Book Description

Your indispensable guide to "The Workshop of the World," filled with essential information that is impossible to find anywhere else. This is a comprehensive guidebook, with concrete, practical advice on where to go, and how to get there. It provides many insider tips to save you time and money, the result of expert knowledge that can only come from twenty years experience living in the beating economic heart of Southern China. Section one provides detailed listings and honest reviews that will guide you to hotels, restaurants, and bars that are suitable for all budgets, as well as practical transportation information will help you to find your way around this huge metropolis. Section two covers nearly 300 individual wholesale markets that are listed in more than 30 different product categories. Much of this information is simply unobtainable anywhere else. Not only does it cover the very largest markets, but it also visits those hard to find areas that are well off the beaten path. From the the enormous clothing markets in Shahe and Shisanhang to the madness of the thousands upon thousands of fabric outlets that make up Zhongda. It also details many of the lesser known areas such as the second-hand catering equipment markets of Tanwei and the drug dealer's supply shops of Renmin Road. It even covers the exotic underwear and sex toy markets. Scattered throughout the market descriptions are interesting sections on unexpected local oddities and entertaining cultural insights. Each market listing comes with detailed directions and full addresses in both English and Chinese characters. The breadth and depth of the information presented here is unmatched anywhere else. When you only have a short time to spend in a strange new city, you really need to do your homework and plan your trip carefully to avoid getting taken to the cleaners. Considering that a good local guide can cost a hundred dollars a day, this compendium of invaluable knowledge is a real bargain.