Chengdu
Chengdu is the unhurried capital of China. People sit in teahouses for whole afternoons, dinner takes three hours, and nobody minds. Three days in the city, then the mountains.
- Region
- Sichuan, Southwest
- Best
- Mar–Jun, Sep–Nov
- Airports
- TFU · CTU
- Stay
- 3–4 days
Overview
The pandas are the reason most people come, and they are worth it. But the city's real draw is the pace. Spend a morning at the research base, then an afternoon in People's Park doing nothing in particular with a lidded cup of tea.
Food here is the best in the country for many travellers. Sichuan cooking is more than heat: the numbing pepper, the sweet-sour, the smoky. Order widely and ask for wei la (mildly spicy) until you know your limit.
The city is flat and the metro is excellent. Taxis are cheap. The sky is often grey, which locals will tell you is why the women here have such good skin.
Getting there
Tianfu (TFU) is the main airport now, about an hour from the centre by metro line 18. Shuangliu (CTU) still handles some flights and is closer. High-speed trains from Chongqing take a little over an hour to Chengdu East; from Xi'an about three and a half hours.
Rail tip. Your passport is your ticket. Book on 12306 or Trip.com, then go straight to the gate. See Getting around. The Trip.com link earns us a small commission at no cost to you (how that works).
Stay online. Google, WhatsApp and Instagram are blocked on Chinese networks; a travel eSIM that roams gets around it. Install one before you fly — Saily takes US$5 off a first plan with the code CHINA. See Staying online. The code earns us the same amount in Saily credits, at no cost to you (how that works).
Where to stay
Book on Trip.comAround Kuanzhai Alley
宽窄巷子Central, touristy, walkable. Fine for a first visit.
The restored alleys themselves are busy, but the streets around them are ordinary Chengdu with good hotels and easy metro access.
Yulin
玉林Where locals eat and drink. The bar street from the song.
South of the centre. Low-rise, dense with small restaurants, and the best neighbourhood in the city for eating your way through Sichuan.
Tianfu New Area
天府新区New, spacious, near the airport line. Business travellers.
Wide roads and new towers in the south. Convenient for the airport, less so for wandering.
Booking. Compare hotels in Chengdu on Trip.com, filtered to its China travel essentials list: English-speaking staff, foreign cards, guest rating 8 or higher. See Where to stay. Booking through this link earns us a small commission at no cost to you (how that works).
Things to do
Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding
成都大熊猫繁育研究基地Arrive at opening. The pandas eat at 8:30 and sleep after 11.
People's Park
人民公园Heming Teahouse, ear cleaners, matchmaking corner. Chengdu in one park.
Wenshu Monastery
文殊院A working Buddhist monastery with a vegetarian restaurant and teahouse.
Leshan Giant Buddha
乐山大佛The largest stone Buddha in the world, an hour away by train.
Sichuan Opera at Shufeng Yayun
蜀风雅韵Face-changing, fire-spitting, shadow puppets. Touristy and still fun.
Eat
Hot pot is the ritual; go with a group and order the split pot if anyone is nervous. Beyond that: dan dan noodles, mapo tofu at its birthplace, fuqi feipian (sliced beef in chilli oil), and the endless snack street stalls. Teahouses serve tea by the cup with free refills; sit as long as you like.
From travellers in Chengdu
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