need to contact the transport company (and even then....)

Not at all valid for crowd-sourced guides (e.g. wikitravel).

Completely disagree. crowd sourced guides may be fairly up to date for popular spots. They're less so for the less popular places or even more unreliable then a paper guide for off the beaten track places. Oftentimes info is added by one person and never corrected or updated.

The best sources for actual travel info is the websites of the transport companies. They design the schedules and have a commercial interest to keep the online schedules correct and up to date.

[skylee]

For correct up to date info you'll always need to contact the transport company (and even then....)

Haha, I remember travelling on an early bus in Croatia and at a rest stop the bus driver took his time to enjoy his breakfast, which of course resulted in delay (of about 15 mins), and I remember clearly how people waiting for the bus jumped out to the middle of the road waiving their arms to signal the driver to stop. I guess they were all thinking that they had missed the bus.

[panpan86]

Maybe it is because for the majority of Chinese people actually traveling to say America or Europe individually is far beyond their means (apart from the cost there is the visa - very big hurdle for America, Australia and Europe. I speak from personal experience: attempting to organise international holidays with my Chinese companion is a hair-pulling experience. Even for wealthy Chinese traveling on PRC passports, there are many hoops to jump through before they can get a tourist visa for many countries) and what they really want is a sort of picture book with flowery descriptions that allow them the fantasy of travel without the hassle and cost.

So, from that perspective it is understandable why many Chinese guidebooks, to international destinations especially may be weak on the detail side of things.