Off the Shelf

Living in a city isn't always the best way to write a guidebook about the place. A longtime resident often loses the perspective of an outsider. But in this instance, Neville-Hadley's knowledge and love of his adopted home make for a great guidebook. He knows the language and turf. Plus, he enjoys tromping off-the-track and zestfully describes his discoveries. The result is an infectious, informative read.

The usual sights are detailed with great wit and nifty tips (avoid the mobs at the Forbidden City; visit the adjacent Worker's Cultural Palace for a fraction of the fee). The National Treasure Museum "might be renamed National Kitsch Museum." And the Great Hall of the People: "a whiff of left-over communism."

While guidebooks are rarely read for pleasure, this one offers an argument for the armchair. Fun but authoritative, the book is written in the strong voice of someone who loves poking around Beijing's hutongs, buzzing with pleasure at each new find. The author once ran City Weekend, among the best of Beijing's heap of free papers. With him at the helm, it was informative and irreverent, a difficult blend to cook up when running a government-licensed paper. It didn't last long. He was booted out of the editor's chair after his delightful mocking of the nationalist fervor stirred up by the return of a pair of missing Bronze Heads last summer. (The zealous Chinese press charged the busts were looted from the Summer Palace by foreigners. Neville-Hadley retorted they were designed by foreigners.)

The same balance runs through the guide, packed with richly researched historical notes and quotes. On the downside, the maps are a little unwieldy, but aren't most? The essentials are in place: sights are well marked and nothing has been missed. Indeed, old China hands will even learn a thing or two. And the well-worn tourist attractions like the Forbidden City are given a new spin in a refreshing break from all the been-there-seen-that guides on the shelf.