( 2 reviews )
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Posted: Jun 27 2007
This guide is great for what it is-- a beautifully designed booklet pointing out the chic hotels and clubs, plus some interesting architectural oddities...the writing is sometimes clever, sometimes snarky... it's very much in line with the whole 'global-nomad/jetset' aesthetic that Wallpaper magazine is known for. It's certainly *not* meant to be a comprehensive travel/cultural guide...I personally enjoyed this book very much when I was in Shanghai; I discovered a number of interesting places but this was after I had gotten my money's worth out of my battered, dog-eared 'Lonely Planet Shanghai' book. I'd say, buy a Rough Guide or LP for the bulk of your traveling, but the Wallpaper guides are great supplements if you're interested in contemporary art/architecture/design etc...
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Posted: Apr 2 2007
"Shanghai isn't Beijing," as if there is a limited amount of entertainment to be found in a commercial center like Shanghai. The Wallpaper guide is compact and will get you through a few days in Shanghai staying at expensive hotels, hitting a few contemporary art hot spots and partying in expensive clubs and restaurants. Instead of written description the guide has glossy photos. Nothing as practical as useful expressions, maps, bird flu precautions or written directions you can show a cab driver or how to exchange currency. Printed out articles from the NY Times are short and seem to have more depth. Because this guide seemed so minimal I picked up the Frommers guide to Beijing which has far more suggestions. Maybe Beijing is the more exciting city but at least I want to go there after reading the "few days in Beijing" section. Frommers has some suggestions of smaller, traditional hotels. With only a couple days in each city I want my experience to be Chinese, not global chic aesthetic. No resistance to a little bit of chic if it has a Chinese spin. That's why I picked up the guide. There are a few fun tidbits like which room in which hotel Mao used to stay in. Maybe this guide is enough. Some maps would be useful. Overall, the Wallpaper guide seems thin and unenthusiastic. Maybe they do better with other cities. Maybe, like so many guidebooks, they researched by Internet and from other guidebooks instead of going to Shanghai, then compiled a glossier packaging with the photos hotels sent them. Maybe they sent the whole staff and edited until there wasn't much left.
