Chengdu

Chengdu

Chengdu is the capital of Sichuan and the home of the giant panda, and it is the most relaxed big city in China. People come for the pandas and stay an extra day for the teahouses, the food and the general refusal to hurry.

Sichuan food is the other reason. What most of the world calls 'Chinese' is a pale version of what happens here, and a cooking class in Chengdu is one of those experiences travelers talk about for years afterwards.

Don't miss

• The Giant Panda Base at 8 a.m., when the keepers feed them
• The People's Park teahouse — green tea, bamboo chairs, an ear-cleaning if you dare
• A Sichuan cooking class, then eating what you made
• The Leshan Giant Buddha, carved into a cliff in the 8th century
• A face-changing Sichuan opera show
• The Wenshu Monastery and the Jinli old street at dusk

How long do you need?

Two nights is the standard — pandas, teahouse, food and the city. Three if you add Leshan or Mount Emei. Chengdu is also the gateway for a Lhasa extension.