It’s Official: China Bans Lonely Planet Guidebook

Travel Blog  •  Julia Ross  •  12.11.07 | 9:13 AM ET

imageHaving recently lived in Taiwan, I’ve been watching with dismay as tensions across the Taiwan Strait have heated up over issues as varied as the Olympic torch route and Taiwan’s plan to hold a referendum on United Nations membership early next year. Now comes word that Lonely Planet has been ensnared in the China-Taiwan standoff. A story in The Age carries the first public confirmation from the Chinese government of rumors that have been swirling for years: that China has banned LP’s China guidebook over a map marking Taiwan and China in different colors, making them appear as separate countries.

Lonely Planet has received reports of confiscations at China’s land borders over the last 18 months, and last summer travelers posting on LP’s Thorn Tree Forum reported difficulties finding the guide in Beijing and other Chinese cities.

The Age points out that no other English language China guidebook has been banned for discussion of sensitive topics like Tibet or the Tiananmen Square massacre. But Taiwan seems to draw more ire in Beijing than anything else these days and—let’s face it—the censors don’t have to answer for inconsistency.

What to do if you’re heading to China? You can obvoiusly consider brining a different guidebook, or as Lonely Planet has suggested, you can try to disguise the book.

Related on World Hum:
* Reporters Without Borders vs. Beijing 2008
* Lonely Planet at 30

Tags: Asia, China, Taiwan, News and Briefs

Julia Ross is a Washington, DC-based writer and frequent contributor to World Hum. She has lived in China and Taiwan, where she was a Fulbright scholar and Mandarin student. Her writing has appeared in the Washington Post, Time, Christian Science Monitor, Plenty and other publications. Her essay, Six Degrees of Vietnam, was shortlisted for "The Best American Travel Writing 2009."


2 Comments for It’s Official: China Bans Lonely Planet Guidebook

craig of travelvice.com 12.12.07 | 3:02 PM ET

Disguising a guidebook is something that I do out of habit—regardless of what region of the world I’m traveling in. It’s common sense to obfuscate something that marks a traveler as an even bigger target.

Just some construction paper and tape will do. Enjoy the flashbacks of covering your textbooks in primary school.

- craig in peru, celebrating two years of perpetual travel/backpacking today

poetryman69 12.22.07 | 8:34 AM ET

Ah, the old hidden book trick.  Works every time.

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