The Qiao Family Courtyard in Pingyao was the setting for the movie Raise the Red Lantern One of the most composed and sublimely beautiful films to have come out of China is Raise the Red Lantern (1991), hailed by IMDb as one of the “25 movies you must see before you die”. For a quintessentially Chinese location, director Zhang Yimou picked Pingyao, a turtle-shaped,  » Read more »

Agent Cathy Dorton at the Great Wall during the Nov. 2015 FAM Imperial Tours has been running its innovative China Expert Training Program for travel agents since 2010. A number of agents have graduated as China Experts from our free webinar course run once a year. The four-part webinar series arms you with in-depth information about China covering hotels, tour sites, restaurants, shopping, seasonality, and unique experiences so that you can be confident in selling luxury China to your clients.  » Read more »

Ever wished you could capture images of local life on your travels like these? It may take years to become a professional photographer but you can snap life in the hutongs of Beijing in just an afternoon, especially if you have a great local guide…   Father and son play a game of Chinese chess   Someone like Matthew Kelly, for example,  » Read more »

Chengdu city skyline – its population is 14 million and growing  Chengdu was recently ranked in the MasterCard Global City Index as the second fastest-growing destination in the world from 2009 to 2015. As of June 2015 there are 265 Fortune Global 500 companies in Chengdu and this number is growing rapidly. And all for good reason, as Chengdu is a great city with lots going for it.  » Read more »

Masters of Food and Wine 2011 – 2014 This November take a personal side trip for passion. Park Hyatt Beijing and Park Hyatt Shanghai are once again hosting the annual “Masters of Food & Wine” series and both tables are set to take guests into the creative minds of world-renowned chefs, sommeliers and artists. The event in Beijing called “Soul Mates” takes place on November 14 and features Executive Chef Jack Aw Yong and well-known food critic Craig Au Yeung.  » Read more »