Companies

Lonely Planet recruits Chinese writers for new guidebooks

By Wang Zhuoqiong (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-08-14 11:47

BEIJING - Lonely Planet, the world's largest travel content provider, has launched a series of original Chinese-language guide books to China's provinces.

The first book in the series, developed with its Chinese partner, SDX Joint Publishing Company, is on the southwestern province of Yunnan.

Lonely Planet has several books published in English, all written by Western authors. But only Chinese writers, trained in the Lonely Planet style, are being used for the Chinese-language series.

Lonely Planet CEO Matt Goldberg said the series represents a significant step forward for the company as it moves to expand its offerings in languages other than English.

He said Lonely Planet helped SDX recruit and train the authors and this was "a mutually rewarding experience. In return, SDX gave us deeper insight into China and many new content ideas for our English-language products on China".

Six more titles in the series - covering other provinces in China's southern and northwestern regions - will be published over the next few months. These will cover Sichuan, Chongqing, Shaanxi, Qinghai, Guizhou, Gansu, Ningxia, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai.

About 100,000 copies of the Yunnan book have been sold and the number is expected go higher.

International travel guide publishers have been keen on Chinese travel market for many years, with big names such as Michelin, Random House and Eyewitness Travel Guides showing great interest.

Li Xiaojian, manager of SDX's travel publishing center, said he hopes the Lonely Planet series will set a standard for travel guides in China.

China has so many beautiful places, but "very few travel books carry quality information and photos to offer travelers diverse ways of touring", he said.

Li said no plans have been made to translate the Chinese-language books into English. However, the two companies will be encouraging its Chinese authors to write in both languages.

Li said it is the intention of the two companies to find a way to reflect the Chinese-language content into English-language world. "The landscape of Lonely Planet book on China will be changed in the coming years."

Li said the main advantage of Chinese writers is that they will be able to communicate at a deeper level with locals and offer insights into the destinations.

"Our writers have to think, see and feel things in the shoes of a local person," he said. "By doing so, the guides will assist travelers who want a more authentic experience to get the information they need."

The training for writers makes clear just what the Lonley Planet style is - the facts.

"No exaggeration. No down playing. Just what it is," Li said. Honesty, humor and a friendly manner also matter.

But none compares to reliability of a writer, a lesson Li learned the hard way.

Before a writer starts a project - often four months long - Lonely Planet will check his schedule and confirm every arrival and departure based on his plan. It will sometimes arrange interviews based on the itinerary.

But when the company tried to contact the writer assigned for the Guizhou book shortly before the deadline, he could not be found.

"We tried every means to get him. He disappeared. Now we have to send in another writer to redo the piece" Li said.

Another challenge in producing a guide on China is the ever-changing face of the country, with earthquakes, floods and different policies on entry fees forcing rewrites.

Zhu Jianye, a senior publisher and a translator for several Lonely Planet travel guides, said the rising interest by the Chinese in traveling has created a demand for quality guides.

"The time is ripe to develop travel books for local backpackers and independent travelers," he said.

The Chinese now travel for experience, curiosity and personal interests, unlike only a few years ago when people toured in groups just for sightseeing.

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"Young travelers in China now bear a strong resemblance with hippies in the US in the 1960s or 1970s," he said. "On the road, they seek freedom or an escape."

Lonely Planet and SDX first started publishing Chinese editions of Lonely Planet guides in 2006. Today the guides have accompanied more than half-a-million Chinese travelers on journeys around the world.

Li said SDX was honored that Lonely Planet has taken on the latest project with his company.

"It takes huge amount of trust to pass on their three decades of experience to a potential competitor," he said.

"But we are working on the same purpose - to serve the readers. Our team carries the DNA of Lonely Planet - a humanistic spirit."