Finding English language books in Chengdu can be difficult if you’re unsure where to look, but in fact there are quite a few places in Chengdu to find yourself English (and other) Language Books. Take a look below.

Fangsuo Commune 方所书店

The Fangsuo Commune is an award winning all-in-one venue selling not only books but food, drinks, clothes, housewares, gadgets and much more. With an area of nearly 4,000s q.m, this unique bookstore consists of several functional sections. Including a book retailing area, boutiques, a café and a reading & interaction zone. The place feels more like a creative retreat than a regular bookstore. With soft lighting, carefully arranged displays, and quiet spots, it encourages visitors to take their time and enjoy. Many artists, students, and travelers like it here because of its modern design mixed with classic European styles and artistic touches.

Located in the basement of Taikoo Li, one of Chengdu’s premier shopping and dining districts. Fang Suo Commune is easily accessible by metro and well worth a visit for anyone looking to experience a unique blend of culture, design, and leisure.

Address:

M68-70, B1/F, Tai Koo Li, 8 Middle Shamao St, Jinjiang District

锦江区中纱帽街8号远洋太古里B1楼M68-70

Time:

10:00 am to 10:30 pm

Tel:

028-86586858

Website:

http://www.fangsuo.com/index/index.html

Zhongshuge 钟书阁

Zhongshuge is a state-of-the-art book store in Yintai in 99 center. Among the collection are a few popular Western books.

Address:

No. 1199, Tianfu Ave North Section. 5F, Yintai In99. 四川省成都市天府大道北段1199号

Time:

10:00 am to 10:00 pm

Also have an amazing store in Dujiangyan, click here for more information.

UTE Bookshop UTE优特书岛

An indie bookstore in Shuangnan— offering curated books, coffee, and craft beer in a warm, laid-back space.

Address:

No. 9-5, Dahua Street, Wuhou District, Chengdu
武侯区大华街9号附5号

Time:

1:30 pm to 9:00 pm

Rosabooks 无早

Rosabooks is a specialized independent book shop for foreign magazines and independent publications. You can find unique and independent foreign publications  at Rosabooks. There is also a cafe on the first floor.

Address:

No. 5-1 Qinglianshang Street, Jinjiang District

锦江区青莲上街5号附1号

Time:

11:30 am to 2:00 pm

5:00 pm to 9:30 pm

Tianfu Bookstore 天府书城

Address:

No. 86 First Section South Renmin Road (next to Tianfu Square)
人民南路一段86号 (天府广场旁边)

Time:

9:30 am to 9:00 pm

Chengdu Book Center 成都购书中心

Address:

No. 66, Wuhouci Street, Huada Shangcheng, Wuhou District
武侯区武侯祠大街266号华达商城内

Time:

9:30 am to 9:00 pm

Public Libraries are also good places to find English language books. Both Sichuan Library and Chengdu public Library have collections of foreign language books on their shelves. You can bring your passport or residence permit and register for library access to read and borrow books. Bibliographic search is also available online before you go to either library to find your book, although the Chengdu Public Library is only in Chinese. You’ll find the foreign bookshelves on the 5th floor of both libraries.

Sichuan Library 四川省图书馆

Bibliographic Sichuan Library

Address:

4 West Renmin Road, Qingyang District 青羊区人民西路4号

Time:

9:00 am to 9:00 pm

Chengdu Public Library 成都图书馆

Bibliographic Chengdu Public Library

Address:

99, Wenweng Road.  文翁路99号

Time:

Tuesday -Thursday,Sunday 9:30 am to 10:00 pm

Friday,Saturday 9:00 am to 11:00 pm

Online

Last but not least, find your book online! With the fastest and most convenient online purchasing system, there is no easier way to buy books than on the Internet. Check out Taobao, 亚马逊中国 Amazon.cn, etc.

The post Finding English Language Books in Chengdu appeared first on Chengdu Expat.

With most people receiving a 7 day holiday for the New Year, why not take the time to have a 7 adventure.

Enjoy and immerse yourself in the picturesque last pure land and meet the most friendly rustic Tibetan Villagers.

A time of celebration you’ll be able to see their most ceremonious traditional clothes up close.

Spend Tibetan New Year, referred to as Losar, in Daocheng Yading and get to know its hidden beauty before the rest of the world.

Daocheng Yading is an ethnic Tibetan area in Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, where around 95 percent of the population of 30,000 is ethnic Tibetan.

This obscure and archaic-looking religion has produced one of the most enlightened cultures on earth. Not only does it have a beautiful and colourful culture to be explored but also magnificent and stunning sceneries. 

You can freely unwind yourself in the Tibetan tranquil forests, valleys, snow-capped mountains, vast grasslands and azure lakes while Yaks and sheep graze, and eagles fly overhead.

See the Tibetans in their most festive spirit, where they cheer for the coming new year by dancing, singing, and merrymaking.

The Dacheng Yading road trip, along with the Tibetan areas along the way, will be one of your best traveling choices.

It is the trip you at least have to experience once in your life to worship west Sichuan’s sanctity, purity and uniqueness

ITINERARY

February 4th

Day 1: Chengdu – Kangding – Zhonggu 298km  5 hours

Set off at 1.oopm , have a meal in Luding and head to Kangding afterwards. You’ll enjoy the natural and wild hot springs in Kangding, which is the one and only naturally-formed mineral hot spring in Kangding, only known to locals. Kangding is the first jumping stone to plateau for tourists, who are travelling to Ganzi Tibetan region or planning travel to Lhasa, the capital of Tibet Autonomous Region. 

Surrounded by snowy mountains, sink yourself into the mineral hot spring, talk with people from different backgrounds and drink beer.

After the hot springs, you will check in the local Tibetan home-stay, dance with the Tibetan villagers close to the bonfire and feel the New Year vibe. 

February 5th

Day 2: Zhonggu – Tagong – Litang 304km, 6.5 hours

Set off at 8 a.m. for the next destination. Arrive in Tagong,  also called “Lhagang,” around noon. Situated in the ancient Kham region, at an altitude of 3,700m, it is one of the highest towns in the world, offering an unfettered window into the Tibetan people and culture.

It is home of beautiful grasslands, devoted monks and Tibetan nomads with their thick-coated yaks. With the magnificent Golden Padoga and the majestic Mount Yala (5,820m), it is truly one of the most beautiful places to visit. You will explore the spiritual and religious symbols for the locals which remain untouched.

Head to Litang in the afternoon.

February 6th

Day 3: Litang – Daocheng Yading

In the morning, you will visit Ganden Thubchen Choekhorling Monastery, commonly known as Litang Temple. Originally built in 1580 by the 3rd Dalai Lama, Sonam Gyamtso, it is the largest monastery of the Tibetan Buddhism yellow sect in the Kham area.  

Here you’ll watch Buddhists pay respect to Buddha and do the religious Sutra Chanting.

Then heading to Daocheng Yading in the afternoon, you’ll check in to the comfy and luxurious hotel, and prepare for the Losar celebrations.

February 7th

Day 4: Daocheng Yading

In the morning, join the devoted local Tibetans and pilgrims for the New Year pray, make your own blessings loved ones and friends, and see how the pilgrims murmur their silent sutras while walking around the huge prayer wheels as a daily routine.

Attend the most holy and religious sutra chanting ceremonies in majestic monasteries later. 

In the afternoon, the group are going to try the traditional craft of Asi Tu Tao (ceramics), which is listed on the UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage List. Walls on the rooftop are subsequently waiting for you to unleash your artistic talents and potentials. 

In the evening, we will be invited to the local Tibetan family and see the real Tibetan houses. Try on the Tibetan clothes and have a bite of Tibetan New Year food will lead you to better and deeper understanding of this religion.

Set off the fire crackers, dance Guo Zhuang with well-dressed Tibetan friends around the bonfire to kickstart the Tibetan New Year will build your memories forever.

February 8th  

Day 5: Daocheng Yading

Free day in the absolute nature. You can choose trekking a long journey to visit the most beautiful lakes and snowy mountains. Immerse yourself in the picturesque nature and let it sweep off all your worries.

In the evening we will have a rooftop party in the hotel, where you can enjoy the magnificent Milky Way, which you can never see in the city.

February 9th

Day 6: Daocheng Yading – Xindu Qiao 420.5km 7 hours

Set off at 9 a.m., arrive in Litang for lunch and head to Xindu Qiao, which is famous for being picture paradise, with its constantly changing rays of light, thus you can capture different views almost every second.

February 10th

Day 7: Xindu Qiao – Chengdu 349.9km 5 hours

Enjoy the chilling morning. Hit the road back to Chengdu and arrive around 6 p.m.

PRICES

Package A:

3680RMB/pp

Date

February 4th-February 10th (Spring Festival)

Duration

7 days & 6 nights 

Including:

All bus transportation, incl. toll fee and an experienced driver.

1 outdoor guide and 1 bilingual events organiser (only have 1 bilingual outdoor guide if we get fewer than 20 people)

6 nights’ accommodation (home-stay/1 night, guesthouse/2 nights, luxurious hotel/3 nights).

13 lunches/dinners & 6 breakfasts

Organising and materials needed

Outdoor insurance

Hot-spring ticket

All other tickets involved

Excluded：

Expenses not mentioned above

Package B:

1180rmb/pp

Date

February 7th-February 9th

Duration

3 days & 2 nights 

Including:

1 outdoor guide and 1 bilingual events organiser (1 bilingual outdoor guide if we get fewer than 20 people)

2 nights’ accommodation（luxurious hotel/2 nights).

5 lunches/dinners & 2 breakfasts

Organising and materials needed

Outdoor insurance

All other tickets involved

Excluded：

Expenses not mentioned above

Transportation to Daocheng is not included*

For more details and to contact WalkingBook, the organisers, on their offical WeChat below

Or add Wechat ID: Karan294774646

The post Explore Tibetan New Year Culture appeared first on Chengdu Expat.

They are looking for people to test this new Chinese bootcamp.

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• You will know 468 words and 51 grammar points.

• You will have a good Mandarin foundation, and a solid understanding of how to continue Mandarin study.

• You will have good listening comprehension and expression habits.

• You will be able to communicate in everyday situations.

• You will be able to pass levels HSK1 to HSK2.

• You will have mastery of 150 every day characters.

Chinese Corner has over 12 years experience teaching in Chengdu – and have now taught over 4500 students from 40 countries. They have now developed their own text book based on the wealth of experience and learner issues they have come across over the years.

Chinese Corner Materials: Be Chinese

This intensive 6 week course at Chinese Corner’s Tongzilin school includes:

1) The Main Textbook is the heart of the course. 15 Lessons. Useful topics. All scenarios are based upon living in and around Chengdu, with hand drawn illustations to keep you focussed.

2) Pronunciation and Character Book has colorful pages, clear rules, short videos depicting the shape of the mouth, challenging tone raps and plenty of exercises. The character section selects the most used 150 characters which correspond to the textbook’s 15 lessons.

3) Extra Listening Sections of this course’s 15 lessons are set up as 44 dialogues. These dialogues prioritize real life interactions, utilize rich settings, emphasize improving the learners’ listening abilities, and strengthen the learners’ expressiveness.

4) PowerPoint presentations. The teacher can use the Power Point slides to make a large selection of dialogue exercises.

 5) The Workbook (containing some HSK-type questions and other non-HSK questions) covers a large portion of the exercises from the in-class vocabulary and language points.

6) Quizlet for each lesson’s new words and characters. The learners will be able to quickly and efficiently review all of the lesson content. Anytime, anywhere.

All of the listening and video materials will be given to you on a USB.

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 Must be a total beginner in Chinese (and speak English), with a passion and motivation to learn Chinese intensively.

Must be able to commit 2-3 hours a day, 5 days a week for 6 weeks in total taking part in group study.

Willing to share their learning experience and give us feedback regularly.

A short video about the class’s achievements will be made at the end of the session.

Number of students: We will have two 1-on-1 classes, and one group class. This means there are only 6 places so please apply quickly.

1 on 1 class

Normally 8400 RMB for the whole package

Includes:

70 hours tuition,

textbook,

work book,

Pronunciation & Characters books,

USB,

Quizlet and so on

Discount price for Volunteers: 8400

4800RMB

Group class (2-4 students):

 Normally 7140 RMB for the whole package

Includes:

 84 hours of tutition,

textbook,

work book,

pronunciation book,

Character books,

USB,

Quizlet and so on

Discount price for Volunteers: 7140

3990RMB

Scan the QR code to find out more information about joining the bootcamp.

 Places are limited to 6 – so please apply as soon as possible

Scan to contact Kevin at Chinese Corner or add WeChat ID: hegaoxiong

Learning a language well is along journey full of difficulties, frustration and challenges. We’re glad to accompany you through it.

Join the survival Chinese 6 week bootcamp.

It’s tough. But it’ll be worth it. 

The post The 6 Week Challenge appeared first on Chengdu Expat.

To us, the most interesting part of Double Cup Love is that most of the China-based action is centered in Chengdu. Eddie hangs out around Kehua Bei Lu, stays at Hakka Homes, and is underwhelmed by Raffles City though seems impressed to find a Din Tai Fung there. Huang and his brothers also hang out at Noah’s Ark for massages, where he chats with the massage girl, we can imagine in the strongly accented Chinese that he uses on his show, learning about how the lives of the lao bai xing differ so from his own and reflecting what his life would have been if his parents hadn’t brought the family to America when they did.

Huang has a recognizably difficult time finding good Chinese food in Chengdu; like many Western travellers, he seems to expect to find fantastic Sichuan food in every corner of the city. He is also surprised to find that nobody eats dan dan mian anymore, but he does enjoy some barbecued rabbit.  The Chengdu culinary highlights of the book are the night he and his brothers cook for a large group of locals and when he later manages to find some Shanghai style boiled crayfish sold on the street. Huang’s Chinese food palate has been solidly grounded in northern and eastern locales, with his favorite food being hong shao rou, so it’s not surprising he found restaurants much more to his taste in Shanghai.

The book’s climax is a proposal scene near the big Buddha in Leshan, which we never thought of as a romantic backdrop before. The relationship parts of the story feel the most foreign, since Huang’s schtick is all about the immigrant and multicultural experience. However, as soon as the perspective of the reader moves outside America, Huang seems a whole lot more American than anything else and if that perspective moves all the way to China, his American-ness approaches a hundred percent. Thus, the ambivalence he feels with a cross cultural relationship, when it is between people who still basically grew up in the same country, seems a little affected. The conclusion of the book hints that the relationship at the centre of the story is not all smooth sailing down the road. The most relatable and entertaining family drama in the book are when the parents, brothers, and bro’s enter the scene.

The post Book Review: Eddie Huang’s Double Cup Love appeared first on Chengdu Expat.