Lonely Planet China
It's the undisputed champion, and I recommend it. From pre-departure information (ie what
vaccinations you need) to cheap hotels, from major attractions to hidden treasures that admittedly
don't stay hidden for long after they're in the LP, it's got it all. Ideal for the independent
traveller, as it has information on transport, hotels, and everything else your guide would
tell you if you could afford a guide. It's also damned near essential for the foreign student or teacher, both for
getting you through vacation trips and showing yourself around your adopted hometown. Don't leave home without one, and if you do leave home without one, don't
expect me to tell you where the train station is. (UK)
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Lonely Planet Beijing
If you aren't planning to get out of Beijing, or just can't be bothered packing a book the size of the LP China, this is a reasonable
alternative. It contains much the same information about culture and language, but focuses on Beijing in greater depth.
You'd need every weekend for a very long time to get through all the sights covered.
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Beijing Map
Personally I think you should get hold of a Chinese traffic map when you get here - it'll be great for your characters. However,
if the thought of navigating a city of 13 million people simply by trying to judge if the squiggles in the address are the
same as the squiggles on the map, this might be a worthwhile investment. There are English language maps available in Beijing,
but they tend to focus on showing you where the expensive hotels and restaurants are. (UK)
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Phrasebooks
I have two suggestions, according to your situation.
For those of you who are spending sometime in China
and plan to learn Chinese, I'll recommend the Lonely Planet's Phrasebook. This uses pinyin, which you will undoubtedly learn
as part of your studies. You'll therefore have an advantage in your studies, or when using the phrasebook, whichever comes
second.
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If you are travelling through China and don't plan to learn a great deal of Chinese, the Rough Guide's phrasebook uses it's
own phonetic system alongside the pinyin. This may be slightly easier to use than pinyin (especially for English speakers, as it takes
English pronunciation as it's reference point) but I don't recommend it for people who know or will learn pinyin. (UK)
(US)
Other areas
LP also produces guides for the following areas. If you are going to spend a significant amount of time in these places, it may be worth getting them. Otherwise, your LP China will suffice.
Shanghai, China's most populous city and economic powerhouse.
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Hong Kong and Macau.
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South-West China, covering the most popular region for travellers.
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Tibet