Chengdu

Chengdu, China

Welcome to Chengdu, the provincial capital of Sichuan, where giant pandas delight tourists at the Chengdu Breeding Research Base. Though a modern city, Chengdu is where life happens in the back streets, with crowds waiting outside hot-pot restaurants, and tea houses abuzz with mahjong players and their noisy tile-shuffling game.

Population:

16.04 million (2018)

Currency:

1 RMB = 10 jiao

Emergency Numbers:

Police: 110
Ambulance: 120
Fire: 119

Opening Hours:

Most banks, malls and supermarkets are open from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM on weekdays, some supermarkets are open until 10:00 PM.

Newspapers:

Chengdu Business (in Chinese and English)
West China City Daily (in Chinese)
China Daily (in Chinese, English and French)

The City

Chengdu is a tourist's paradise with a wide range of landscapes from snow-capped mountains, green plains to rugged hills. Fond of adventure? Visit the western mountains and the lowest latitude ski field in China and primary forests. There are the eastern suburbs, blooming with flowers all year round, where you can sit in the bamboo groves, have a cup of tea and learn mahjong from the natives. Afterwards, return to the downtown area on Yangxi Street for delicious Sichuan dishes and hot pots, and visit Chunxi Road, a shopping paradise lined with department stores and real bargains from whole-sale clothing plazas.

Do & See

Chengdu has numerous scenic spots both in and around the city. The world’s largest sitting Buddha in Leshan is 71m tall and the Sanxingdui Museum in Guanghan County houses impressive giant bronze wares. Both are just an hour or two away by bus from the Xinnanmen Center.

Dining

There is an old Chinese saying that goes that when eating in China, the flavour is in Sichuan. This makes the provincial capital Chengdu the best place to have good Chinese food. Sichuanese cuisine is known for being numbing hot. However, its flavours can be rather complex, and it is possible to have 100 different tasting dishes. Most restaurants in Chengdu are open until 9:30 PM.

Cafes

One of the first things a visitor notices about Chengdu is how much the locals love to spend a couple of hours in the company of good friends over a cup of coffee and tea, and this is one great way to spend a few hours between sights.