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.
