China, isolated from the rest of the world for more than three decades by a painful but phenomenal social revolution, has emerged as today's new frontier of international tourism, the mecca of more than a million jet-set and backpack pilgrims a year. Travel in China is challenging, but the reward for the tourist who understands and accepts this challenge is one of the most exciting and memorable experiences of a lifetime. And the Traveler's China Companion offers the opportunity to touch the soul of China and its teeming millions - not only its grand cultural treasures and relics but also the simplicity, generosity and hospitality of the ordinary Chinese people. Within this volume you'll find stunning photographs, clear and easy-to-follow maps, and detailed information on where to eat, shop, sleep and play. You'll also find sections on handy tourist information such as Visa requirements, exchange rates and tips on getting around in this amazing country.

Whether you are dreaming from an armchair of booking your flight, the Traveler's Companion guides deliver the best information and guidance for exploring a country, including:

Few countries have such a clear signature as Spain. The mere sight of its name conjures up sunlight and beaches, flamenco dancers and bullfights, castles and cathedrals, and a proud people with a long, tempestuous history.

Ever since Western artists first discovered Bali in the 1930s, the island has been hailed as an earthly Paradise. Those early visitors were fascinated by a people who danced in flower-laden temples under the full moon and worshipped volcanoes. Today, the incomparable arts of the Balinese and the life of sun and surf together make the island one of Asia's prime tourist destinations. It attracts four-fifths of Indonesia's tourists alone. The Traveler's Bali Companion, with a thoroughness never before achieved, surveys both sides of this exotic land. Whether you want to know where to stay, where and what to eat, how to calculate the dates of the great temple festivals, or where the surf breaks best, this guide will not only tell you in up-to-the-minute detail, but will also provide you with in-depth cultural background.

Containing more than 600 entries, this valuable resource presents all aspects of travel writing. There are entries on places and routes (Afghanistan, Black Sea, Egypt, Gobi Desert, Hawaii, Himalayas, Italy, Northwest Passage, Samarkand, Silk Route, Timbuktu), writers (Isabella Bird, Ibn Battuta, Bruce Chatwin, Gustave Flaubert, Mary Kingsley, Walter Ralegh, Wilfrid Thesiger), methods of transport and types of journey (balloon, camel, grand tour, hunting and big game expeditions, pilgrimage, space travel and exploration), genres (buccaneer narratives, guidebooks, New World chronicles, postcards), companies and societies (East India Company, Royal Geographical Society, Society of Dilettanti), and issues and themes (censorship, exile, orientalism, and tourism). For a full list of entries and contributors, a generous selection of sample entries, and more, visit the Literature of Travel and Exploration: An Encyclopedia website.

Compared with its southeast Asian neighbors, the Philippines has often been overlooked as a vacation destination, its reputation frequently overshadowed by that of Manila, its capitol. With the help of the Traveler's Philippines Companion, you can find and enjoy perfect secluded beaches, seek out gems of baroque colonial architecture, explore dazzling coral reef gardens, dense jungles, subterranean rivers, exotic flora and fauna, or simply allow yourself to be lured from one island to the next.