There’s an ancient Chinese saying “The young shouldn’t come to Chengdu and the old shouldn’t leave”. This is meant to describe Chengdu as a very comfortable place, you’ll feel relaxed and find it easy to truly unwind.
Chengdu was an important gathering place for people 4,000 years ago. For those interested in Chinese culture, there are many great stories that come from this ancient city!
Chengdu is known to be a panda city as you can find pandas figuring and pictures used to decorate the city. These mystical gentle giants have been roaming around Chengdu for more than two million years and the most unique thing about this bear is its sudden conversion into vegetarianism. We suggest you to visit the Panda Research Base as you might be able to see tiny pandas!
Chengdu’s geographical location makes it a good hub for further travel to many parts of the world. Chengdu’s Shuangliu International airport is among one of the busiest airports in the world. The Shuangliu International airport has followed Beijing’s example by constructing an absolutely massive new terminal. You can find flights from Chengdu to 96 domestic and 52 international destinations. Of course Chengdu also has very busy bus and train stations as well. This is a city that can easily provide a nice pit stop when traveling further away.
Also known as Szechuan Cuisine, you’ll find the dishes to be much deeper and well developed in Chengdu. This cuisine is very strong in flavour and pretty spicy for most people. The key ingredient to Sichuan food is Sichuan Peppercorn, that’s quite rare outside of China. Some call it the “Numbing Pepper” which natives of Chengdu pour down their throats because of the pepper’s apparent medicinal properties.
The areas to the west of Chengdu offer breathtaking natural sceneries. Jiuchaigou National Park and Huanglong National Park are well known for their clean lakes, waterfalls, colourful ponds, snow-mountains, and gorges. The Chengdu to Jiuzhaigou travel route is one of China’s best scenic itineraries. Another off-the-beaten path to cover the stunning scenery in the region is from Chengdu to Daocheng and Yading. This is a popular photography travel route.