Review of the e-Book “Xinjiang: A Travelers’ Guide to Far West China”

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This article is a review of the travel guide “Xinjiang : A Traveler’s Guide to Far West China“, written by Josh Summer, the soul of Far West China, notoriously my favorite website of my favorite Chinese province: Xinjiang.

Here at SDC we rarely review travel guides. The reason is, for the most part we don’t like them. Today we make an exception because, in my opinion, Josh’s guide is… an exception.

Why? There are two reasons:

• The first is that Xinjiang is one of the most difficult Chinese provinces to explore, especially if you don’t speak Mandarin: there are very few guides or web sites that cover the province (for some areas the only resource in English is Far West China, besides which there are only sites in Mandarin, almost all of which are terrible); tourism is, compared to other places in China, less developed, just like the infrastructure. This last point is the main problem when you consider that we’re talking about a province that alone covers a sixth of China’s surface area.

• The second reason is that Josh, the guide’s author, lives in Xinjiang since 2006, has explored every corner of it, and most of all has an unbridled love for this region. This love shows in the effort he put into writing this guide and what he’s been putting on his website for years.

What is the guide’s structure?

The guide is divided into two parts. The first contains information and advice of a general nature while the second, longer one, contains detailed guides about every region and city in the province.

Part one: General information

Josh starts out by introducing the reasons why this region is so special before moving on to describe the traditions of the various ethnic groups that live there (Uigurs, Han Chinese, Kazakhs, Hui, Kyrgs, Mongols, Tajiks, Xibe, Manchu, Uzbeki, Russians, Daur and Tartars).

The guide then becomes more practical, with a section dedicated to the many possible itineraries (forget about visiting the whole province unless you have several months available), the various options for those who wish to take a “luxury” trip (with several recommended tourist agencies), advice for those who would rather travel in the most economical way possible, tips for those traveling with children, the region’s climate (rather extreme, I have to say), the various festivals, information on how to cross the border (Xinjiang borders eight countries: Mongolia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India), general information about the transport system, and advice about security issues (Xinjiang is an area of greater risk since, like Tibet, it is in the midst of an “ethnic” conflict between the historic inhabitants of the region and the Han Chinese).

The next section is dedicated to those who are looking for “adventure” travel (the possibilities here are endless), homestays, cycling, skiing and extreme sports.

The last section of this first part offers general advice about the Internet, ATMs, souvenirs, visas, shopping, transportation, culture, etc.
Source: http://www.saporedicina.com/english/review-e-book-xinjiang-travelers-guide/