US town pursues museum honoring Maurice Sendak

Three years after Maurice Sendak's death, his western Connecticut hometown is pursuing a museum honoring the author of Where the Wild Things Are.

Taj Mahal endures, but its birthplace slowly crumbles

It is no secret that the Taj Mahal is a monument of love, built by a Mogul emperor as the final resting place for his beloved queen who died giving birth to their 14th child in 1631.

Wine, olive oil and the good life

Our first lunch was laid out like a last supper. There, in the middle of a vineyard, underneath a billowing white cotton tent, a long wooden table had been set up, every inch of it covered with platters of food.

La Vie en Rose's pink highlights

The problem, if you can call it that, is where to start with the La Vie En Rose brunch at Le Meridien.

Hotel's Yunnan fare a surprise hit

Foodies looking for a good sampling of Yunnan fare in Kunming might not head straight to the Holiday Inn. But after two eateries with guidebook raves turned out to be closed for an extended Spring Festival holiday - and the "grand dame" hotel of the city turned out to be a decaying old lady - we found unexpected delights at the American chain hotel.

Proud to be a toilet cleaner

Zhang Minghua's typical day begins before the sun rises and ends around 11 pm. Zhang Xuan gets a glimpse of her life outside Lama Temple in Beijing.

2017 deadline for improving China's toilets looms

China's National Tourism Administration expects all public toilets at scenic spots to meet its "three-star" standard by 2017. The process requires restrooms to be at least 60 square meters, with separate units for men and women, and round-the-clock free toilet paper rolls, among other measures.

A keeper of cleanliness at Forbidden City

Gao Caiping, 49, cleans the "four-star" toilet at Beijing's Forbidden City. The toilet has three Western-style pedestals and 11 squat units that she says she needs to clean "without a break".

Modern vision

At her first runway show in Beijing, young designer Ding Youqiao tries to blend Chinese culture with Western style, Chen Nan reports.

New Gucci designer debuts as Milan celebrates youth

Fashion is always about renewal, but in this round of Milan Fashion Week it's not just the collections that are getting a fresher-upper, it seems much of the Italian fashion system is.

Madonna's major onstage tumble at Brit Awards

Madonna shocked music fans when she tumbled down several stairs at the Brit Awards.

Longing for fame