Would I be able to visit Chengdu, China in a couple of weeks flying from Tokyo to Chengdu for less than 72 hours and then flying to Taiwan? Would Taiwan be considered a third country for these purposes? I am a US citizen.

I did read on a few websites (including the Trip advisor article) that Taiwan is considered a third country for immigration purposes but have not read it anywhere that looks official. I would feel more comfortable hearing it from someone that has personally used the 72 hour visa free entry in China on their way to Taiwan. Has anyone actually done this?
Thanks in advance for any help.

Of course Taiwan is a different country. I don't understand why you keep posting this question on every travel website. There is not even .000001 of 1% of a doubt about it. Even Hong Kong and Macau that belong to China are considered another country for this. Not only is Taiwan another country, they are not even very good friends with China.
If you don't believe the answers you received on other forums, I don't know how you can believe the answers you'll get here.

Taiwan is a separate country from China. China occasionally does some saber-rattling saying the island is/was a part of China and they will take it back, but no one takes this to mean that Taiwan is actually part of China.

Look for the webpage of the Taiwan embassy in the US and read about their immigration policies. Perhaps that will convince you that Taiwan is not a part of China.

> Look for the webpage of the Taiwan embassy in the US and read about their immigration policies. Perhaps that will convince you that Taiwan is not a part of China.

The question isn't whether Taiwan actually is a separate country, but whether the Chinese authorities are willing to treat it as such for visa purposes. Taiwan's views are neither here nor there, really.

Nevertheless, as has been repeatedly stated, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan are all treated the same as foreign destinations for this purpose, and are flown to from the international terminal of Chinese airports where the three destinations do not collectively have a terminal of their own.

JPDeM I don't know where you got the idea that I am posting this question on every forum! I posted this question on only one other forum at the exact same time because I was not sure if the same people would be looking at both forums and I wanted to reach more readers with my question.

I don't have any kind of agenda nor do I personally care if Taiwan is a third country or not. I simply wanted reassurance that the Chinese authorities would treat Taiwan as such for visa purposes. I am getting ready to make travel plans and don't want any issues when I check in for my flight or show up at Chengdu.

The reason why I asked if anyone had personally done it was to be sure it would be OK. This is a travel forum and I thought there was a good chance someone had used the 72 hour visa free on their way to Taiwan.

Sorry, could you elaborate on this? My understanding is that you can fly in to China and then back out in 72 hours without paying for/getting a visa? Or is it just in Chengdu?
Thank you

You can't fly 'back out'. You must arrive with an onward ticket for a third country, and the system only currently operates in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, and Chongqing, with at least two other cities expected this year.

Your movements are restricted to the municipality in which you land. You may not travel outside them, and thus not fly into one and out of another, or exit (e.g. to Hong Kong) overland.