Holiday in Chengdu

About Chengdu

Chengdu is the capital of Sichuan Province and the most relaxed big city in China — a place where 16 million people have perfected the art of good living. While other Chinese metropolises rush, Chengdu strolls: In the teahouses of People's Park, grandparents sit playing Mahjong, in the bamboo forests of Wangjianglou Park, hammocks sway, and the street kitchens of Jinli Alley steam with the scent of Sichuan pepper until midnight. But the real star of Chengdu has dark eye circles and an insatiable appetite for bamboo: The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding is the best place in the world to see giant pandas in a semi-natural environment. Over 200 giant and red pandas live here, and those who wander through the expansive grounds at 8 AM — before the tourist crowds — experience the leisurely black-and-white bears having breakfast, climbing, and playing in a backdrop of bamboo groves and morning mist. The panda nursery is so heartbreakingly cute that even the most cynical traveler becomes an animal lover. The second experience that makes Chengdu unique is its cuisine: Sichuan cuisine is famous for its spiciness, but it's not just about chili — it's the interplay of Ma (numbing Sichuan pepper) and La (chili heat) that catapults the palate into dimensions that most Western cuisines do not know. The Sichuan hotpot, where raw ingredients are dipped into bubbling, fiery red broth, is a social ritual that holds almost religious significance in Chengdu. The historical districts enhance the experience: The Wide and Narrow Alleys (Kuanzhaixiangzi) connect restored Qing Dynasty architecture with handicrafts, teahouses, and Sichuan opera performances. Jinli Ancient Street, right next to the Wuhou Temple (dedicated to the Three Kingdoms hero Zhuge Liang), is Chengdu's most atmospheric mile — especially in the evening when red lanterns illuminate the wooden facades and the aroma of Dan Dan noodles and Malatang wafts through the alleys.