Toward cinema city

Beijing International Film Festival is working to cement its place as a major Asian event. Wang Kaihao reports.

Backpacking trip leads actor to role

If Ryan Reynolds hadn't gone backpacking in Europe in the late 1990s, he might have never ended up co-starring with Helen Mirren in the film Woman in Gold.

A carnival for foodies

A market in Yunnan offers an array of treats ranging from the province's famed mushrooms, to creepy snake fruits and rice crisps. Mike Peters writes.

Coming Up Roses

Fungi fun

More than 600 types of mushrooms are found in Yunnan province, including about 25 famous edible species found across the entire province. Many will appear during the upcoming rainy season in late spring; harvesting trips combine nice hikes with tasty rewards.

Kunming's 1910 'station' boasts century-old charm

It's a Sunday afternoon in Kunming, the provincial capital of Yunnan, and warm weather has drawn a crowd to the outdoor dining deck of 1910 La Gare du Sud.

Murder, he wrote

How does a professor go about sketching the lead character of his crime thrillers? Xing Yi finds out. Xing Yi

Book on the country's last monkey trainers

Chinese photographer Ma Hongjie traveled across China for more than a decade documenting the lives of people who train monkeys for roadside shows, once a popular form of entertainment in China, but now on the decline.

Rare Tennessee Williams story published for first time

As she takes in the despair of her in-laws' one-room apartment in A Streetcar Named Desire, Blanche Dubois exclaims: "Only Poe! Only Mr Edgar Allan Poe could do it justice!"

Views from the ground

The death of political giant Lee Kuan Yew marked the end of an era in Singapore. A new book examines the impact of the man on ordinary people of the city-state, Xing Yi reports.

Paradise lost

Palau plans to halve charter flights from China next month, as it deliberates measures to subside the tourism tide that has surged into a tidal wave over the past year.

Sun, fun and roulette mike peters

Double-oh-seven has been there for some sun and fun.