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China Footnotes

by com.chinafootnotes
OverviewDiscussionsAdmin

Search places

search_places
Read-onlyIdempotent

Search China Footnotes for sights and neighbourhoods in the Chinese cities it covers. Matches English or Chinese names, aliases, district, type and tags. Suited to questions about what to see or do in a city, and to finding a place's id from its name. With no arguments it lists places and the city ids covered; asked about a city it does not cover, it says so rather than returning unrelated places. Returns short summaries with ids and page links, best match first; matchedAll is false when no place matched the whole query and the results only share some words with it. Opening hours, tickets, booking and traveler tips come from get_place.

Input Schema

NameRequiredDescriptionDefault
tagNoTag, e.g. free, paid, rainy-day, indoor, night-view, family, history, art, booking-required, closed-mon, day-trip.
cityNoLowercase city id, as listed in cities when search_places is called with no arguments. Omit for all cities.
typeNoPlace type.
limitNoMaximum places to return (1–50, default 10).
queryNoWords to match in English or Chinese (translate names from other languages first), e.g. "Yu Garden", "豫园", "art museum", "night view". Leave empty to list places.

Output Schema

NameRequiredDescriptionDefault
totalYes
citiesNo
placesYes
matchedAllYes

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

  1. Changed3 schema fields changed
    • changedInput schema / properties / city / description
      Previous value: -"City id. Covered: shanghai, beijing, xian, chengdu, chongqing, hangzhou."New value: +"Lowercase city id, as listed in cities when search_places is called with no arguments. Omit for all cities."
    • changedInput schema / properties / limit / description
      Previous value: -"Maximum places to return (default 10)."New value: +"Maximum places to return (1–50, default 10)."
    • changedInput schema / properties / query / description
      Previous value: -"Words to match, e.g. \"Yu Garden\", \"豫园\", \"art museum\", \"night view\". Leave empty to list places."New value: +"Words to match in English or Chinese (translate names from other languages first), e.g. \"Yu Garden\", \"豫园\", \"art museum\", \"night view\". Leave empty to list places."
  2. Changed4 schema fields changed
    • addedInput schema / properties / city / maxLength
      Added value: +200
    • addedInput schema / properties / query / maxLength
      Added value: +200
    • addedInput schema / properties / tag / maxLength
      Added value: +60
    • addedInput schema / properties / type / maxLength
      Added value: +200
  3. Changed1 schema field changed
    • changedInput schema / properties / type / enum
      Previous value: -[
-  "museum",
-  "open_district",
-  "park",
-  "water_town",
-  "temple",
-  "observation_deck",
-  "classical_garden",
-  "ticketed_attraction"
-]New value: +[
+  "open_district",
+  "water_town",
+  "museum",
+  "observation_deck",
+  "ticketed_attraction",
+  "classical_garden",
+  "park",
+  "temple"
+]
  4. First observed

TDQS

A4.9/5.0
Behavior5/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

Beyond the read-only annotations, the description discloses important behavior: no-argument calls list places and covered city ids; uncovered cities produce an explicit message; results are short summaries with ids and page links; and matchedAll is false for partial-word fallback matches. These details materially help an agent interpret results and avoid misusing the tool.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness5/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

The description is dense but front-loaded, starting with the primary search purpose and then covering special cases, result shape, and sibling routing. Every sentence adds useful information without repetition.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness5/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

With an output schema present, the description need not exhaustively document return fields, yet it still explains summaries, ordering, and matchedAll. Combined with complete schema coverage and annotations, it gives an agent everything needed to select and invoke the tool correctly.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters4/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

Schema coverage is already 100%, so the baseline is 3. The description still adds useful semantics by explaining query matching across names, aliases, district, type, and tags, and by clarifying that no arguments lists places and city ids, which helps interpret the city parameter.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose5/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

The description states a specific verb and resource: search China Footnotes for sights and neighbourhoods in covered Chinese cities. It also clarifies the matching scope (English or Chinese names, aliases, district, type, tags) and distinguishes itself from get_place for opening hours, tickets, and traveler tips.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines5/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

It explicitly says the tool is suited to questions about what to see or do in a city and to finding a place's id from its name. It also names get_place as the alternative for operational details and explains no-argument and uncovered-city behavior.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.

All China Footnotes toolsInspect
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