Yes, as strange as this may sound it is actually true. You're not allowed to bring Lonely Planet since in the map of china contained in the guidebook Taiwan is marked in a differnt colour than china. Because china doesn't accept Taiwan as an independent country the guidebook was banned. As far as I know this "law" only applies to Lonely Planet, so you can feel free to bring along any other guidbook. Some bookstores in china though are selling Lonely Planet under the table

I traveled extensively with Lonely Planet China among other travel guides and met a lot of backpackers doing so and they never had any problem with this. Besides it is quite easy to find Lonely Planet guides in China. No need to buy them "under the table"

Read more on travelling in China at the following webaddress :

http://letsgochina.over-blog.com/

I traveled extensively with Lonely Planet China among other travel guides and met a lot of backpackers doing so and they never had any problem with this. Besides it is quite easy to find Lonely Planet guides in China. No need to buy them "under the table"

Read more on travelling in China at the following webaddress :

http://letsgochina.over-blog.com/