Chengdu (成都 — "becomes a city," 2,300 years of continuous habitation) is the capital of Sichuan Province and the gateway to Tibet, the giant panda homeland, and the most distinct regional food culture in China: Sichuan cuisine (川菜 — one of the eight great culinary traditions of China, unique for its characteristic málà (麻辣 — "numbing and spicy") flavor profile created by Sichuan pepper (花椒 — huājiāo, the dried berry of the prickly ash tree, which creates a tingling, numbing sensation on the tongue (paresthesia) unlike any other spice in the world) combined with dried red chilli peppers). Chengdu has been designated a UNESCO City of Gastronomy and has more teahouses per capita than any other city in the world (the teahouse (茶馆 cháguan) culture of Chengdu — where locals gather for tea (specifically gaiwan cha, the lidded-bowl tea served in traditional teahouses), to play mahjong and to have their ears cleaned by the ear-cleaning barber who circulates between tables — is the most distinctive urban leisure tradition in Sichuan). The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding (10km north of the city) is the most important panda conservation facility in the world and the only place outside the Bifengxia reserve where you can reliably see giant pandas in a semi-natural environment.
The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding (成都大熊猫繁育研究基地 — 10km north of Chengdu: the world's most important giant panda conservation and breeding facility, home to 80+ giant pandas including cubs born as recently as last year. The best time to visit is 8:30–10:30am (when the pandas are most active before the heat makes them sleep — giant pandas spend 12–16 hours per day sleeping). The cub nursery (when cubs are in residence, September–January is most likely), the outdoor enclosures and the red panda enclosure (the red panda (小熊猫 xiǎo xióngmāo) — the smaller, fox-like panda that shares the bamboo forests with the giant panda, not closely related despite sharing a name). Panda volunteer experiences (minimum ¥2,000) include helping prepare bamboo shoots for the pandas.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideKuanzhai Xiangzi (宽窄巷子 — Wide and Narrow Alleys, the three Qing dynasty (1644–1912) historic alleyways in the center of Chengdu: Wide Alley (宽巷子 Kuān Xiàngzi), Narrow Alley (窄巷子 Zhǎi Xiàngzi) and Well Lane (井巷子 Jǐng Xiàngzi) — the most preserved Qing architectural complex in Chengdu, with the original stone-paved alleys and the traditional courtyard houses (四合院 siheyuan) now converted to teahouses, restaurants, craft shops and Sichuan folk art galleries. The best ear-cleaning barber in Chengdu works on the Narrow Alley (the traditional barber who cleans your ears with a long bronze rod and cotton, while you drink gaiwan tea — the most authentically Chengdu experience available).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideJinli (锦里 — the reconstructed Han dynasty commercial street adjacent to the Wuhou Shrine (武侯祠 — the memorial hall of Zhuge Liang, the brilliant strategist of the Three Kingdoms period (220–280 AD) who is the most revered historical figure in Sichuan): the street sells traditional Sichuan folk snacks (Zhong dumplings (钟水饺), Three Cannon glutinous rice balls (三大炮 — rice balls thrown against a copper plate to make a "bang" sound, traditionally served with sweet soybean milk), fried rice rolls (凉粉)) and has the most atmospheric shadow puppet and face-changing (变脸 biǎn liǎn — the Sichuan opera technique where the performer instantaneously changes their painted mask, the secret guarded for 300 years) performances.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideSichuan hotpot (火锅 huǒguō — the Chengdu meal: the split-pot with one side of bright red málà broth (the Sichuan pepper and chilli oil broth — literally brings heat and numbness simultaneously) and one side of clear chicken or mushroom broth. Raw ingredients are cooked at the table: brain (脑花 — the most prized item by locals, soft and mild), tripe (毛肚 — cooked 20 seconds in the hot broth), beef tongue, fatty beef slices, lotus root, tofu skin, wood ear mushrooms and the Sichuan specialty of blood curd (毛血旺). Drink cold beer (Chengdu locals insist beer is the only correct pairing for hotpot) or the local Dukang spirit (the Sichuan baijiu).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideLeshan Giant Buddha (乐山大佛 — UNESCO World Heritage — 140km south of Chengdu (40 min by high-speed rail from Chengdu South station, ¥30, or direct bus 2 hrs): the 71m tall stone Buddha carved into the red sandstone cliff at the confluence of the Min River (岷江), the Dadu River (大渡河) and the Qingyi River (青衣江) — the largest pre-modern stone Buddha in the world (and still the tallest ancient stone statue in the world), carved from 713–803 AD during the Tang dynasty. A Buddhist monk named Haitong started the project hoping that the Buddha would calm the dangerous currents at the confluence that were killing local boatmen; the massive amounts of rock removed from the cliff during carving were dumped in the river, actually achieving this hydrological effect.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe Giant Buddha at Leshan (the 71m Maitreya Buddha in seated position — his little finger alone is 8.3m long, each ear 7m, the top of the head is the width of a 4-lane highway, the 1,000 buns carved into the hair contain a drainage system preventing rain damage to the face): the classic view is from the river boat (a tourist ferry circles the base — seeing the full 71m from the water gives the scale impossible from the cliff staircase). The cliff staircase (the Jiudao Pond steps descend the cliff beside the Buddha, passing from head to feet — the queue can be 2–3 hours in peak season, start early).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe Wuhou Shrine (武侯祠 — the temple dedicated to Zhuge Liang (诸葛亮 — the "Sleeping Dragon," military strategist and Prime Minister of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period (220–280 AD): the most revered historical figure in Sichuan, worshipped as a god of wisdom. The shrine complex (the Temple of Liu Bei + the Temple of Zhuge Liang + the tomb of Liu Bei) is the only site in China combining a ruling monarch's mausoleum with his prime minister's shrine). In the adjacent Jinli street for afternoon tea.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideMapo tofu (麻婆豆腐 — the Sichuan tofu dish invented by a pockmarked (má) woman (pó) in Chengdu in the 19th century: soft silken tofu in a sauce of fermented black beans, doubanjiang (the Sichuan fermented broad bean and chilli paste, aged 3–5 years — the most important ingredient in Sichuan cooking), minced pork, garlic, ginger and Sichuan pepper — the numbing-and-spicy balance at its most concentrated) and Dan Dan noodles (担担面 — the street noodle of Chengdu: thin wheat noodles with a sauce of sesame paste, doubanjiang, minced pork preserved in chilli oil (yacai), Sichuan pepper and vinegar).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideMount Qingcheng (青城山 — UNESCO World Heritage Site — 65km west of Chengdu (1 hr by high-speed rail to Qingchengshan station, ¥15): the mountain where Zhang Daoling founded the first organized form of Taoism in 142 AD (the Tianshi Taoism or "Celestial Masters" sect — the most important moment in Taoist religious history). The mountain (1,260m, a single volcanic plug of green-carpeted rock surrounded by deep forest) is covered with Taoist temples dating from the Han dynasty to the Song: the Jianfu Palace (建福宫 — 4th century, rebuilt Song, the main lower temple), the Tianshi Cave (天师洞 — 5th century, the cave where Zhang Daoling allegedly lived and meditated) and the mountaintop Shangqing Gong temple. Cable car available, or walk (2.5 hours).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideDu Fu Thatched Cottage Museum (杜甫草堂博物馆 — the site of the thatched hut where the Tang dynasty poet Du Fu (杜甫 — 712–770 AD, universally regarded as the greatest poet in the Chinese literary tradition: the poet of the people, the poet of war, exile and loss, who wrote over 1,500 surviving poems) lived in exile in Chengdu from 759–765 AD, the most productive period of his life. The reconstruction of the cottage (the original burned many times, rebuilt identically each time) in the 240-acre classical garden is one of the finest literary memorial sites in China, with Du Fu's complete works carved in stone in the corridors.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe Chengdu teahouse (cháguan — the most distinctive leisure institution in Sichuan: the traditional gaiwan cha (盖碗茶 — tea served in a three-piece set: the saucer (托), the bowl (碗) and the lid (盖) — the lid is used to push aside the floating tea leaves before drinking, the skill of using it gracefully is called the "Sichuan teahouse kung fu"). The People's Park teahouse (人民公园茶馆 — in the park directly west of Tiananmen Square (Chengdu has its own Tiananmen) — the most authentic teahouse in Chengdu: 500 bamboo chairs, the ear-cleaning barber circulating between tables (¥20 for an ear-cleaning session: a thin bronze rod with cotton, inserted gently into the ear to clean — a specific Chengdu folk tradition), mahjong players and the afternoon light through the Sichuan camphor trees.
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