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Finding unique clothing that satisfies the needs of AsiaTravel guides in China’s coldest areas, while allowing them to look the part when in remote boutique hotels, is not an easy task. When leading off-the-beaten-path tours to China’s most remote regions, how does a rugged, adventurous guide maintain a clean, professional look? Khunu to the rescue.

 

We at AsiaTravel are delighted to announce our partnership with Khunu, a premium clothing company focused on producing high-quality adventure wear from Tibetan and Mongolian yak wool. This season, Khunu will be clothing our Shangri-La region guides in Khunu Chimera tops – soft, lightweight and warm garments that are perfect for guiding bespoke trips with sophistication in colder weather. These guides are the perfect adventurers to sport the socially-conscious brand, as Shangri-La is known for its rich cultural diversity and notable population of yaks.

AsiaTravel founder Mei Zhang is impressed by both quality and cultural significance of Khunu garments. “When I first heard about what Khunu was doing,” she says, “I was intrigued by the concept but unsure about what the products would be like. It was something of a surprise to feel how warm and soft their garments are.”  (Yak wool has a luxurious feel that can often be mistaken for cashmere, though it is warmer and notably more durable.) In addition to Khunu’s high level of quality, Mei notes, “the unique link [the garments] have to the regions to which we travel gives them additional relevance” to AsiaTravel’s mission of enabling travelers to experience China differently.

To celebrate the AsiaTravel-Khunu alliance, as well as a new womens line for the Autumn/Winter Collection, Khunu is offering AsiaTravel supporters a limited time 15% discount on all new Khunu sweaters through November 11, 2010. Customers can use the code “wildchina” during checkout at the Khunu online store.

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Visit the Khunu website for more information on their story, products, and adventurous ambassadors.

It’s been almost a year since we first spoke with Portrait of an LBX bikers and writers Andy Keller and Evan Villarrubia. We caught up with them this week to talk about their reflections on their trip, which ended on September 13, 2010.

 

AsiaTravel Travel (WCT) : Now that you’ve finished with the trip, how can you define laobaixing? How has your understanding of the term, and the people that define it, expanded, been flipped on its head, morphed, etc.?

Andy Keller (AK): I think laobaixing boils down to a political term, as politics controls so much in China, although it has an economic aspect as well, since politics is so tied to money in China (as with anywhere else). China’s laobaixing make up the vast majority of Chinese people. It’s not just a synonym for “peasant” or “farmer” because it’s not just the people out in the countryside who are laobaixing. Basically, they are the people who have less power in the face of the government.

Evan Villarrubia (EV): All the charm of China has come from individual people, the ones “doing their own thing” in accordance with traditions and their own values — the laobaixing. “New China” has come from outside of the laobaixing.

WCT: Do you still believe that the term laobaixing can define and encompass the people / socioeconomic group that you encountered and interacted with on your trip? Why or why not?

AK: Absolutely. With very few exceptions when we met relatives of friends working in the government or party or big business people, the people we interacted with on the trip were all laobaixing. The number of people without government connections in China is so large that really there’s no way the group of people we interacted with could not almost all be laobaixing.

WCT: What was your greatest surprise on the trip? Your biggest regret?

EV: For me, the biggest surprise was the Tibetan plateau. I had never seen skies like that before, and we never expected how different the people were from anything else we’d encountered. The biggest regret of the trip was not making it to either Hubei or Hunan, two quintessentially Chinese places right in the middle of the country, which our big loop didn’t permit time to visit. This will have to be rectified later.

AK: The biggest surprise for me was discovering just how development and modernity almost always trumped concern for culture, the environment, traditional society, etc. We went into the trip with the impression that with so much good stuff disappearing everyday, people would have to be up in arms about it once we sat down and had honest conversations. By and large though, the people we met were as single-mindedly focused on “development” as the government and were happy to leave tradition, culture and even the natural environment behind for the sake of their concept of modernity.

Despite what you see in the media, most laobaixing are not dowsing themselves in gasoline and lighting themselves on fire on the roofs of their homes as the demolition cranes move in. Most are content to take compensation and move out of their homes, away from the fields, away from their communities and into apartment complexes outside of the city, where the communities and social networks that made traditional China so unique no longer exist.

My biggest regret was definitely the places we didn’t get to see – Hubei, Hunan, Xinjiang, Tibet and pretty much all of Dongbei.

WCT: Which area(s) of China ended up being your favorite? Why?

EV: Yunnan, for natural beauty, colors, extreme cultural variations, food, and tea. You can spend days cruising chilly mountaintop villages above endless rice terraces with the Yi and Hani, and the next day drop into the Dai valleys full of pineapples, coconuts, and wooden stilt homes. As long as you stay off the tourist trail, there’s no end to the surprises.

AK: Ditto.

WCT: What is one piece of advice you would give to travelers who want to experience the ‘real’ side of China?

EV: Stick to the mountains, small roads, and small villages where real culture, real beauty and real people still exist.

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Photo credit: Portrait of an LBX

Read more of Andy and Evan’s reflections and trip accounts at Portrait of an LBX.

Teeming with geographical, ethnic and biological diversity – plus some of the best food in China – Yunnan has always been one of our most popular destinations.

The charming small towns of Lijiang, Dali, Jinghong and Shangri-la and the Naxi, Bai, Yi, Dai, Hani and Tibetans who live there have provided our clients with unforgettable travel experiences and new insights into China.

These popular places aside, Yunnan is brimming with countless lesser-known destinations that are also well worth a visit. One of our favorites is the former trading outpost of Shaxi in Yunnan’s northwest.

Blessed with blue skies, sunshine and cool breezes year-round and located in a verdant mountain valley with no airport, tall buildings, car traffic or noticeable pollution, Shaxi is almost too good to be true.

For centuries Shaxi was a busy trade hub linking the Yunnan and Tibet portions of the Ancient Tea and Horse Caravan route. Traders coming up from the south on the route would bring tea, cloth, alkali and daily necessities, while Tibetans would bring yak furs and traditional medicines.

In addition to being a convenient halfway point for Yunnanese and Tibetan traders, Shaxi also had an important commodity of its own: salt from the nearby Misha salt wells.

The majority of Shaxi’s residents belong to the Bai ethnic group, who are known for their hospitality and their green thumbs. When the caravans were passing through town, it was not uncommon to see the different faces and costumes of the Yi, Lisu, Han, Naxi, Hui and Tibetan ethnic groups, especially in Shaxi’s main square, where goods were sold.

The caravans could have as many as 40 or 50 animals, mostly mules with some horses. Just as important were the muleteers, who were usually responsible for 10 animals.

The caravan routes died out around 60 years ago, eliminating the main source of revenue for the economy that had thrived in Shaxi. The town reverted to reliance upon agrarianism and has passed the decades quietly, missing out on benefits – and drawbacks – that other Chinese cities have experienced since the late 1970s.

Now, just as quietly, Shaxi is experiencing a renaissance of sorts through tourism. The local government has spent quite a bit of funds on cleaning up the old town for visitors and has done a surprisingly good job of it.

Without any advertisements, few shops and no cars, plus several dozen well-preserved old Bai homes, in many ways Shaxi feels frozen in time.

That’s not to say that there’s nothing in the old town, there is a small handful of cafes and restaurants there, as well as one of our favorite new boutique hotels in Yunnan, Laomadian.

Laomadian is a compound of several old Bai homes that has been tastefully renovated by A Fang, an extremely welcoming Taiwanese woman who has long been interested in the history and cultures of northwest Yunnan.

Just a few doors up from Laomadian is the courtyard home of Ouyang Shengxian, a 70-year-old Bai man whose father and grandfather were some of the last of the muleteers.

We spoke with Ouyang on a recent sunny Shaxi morning in his 100-year-old home, where he recalled the days of visiting caravans for us. As he told us stories of the old days, with visitors from afar and banditry, we felt extremely fortunate to be able to sit down with a man who is truly a link to a bygone era.

The history and people of Shaxi alone make a visit worthwhile, but there are also plenty of natural attractions.

The crystal-clear Heihui River flows just outside the old town, with paths on both sides that are ideal for strolls in the sunshine. There are several photogenic bridges along the river and several small towns dotting the valley.

Up in the hills surrounding the valley, there are plentiful hiking options. If you have the time, we highly recommend any of the two- or three-day treks in the hills, which will take you through several Yi villages.

If you’re shorter on time, Shibao Mountain is a great place to spend a morning or afternoon before hiking back downhill to Shaxi. The mountain is home to Buddhist grottoes that miraculously survived the destruction of the Cultural Revolution and are some of the most important artifacts connected to the spread of Buddhism into China from India via Tibet. These grottoes are highly treasured – visitors are not allowed to take any photos of them.

Interestingly, there is also a large indentation in the stone near the grottoes that locals say resembles a human vagina. It is a tradition for pregnant women from around the valley to pray to it with the hope that they have a smooth delivery.

After checking out the grottoes on Shibao Mountain, we hit one of the trails that leads back down to Shaxi and the surrounding valley. We scanned from one end of the valley to the other and were unable to see a crane or any other construction – this is nearly impossible in today’s China.

Work is underway on a new highway that will make Shaxi more accessible to the outside world – all the reason to visit Shaxi sooner rather than later. The local government has declared its dedication to sustainable development and is working with international NGOs to that end. We hope that for their sake, and the world’s, they can manage to preserve Shaxi’s pristine beauty for generations to come.

Our journeys are great ways to enjoy the beauty of China’s countryside as well as the dynamism and history of its cities, but they are also unique opportunities to meet inspiring and unforgettable people.

During a recent visit to Shangri-la, we were honored to meet Lobsang Khedup, a Tibetan monk who is not only working to help impoverished youth from the Tibetan regions of Yunnan, but who is also helping preserve the 1,800-year-old tradition of thangka painting.

Thangka painting is the traditional Tibetan style of painting deities using paint made from local minerals. Deeply imbued with the ethos of Tibetan Buddhism, this painting style focuses on the facial expression of the subject. Ideally, the longer one looks at a thangka painting, the more subtleties emerge from the deity’s facial expression.

A native of Shangri-la, Lobsang is a thangka painting master. An average painting takes him around a year to complete. The high degree of detail and difficulty of thangka painting combined with advancements in printing and copying over the last century have resulted in a dwindling number of thangka masters.

Lobsang started the Tibetan Thangka Academy in 2008 and now has 16 students from the countryside who are studying under him and another master.

Students at the academy not only study the art of thangka painting, they also take classes in Buddhism and English. Their education is provided free of charge, with funds provided by the Shangrila Association.

“When painting, your feelings are the most important,” Lobsang told us in his study. “But you also need knowledge and wisdom – without education you cannot paint.”

In addition to teaching its Tibetan students the art of thangka painting, the academy offers classes to the general public in both thangka and traditional Chinese painting styles.

Lobsang has done such a good job of preserving the dying thangka art that the Shangri-la government has commended and supported the academy. We admire Lobsang not just as an amazing painter and socially minded individual, but as someone savvy enough to navigate the difficult political landscape in his home.

On the ‘Roof of the World,’ the sky is the limit when it comes to exploration. Given Tibet’s diverse cultural, historical and religious marvels, it is no wonder that travelers from all over the world flock to this intriguing plateau.

 

High-altitude autumn landscapes in Lhasa, the region’s capital, provide the perfect backdrop for all-age discovery. After a decade of visiting the area, we have a few favorite sites in the area.

Of particular note are Ganden Monastery and Sera Monastery, two of Tibet’s ‘great three’ university monasteries. After touring the different academic centers within these ancient centers of study, don’t forget to visit Sera’s printing center to create your own prayer flag.

 

If you’re looking to get out of Lhasa to witness religious life, head to Pabonka Hermitage – now part of Sera Monastery and located northwest of the city.

Feeling a bit lightheaded from the altitude, or simply curious about local remedies? We suggest that you visit a Tibetan Traditional Medicine hospital to hear healing secrets directly from a local Tibetan doctor.

Finally, on your way out of town en route to Shigatse, carve out time to learn how to make incense with a local family.

Today marks the beginning of the busiest travel season in China: from January 21 to February 27, China’s skies, roads, and rails will be inundated as an expected 640 million people, from every corner of the country, go on the move. What destinations could possibly be so compelling as to temporarily shift more than 9% of the world’s entire population? Home, of course.

The impetus is the Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival (chun jie). Far and away the most important festival on the Chinese calendar, the Spring Festival has always been a traditional time of homecoming and renewal. As such, this deluge occurs every winter, but the Ministry of Transport in China has predicted that this year’s will be the worst yet. One explanation is that many Chinese, in addition to returning home for the holidays, will also take advantage of the time off for domestic and international tourism.

With so many people competing for tickets, the rush has resulted in some amusing local news items. One story details the rising trade in fake student IDs as travelers get more innovative in their search for a cheap ticket home. A well-humored Beijing man named Chi Dongting, frustrated with long wait times at railway offices in freezing temperatures, successfully used a stylishly-dressed mannequin to hold his place in line – while he huddled in his car for warmth.

Far from being intimidated by the crowds, AsiaTravel believes there are some not-so-packed spots in China that truly shine during the holiday period. Yunnan province is a popular destination with our clients this time of year for a variety of reasons; the subtropical climate of verdant Xishuangbanna is an obvious draw, while up north the old cities of Dali and Lijiang take on a more peaceful personality with high season still months away.

And if you own a good jacket, Tibet awaits. With many annual pilgrimages underway, February represents an ideal opportunity to see local Tibetans in their colorful traditional dress – and there’s plenty of yak butter tea to keep you warm!

We always promote going off-the-beaten-path for travel in China; but with the beaten path about to fill up with home-bound travelers and domestic vacationers, there’s perhaps no better time to do so than during the Spring Festival.

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Image: Birmingham Post

As noted earlier, China is already the world’s number-three destination for international travel. Many travelers nowadays have already made one or two trips to China, but more often than not, they’re visiting the coast, possibly venturing inward to check out the Terracotta Army in Xi’an.

But China is more than just a handful of sites in the country’s east. In fact, western China has just as much – if not more – to offer travelers who are looking for unforgettable experiences.

If you’re planning a China trip this year, we encourage you to look beyond the traditional travel destinations to China’s wild west. Here are some of our picks for places to visit in China’s west in 2011:

Yunnan: Land of diversity

Few places in the world pack as much variety into one area as the province of Yunnan, which offers a mind-bog

gling variety of landscapes ranging from jungle lowlands in the south to Tibetan highlands in the northwest.

Yunnan’s ubiquitous mountains have historically isolated groups of people from one another, which is one of the main reasons that the province has China’s highest number of ethnic groups. With 26 ethnic groups including Han, Tibetan, Dai, Bai, Yi, Hani, Hui, Mongol, Naxi, Lisu, Yao, Lahu and countless subgroups, Yunnan is a rainbow of different ethnic traditions, clothing and cuisine.

The mountain towns of Dali, Lijiang and Shangri-la are home to unique cultures whose lives are still steeped in ancient traditions. Down south in Xishuangbanna, tropical weather, tea plantations, spicy food and the lazy Mekong River await.

Guizhou: Still undiscovered

Guizhou Province may not attract as many

visitors as its neighbors Sichuan, Yunnan and Guangxi, but it certainly deserves consideration when making plans to travel to western China. Beautiful mountain scenery and a distinctive spicy and sour cuisine are some of th

e highlights of a trip to Guizhou. But as in many other parts of China, the big draw for us is the people.

The Miao, Gejia, Dong and Yao villages in Guizhou’s mountains are home to some of Asia’s most unique cultures and friendliest, most welcoming communities. Many of our clients rank our Guizhou village immersions among their top China travel experiences.

Sichuan: More than pandas

Sichuan is one of China’s most distinctive provinces, known for its spicy food, stunning mountain scenery, beautiful women and China’s ‘national treasure’ – the giant panda.

Sichuan’s capital Chengdu is a modern metropolis set on the west end of the fertile Sichuan Basin, a region that kingdoms battled for in ancient times. Chengdu is considered the capital of Sichuan cuisine, one of the most famous and flavorful of China’s culinary traditions.

The historical importance of Buddhism to Sichuan is evident in Chengdu at the Wenshu Monastery, located in the city’s center. Not far from Chengdu lie the Buddhist holy mountain of Emei Shan and the world’s largest seated Buddha at Leshan.

Sichuan has fantastic natural beauty as well, with the mountain forests and fantastic aquamarine lakes of Jiuzhaigou in the north and gorgeous mountain scenery at Minya Gongga in the province’s west.

Xinjiang: Silk Road echoes

Xinjiang is simply massive. It comprises roughly one-sixth of China’s total territory and boasts some of the country’s most stunning mountains and deserts.

At the crossroads of Asia, Xinjiang has been home to many different ethnic groups, from the caucasoid peoples whose mummies date back to more than 3,800 years ago to the Turkic Uighurs who moved into the region from present-day Mongolia 1,100 years ago to today’s growing Han population.

Islam is the dominant religion in Xinjiang, where extremism is rare and moderation is the norm. Due to its location on the old Silk Road, Xinjiang has also been influenced by Buddhism.

For visitors to Xinjiang, the local cuisine is often one of most pleasant surprises. Featuring rich stews, tasty breads, a large variety of noodles from flat and wide to easily spoonable diced noodles and even salads, Xinjiang cuisine is a delicious world away from typical Chinese fare.

The following post is an excerpt from Catherine Bodry, a writer for AOL’s Gadling Travel Blog.

Gadling’s last stop on Yunnan’s ancient tea horse road was Shangri-la, China, a high-altitude Tibetan city named after the mythical town in John Hilton’s “Lost Horizon.” Full of snapping prayer flags in high-altitude sunlight, the town has only been called Shangri-la since 2001, when a successful marketing venture changed its name from Zhongdian to appeal to adventure-seekers. Most Chinese still refer to it as Zhongdian, though it’s worth noting that its Tibetan name is Gyalthang.

Shangri-la’s residents are mostly Han and Tibetan, and it’s common to see red-cheeked Tibetan-Chinese dressed in traditional clothing. The architecture, especially in the countryside, is uniquely Tibetan: large, square, three story homes house animals on the ground level, with human living quarters above. New homes are still being built in this style. Wood stoves (frustratingly drafty) occupy space in every restaurant, home, and guesthouse, often with the staff huddled around them.

Things to see and do

Like Dali and Lijiang, Shangri-la has an “old city,” with the usual cobblestones and new-old architecture, as well as a very Chinese “new city,” full of traffic and electronics shops. The Thangka Academy is a center in the old town for Tibetan culture and learning. Students, usually orphans, are taught the ancient art of Thangka, an intricate style of Buddhist painting of deities. Foreigners can study Tibetan or meditate here.

Though Shangri-la’s narrow, old-city streets are pleasant for a wander, it’s the town’s surrounds that make the trip worthy.

The Songstam Monastery houses monks of the yellow hat sect of Tibetan Buddhism. It’s the biggest Tibetan monstery in China, and certainly worth a visit. Besides monks and temples, you’ll see juniper burning in the mornings, pigs snuffing around the dusty grounds, tourists snapping photos, and a hodge-podge of colorful buildings built on several levels.

The monastery was built during the Qing Dynasty in 1679, and now houses 700 monks as well as 11 temples. In the tea-horse road days, the monastery stored tea, waited for the price to rise, and then sold it for a profit. The complex was destroyed by the Red Guard during the Cultural Revolution and has since been rebuilt, though remnants of ancient mud walls still linger.

Beyond the monastery is Napa Hai, a lake and wetland with misty mountains backing them. More than a dozen Tibetan villages surround the lake, which is also home to black-necked cranes. We rented mountain bikes from one of the many bike rental shops in town, and road the often-muddy, sometimes treacherous roads out to the lake. A new highway being built ought to smooth the ride out significantly.

To read full posts from Gadling’s trip to Yunnan, click here.

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Contact Catherine Bodry at catherine.bodry@weblogsinc.com. Photos by Gadling.

I didn’t know what to expect at Mr. Liang Congjie’s memorial service, or specifically, how to dress for it. In any event, I put on a full black outfit, a bit on the formal side and found my way through the neighborhood in northern Beijing. There were no Porche or BMWs lining the narrow alleyway, the building was simple – Beijing Science Activity Center.  Once inside, a few young volunteers greeted me. They are the typical volunteers of Friends of Nature, college graduates, and passionate environmentalists. The whole low-key nature was just perfectly fitting to see off Mr. Liang Congjie.

The surprise came inside the memorial hall.

First of all, there were many more older people than I ever expected.  Secondly, people were wearing their daily outfits – quite a few women were in their brightly colored cotton coats (–棉袄),  a typical winter outfit for northerners from the country side. Somehow, that surprised me because environmentalists in China are such a niche group of people that people usually associate them with the active college grads whose lives are not inundated with the needs of a car, house, kids, etc., and sometimes, idealistic intellectuals who still continue to dream into their old ages. I had no idea that Liang’s grassroots movement was truly grassroots based. These are common Chinese you see everywhere – no formalities of dressing for the occasion.

Then one of these old ladies spoke up. “I am from Xinxiang, Henan.” From the moment she spoke, she started to cry. She recounted how Liang helped her to start grassroot organization to protect the environment in her village, and how Liang coached her on how to speak with government officials, how to motivate her followers. (Now, her organization had more than 10,000 members.) As she talked, she became more emotional, by the end, she was practically wailing, with many in the audience were crying silently as well. I used to see this kind of wailing at funerals for relatives in the countryside, but wasn’t a bit surprised here.  It simply seemed the right way to say goodbye to such a leader.

More than 300 people were there, who had come on their own – many by buses, by taxies – but the goal was the same. They were here to celebrate Liang’s life and find a sense of camaraderie among us all. Liang is the last of three famous Liang men important to modern Chinese history. Liang’s Grandfather was Liang Qichao – the one who attempted to assist the emperor in setting up a modern democracy in the 19^th century, and Liang’s father was Liang Sicheng – the founding father of Chinese architecture and also the one who fought against the demolition of Beijing’s old city wall in the 1950s. Liang himself was the one who fought to protect Yunnan Snub-nosed monkeys, Tibetan antelopes, and the environment. All three of them fought in losing battles, but all three believed that the losing battles were worth fighting as they woke up the nation, woke up the people.

There were many people wanting to speak at his memorial, so I didn’t want to fight for stage time, as my personal interaction with Liang was fairly limited. But, I think it’s important to share what kind of a person he was.

I first met him in late in 1999. A few of my conservation friends wanted to take me to meet him, so I did. His office was humble and simple, and so was him home, but somehow, seeing him in his home was simply inspiring – reminding people once again that you really don’t need all the fancy stuff in life, but focusing on doing something meaningful is more important.

Soon I married an American journalist, and I wanted him to meet Liang and his wife. So, we invited them to my house for dinner. My husband was cooking and he was fretting over the fact the cucumber that day wasn’t that good. Liang arrived, my husband and I were both a bit formal as he was a very well respected and well known scholar so we didn’t know how to treat him appropriately. Casually, Liang strolled into our kitchen, picked up a piece of cucumber and took a bite.  My husband looked at him sort of nervously and asked, “how is it?”.  Liang simply said, “不好吃” (“not good”). Then we all laughed. That broke the ice. He was straightforward, and immediately, we were talking like old friends.

Then, my dear husband’s roasted whole chicken was ready. He cut off two drumsticks, and two pieces of breast meat, put them on separate plates to serve. To my horror, he served the guests the breast meat and reserved the drumsticks for himself and me! In China, drumsticks were the best part and always served to the guests! Liang looked at the plate and simply said, “美国女婿还没训练好.” (“American son-in-law still needs more training!”)  That became the legend joke in my marriage. We went on to discuss many issues related to the environment and US/Chinese relations.

I guess the point of me sharing this is to say, Liang is such a personable man that he didn’t become a crusader environmentalist that turned people off, but instead, he brought these serious issues to our daily lives, made the issues accessible to everyone.

I took a cold shower Monday morning, because it takes about 10 minutes flushing out the cold water before the hot shower comes on. I wasn’t brave. I simply did one little thing to pay my respect to Mr. Liang Congjie.

 

While many countries are talking about the travel possibilities afforded by high-speed rail, China is busy turning those possibilities into on-the-ground realities.

On January 11, two new high-speed rail lines will connect Shanghai to two of southwest China’s most dynamic and interesting cities, Chongqing and Chengdu. The two new lines will put China closer toward its stated goal of 42 high-speed rail lines totaling 10,000 miles (13,000 km) in operation by 2012.

Shanghai had its stepping-out party during last year’s World Expo, but many people are still unfamiliar with Chongqing and Chengdu.

Famous for its sweltering heat, spicy hot pot and beautiful women, Chongqing also has a thumping nightlife, a thriving art and music scene, photogenic old alleys in the city and a Ming-era town on its outskirts.

China’s capital during the darkest days of World War II and now misleadingly called the world’s largest city, Chongqing is a proud, dynamic metropolis in the midst of a major transformation.

In many ways Chongqing feels like a new Hong Kong being built in Sichuan. Its large size, vibrant economy, deepwater port and the combination of mountains and water have similarities with Hong Kong, but the people, culture and cuisine are primarily of Sichuanese pedigree.

Chengdu has a flavor of its own, whether you’re talking about people, food, or culture. The former capital of the Shu Kingdom and the home of the mysterious ancient Sanxingdui culture, Chengdu has called its own shots during much of history. Its independent and proud spirit is still reflected in its people today.

Seated at the western end of the fertile Sichuan Basin, Chengdu has always been a city of abundance, which historically allowed its people plenty of free time. No wonder the city is known for its laidback teahouse culture and has produced many of China’s most famous poets and writers.

Chengdu is the epicenter of one of China’s spiciest regional cooking styles and is a must-visit for those of us who travel with our mouths. The Sichuan cuisine found in Chengdu restaurants is authentic as it gets: fresh ingredients and intense flavor combinations featuring the red chili and the mouth-numbing Sichuan pepper make the city an unforgettable culinary experience.

There are plenty of fascinating travel options in and around Chengdu, from the Sanxingdui Museum to the national giant panda breeding base, from the world’s largest seated Buddha at Leshan to the monkey-filled Buddhist holy mountain at Emeishan. Chengdu is also the jumpoff point for trips into Sichuan’s mountainous Tibetan highlands to the west and beyond to Lhasa.

If you’re considering a China trip this year and would like to spend time in Shanghai as well as exploring the country’s wild west, you may want to consider crossing the country at ground level rather than in the sterility of a plane cabin. Contact our travel experts today to find out how you can fit new transportation options into your upcoming China trip.