Chengdu — editorial illustration
成都

Chengdu

Editorial illustration · not a site photograph

Chengdu is the capital of Sichuan and the soft landing most first-time visitors give southwest China: a city of teahouses, mahjong tiles and hotpot steam that has spent roughly 2,300 years on the same spot under the same name. It is also the staging point for the whole province — the panda base inside the city, Dujiangyan and Qingchengshan an hour west, and the mountain country of Jiuzhaigou and Daocheng beyond. The local word for it all is bashi — comfortable, just right.

People sharing gaiwan tea beneath trees at an open-air Chengdu park teahouse
An afternoon in a Chengdu park teahouse · editorial illustration

The full handbook is part of the paid series

You have read the free preview — the introduction and the route map. The complete handbook adds the day-by-day plan, tickets and transport, culture and etiquette, food, useful Chinese, and the dated source list.