Chengdu Living

A recent weekend in Chongqing gave me a glimpse of what this unique city’s past and present look like.

After publishing a book on the development of cities in Central and Western China, what does Michiel Hulshof think about Chengdu? I ask him in this interview.

Last fall I spent six weeks working with a video production crew to tell the story of Chengdu. We ended up with three shorts: Mind, Body and Spirit, that present an inspiring picture of Chengdu’s culture, people and traditions.

The Moms and I followed my good friend Zhuang deep into the hills west of Chengdu on a day trip in search of golden gingko trees. We found them surrounding a Buddhist temple.

Author Chris Taylor will be in Chengdu this weekend talking about his new novel, Harvest Season, an up close and unforgiving look at life in a town that is moving from traveler’s haven to tourist trap.

I remember buying international phone cards to call overseas when I first arrived in China. It was slow and annoying. Fortunately, there’s a much better way that might even be free for you.

What does a NY Times travel writer find most engaging and interesting about Chengdu? Read inside to hear Matt Gross’ impressions of Chengdu as he completes his first trip.

I love Chengdu, but I gotta go. I took a job as copy editor in the antithesis of the ‘Du: glitzy, glamorous Shanghai. Here’s what I think about these two cities after spending 10 years in Sichuan.

Bikes are all the rage in green suburbs like San Sheng Xiang and Dujiangyan. And now you can rent one for 10RMB. The rent-a-bike system comes from cities like Paris and Lyons and Forever Corp. has done a good job of implementing the scheme here in Chengdu.

Being another provincial capital along with Chengdu, Kunming is for most people the gateway to sunny and beautiful Yunnan province. Here’s how and why you should check out Kunming for a weekend getaway.