Fast & The Furious: Chengdu Underground – General

We sat down recently and recorded the first Chengdu Living podcast. In this episode, we talk about the hotpot scandal, Chengdu's spy network, and the contamination of Chengdu's water supply.

Hot Pot is but another Sichuanese institution – like teahouses and foggy skies – without which the locals would slowly wither and die. In fact, the overcast Sichuan sky and the damp conditions of the Sichuan basin make hot pot a necessity.

We chuckled at the "foreigner only" Tianfu International Complex when it was first announced, but now that the complex is coming online and filling homes, we wonder who gets the last laugh.

Holiday rush leave you stranded without any gift ideas? Looking for the thing to stock up on before you leave the 'du? Sure, there are always the "traditional" things—silk embroidery, bamboo-wrapped porcelain, lacquerware, spices, mini opera masks—but surely some of your gift recipients (or you!) would appreciate something more hip and contemporary.