Chengdu travel guide

Chengdu is the largest land and air transport hub in southwest China, with very convenient transport options.

Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport is located in the southwest suburbs of Chengdu, 16 kilometres from the city centre. The airport has direct flights to dozens of cities across China, as well as international flights to cities and regions such as Hong Kong, Bangkok and Tokyo. Take Metro Line 10, Phase 1 (Taipingyuan → Shuangliu Airport Terminal 2) to reach Shuangliu Airport directly. The airport also has several shuttle routes into the city centre.

Chengdu's main railway stations are Chengdu East, Chengdu North, Chengdu South and Chengdu West. Chengdu North is one of the largest railway hubs in southwest China and is a special-grade station directly under the Chengdu Railway Bureau.

The high-speed railway from Chengdu to Dujiangyan is open, and the intercity railway to Leshan is also in operation.

Chengdu is the largest road hub in southwest China, where six national highways meet, including National Highway 108 and National Highway 319.

Almost all of Chengdu's urban attractions are reachable by bus. Bus company service hotline: 028-85076868. At major intersections and busy areas across the city, there are also “Chengdu Tong” information kiosks where you can look up bus routes yourself.

Taxi service in Chengdu is generally good, and drivers rarely overcharge. Chengdu taxi drivers know the best food and sights, so feel free to ask them for advice. They are usually happy to help.

Chengdu currently has 13 metro lines in operation. Line 1 serves Shengxianhu (升仙湖), Huoche Beizhan (火车北站), Tianfu Square, Huoche Nanzhan (火车南站) and Ocean Park. Line 2 serves Chadianzi station, Chunxi Road, the Jinsha Site Museum and Huoche Dongzhan (火车东站). Line 3 serves Chengdu Zoo, Chunxi Road and Xinnanmen. Line 4 serves Kuanzhai Alley and Luomashi. Line 5 serves the Chengdu Open-Air Music Park, Jinli and the Wuhou Shrine Museum. Line 6 serves Chengdu Happy Valley. Line 7 serves Huoche Beizhan, Chengdu East Railway Station, Huoche Nanzhan, and the Culture Palace. Line 8 serves Sichuan University and Dongjiao Memory. Line 9 serves Tiexiangsi Water Street and Tianfu Furong Garden. Line 10 serves Shuangliu Airport. Line 17 serves Guose Tianxiang. Line 18 serves Xinglong Lake and Sancha Lake. Line 19 serves Tianfu International Airport.

The expressway from Chengdu to Leshan and the Mount Emei scenic area is now fully open. It runs 169 km, reaching Mount Emei to the southwest and Leshan to the southeast.

From central Chengdu, the station with the most bus departures is the Tourist Bus Passenger Transport Center at Xinnanmen, with a bus roughly every 20 minutes. Mount Emei and Leshan are about 30 km apart and are a busy tourist route year-round. On average, a bus departs every 10 minutes, the one-way journey takes under an hour, and the last bus leaves at around 18:00.

Chengdu South and Chengdu East stations have many intercity trains to Leshan every day. The fastest trip takes only 46 minutes. A second-class seat from Chengdu South to Leshan costs ¥51, and from Chengdu East to Leshan it costs ¥54. From Leshan station, transfer to a tourist minibus into the scenic area. The ride takes about 15 minutes, and a taxi costs around ¥20.

With the opening of the Chengdu–Mianyang–Leshan passenger dedicated line, you can now reach the Mount Emei scenic area in 1.5 hours.

Premier Zhou Enlai's handwritten copy of Li Bai's "Song of the Mount Emei Moon." Photo: Zhang Zhulin

Greedy monkeys, robber monkeys and hooligan monkeys. Do not touch the monkeys. Do not open your bag in front of them. Girls should protect their hair, avoid bright clothing, especially red, and never wear skirts.

Sichuan cuisine, one of China's Eight Great Cuisines, can be a real test for your taste buds, yet "delicious and affordable" is still many people's first impression of Chengdu dining. Chengdu's food trends come and go like a pop chart, changing every year, though some never fade, such as home-style Sichuan dishes and beef-tallow hotpot.

Chengdu's restaurants are everywhere, on nearly every street and alley. The densest concentrations are along the west side of Yangshi Street between the second and third ring roads, on Lingshiguan Road and the Zongnan and Zongbei compounds in front of the US Consulate in Chengdu, along the perpendicular Kehua Road, and in the many small Sichuan eateries in the Shuangnan compound. All of them have distinctive character.

Traditional Sichuan cuisine is all about intense numbing and spiciness. As Sichuan food became popular, it kept its traditional flavors and presentation while blending in new flavors, giving birth to modern Sichuan cuisine. Modern Sichuan cuisine keeps the color and flavor of Sichuan dishes but works hard to highlight the fresh aroma of the ingredients themselves. Take chili as an example: it is spicy enough to be flavorful, and more importantly it brings out the aromas of different chilies, yet chili, a key seasoning in Sichuan cooking, never overpowers the dish. It plays its supporting role so that the beauty of each ingredient shines. In addition, modern Sichuan restaurants pay more attention to the dining environment, freeing Sichuan food from its traditional image as a hole-in-the-wall fly-infested eatery and making it popular across the country.

Shaxi Line (Shawan Road West Extension), the Yangxi Line food street, the Funan New District hotpot street, the Caotang dining and entertainment circle (including Qintai Road, Jinli West Road, Fanglin Road and Qinghua Road), Wuhou Shrine Avenue, the Shuangnan food area, Kehua Road → Lingshiguan Road → Yulin → Zhonghuayuan food area, the leisure dining street along the southern extension of Renmin South Road, and the Wangping Street food area.

Seasonal vegetables are boiled in plain water and broth over high heat until very soft, with a little salt and MSG added just before serving. Examples include taro with cabbage, or cowpeas with pumpkin. In Dujiangyan City there is a special dish, bàba cài, that visitors never forget. It is made with winter amaranth (also called kuí cài, the 'green kuí in the garden' of the classic poem), cooked in rice water. First blanch the winter amaranth briefly in boiling water, then simmer it in a suitable amount of rice water, seasoned with salt and MSG. The dish is tender and smooth, and is said to be good for the complexion. Visitors to Dujiangyan or Qingcheng Mountain can try it; most restaurants serve it.

Chengdu's restaurants keep very long hours. For 20 hours of the day you can easily find somewhere to eat, which leaves many visitors from other cities amazed. Today it is possible to find somewhere to eat around the clock.

1. In Chengdu, there are several famous places for lamb soup hotpot: Huangjia Town in Shuangliu, Jitou Town in Wuhou District, Xiaojiahe, and Xiaoguanmiao.

2. If your constitution is weak and you have rising internal heat, it is best to avoid lamb soup hotpot for the time being.

A formal Sichuan banquet is especially particular about the 'Three Steams' (wine rice, sweet steamed pork belly and savoury steamed pork belly) and the 'Nine Kou' steamed set dishes (whole chicken, whole duck, pork rib cuts, pork knuckle, whole fish, crispy pork, bowl-steamed dishes, mixed stew, seafood and more). Add four cold dishes (cold chicken, cold pork tripe, cold pork head or braised pork, oil-skin peanuts or cold cucumber), four stir-fries (chili pork strips, garlic sprout pork strips, yellow chive pork strips, magnolia or lettuce pork slices, white-oil peas and more), and a sour broth with shredded yellow chives served last. It is very popular with food lovers.

Buses 5, 43, 58, 81 and 109 reach it. It has the same bluestone-paved lanes and ancient-style architecture, but here you will find mainly gold and silver jewellery shops and larger restaurants.

A specialty restaurant chain with many branches in Chengdu. You can ask the Chengdu 114 information line, or ask people near your accommodation where the nearest one is.

Chengdu has so many delicious snacks: Dongzikou liangfen (mung bean jelly), Tongguoxiang vegetarian noodles, Tan Douhua (tofu pudding), Shiyou noodles, flower pastries, fèichángfěn (pork intestine rice noodles) and many more. There are too many to count, and they are all very cheap.

Sichuan hotpot needs little introduction. Chengdu hotpot, the best-known representative of Sichuan hotpot, comes in a huge range of styles. Chengdu people will put almost anything that flies, walks or swims into the pot. Hotpot restaurants are found on every street and lane, and in number they even rival Sichuan restaurants. Below are some well-known local hotpot restaurants. See whether your palate can withstand the test of the spicy, aromatic, numbing and hot flavours.

A must-visit for tourists, so prices are naturally a little higher and the flavour is decent rather than exceptional. If you have time, it is still worth a stroll. The street brings together most of Chengdu's famous snacks, including the Three Big Cannons (sāndàpào), yè'er bā, lǔròu guōkuī, tiánshuǐ miàn, Chuānběi liángfěn and suānlàfěn, saving you considerable time and transport costs. The location is also convenient: Wuhou Shrine is next door, so you can sightsee and eat at the same time.

Yellow catfish from the Yangtze River is 'comfortable Huang Lading' (bāshì huáng làdīng). In Yibin, yellow catfish is seldom braised or steamed; it is more often cooked in the Sichuan style, and its flesh is wonderfully tender.

Its original new-style Sichuan dishes, such as Hibiscus Tofu, bamboo-tube tofu pudding and Red-Oil Jade Ribbon, keep the essence of Sichuan cuisine while being nutritious, healthy and delicious. They are very popular with guests from across the country.

A large farmhouse-style venue popular with locals. Sansheng is a township of Chengdu with many large farmhouse resorts. The surroundings are elegant and the facilities complete. You can enjoy the flowers, drink tea, play cards and sing, all at low cost. Spend half a day there to experience the typical lifestyle of Chengdu people.

Outside the Sichuan Provincial Museum, at the Jinjiang Bridge head on the riverside road, on Lion Hill, or at Wenshu Monastery, Baihua Pond and Wuhou Shrine, you will find open-air teahouses where you can freely drag over a chair and find the most comfortable angle to lean back. Drink tea, sit quietly, chat, people-watch, and for about ¥10 have your ears cleaned. Time drifts away with the steam rising from the tea.

Chengdu is often called a 'city of rouge and powder'. Chengdu women are very beautiful, with a touch of spice, and have a strong personality. They are a living trademark of Chengdu.

Sichuan barbecue comes in a wide variety: vegetables, fish, shrimp, meat and bones can all be grilled. During grilling they are brushed with oil and seasoned with chili and spices, and the aroma is irresistible.

Chengdu is a city steeped in tea. Chengdu tea is not about cooling down or quenching thirst, but about passing the time. For Chengdu people, drinking tea ranks alongside eating and mahjong as a top priority, never to be taken lightly. The most common is locally produced jasmine tea, brewed in a lidded bowl and topped up countless times. Some teahouses also serve fine Sichuan teas such as Zhuyeqing and Emei Xuerui. Who you drink with determines where you go. Older folks frequent open-air teahouses and small tea stalls in residential areas, where a bowl of tea costs ¥2–3 and can keep you seated all day. Young people and the well-off go mostly to modern tea houses and tea rooms for the ambience, and accept higher prices. Ordinary citizens often frequent teahouses by the river and in parks, which are inexpensive and pleasant.

Before checking into your hotel in the evening, two good spots to see the Jin River are the Wanli Cruise Boat and the Heart-of-River Teahouse. The Wanli Cruise Boat (Wànlǐhào Yóulún) is by Wanli Bridge, right beside the Jin River. Have afternoon tea around 4 or 5 pm, then eat spicy hotpot at a seat by the water in the evening and watch the Jin River's soft lights at night. The Heart-of-River Teahouse lies across from Wangjiang Park. It is a peninsula-shaped open-air teahouse surrounded by water on three sides. Stand at the very front of the teahouse, facing the wind, and the rolling Jin River comes right toward you.

Most Chengdu sights can be visited as day trips, with overnight stays in Chengdu. Accommodation in Chengdu is very convenient, with hotels and inns at every price level.

Shopping in Chengdu will never disappoint, with plenty of local specialties to help you shop to your heart's content.

Shu brocade, one of China's Four Great Famous Brocades, and Shu embroidery, one of China's Four Great Famous Embroideries, are excellent choices, with a wide variety of patterns and fine quality, though they're not cheap. Porcelain-body bamboo weaving will open your eyes, and vases, coffee sets, flower holders and rice bowls made from it are hard to resist. Silver-thread crafts are exquisitely beautiful. Qingcheng silk carpets are superb, with wall hangings and rugs to choose from. There's also the renowned Quanxing Daqu, Luzhou Laojiao and Shuijingfang liquors. And don't forget Pixian broad bean paste, an essential ingredient for authentic Sichuan cooking, along with Xinfan Xiaomaozi water-processed douchi (fermented black soybeans), a fine product of central Sichuan.

Chengdu is the hub of China's Southwest, and its bustling scene goes without saying. The leisure and entertainment popular in coastal cities are also everywhere here, and at low prices. In particular, the “blind massage” parlours on many small streets typically charge around ¥60 for an hour, which is perfect for shaking off travel fatigue. Chengdu also holds many local festivals throughout the year. If you're lucky enough to catch one, you'll surely be swept up in its festive atmosphere and find yourself irresistibly drawn in.

Chengdu's hottest nightlife spots are mostly concentrated around Yulin Community and Renmin South Road. The city centre is also home to many trendy, avant-garde entertainment venues.

Chunxi Road is Chengdu's most bustling pedestrian street, lined with large department stores such as Wangfujing, Pacific Department Store and Parkson. On summer evenings, stroll along the street or sit at a roadside drink stall and watch stylish young people pass by. It's pure bliss. When you're tired of shopping, head to Huaxing Street behind Wangfujing Department Store for chuanchuanxiang (skewered hotpot). The variety is dazzling and the flavour is beyond words.

The Funan River was Old Chengdu's moat. After renovation, it has become a new tourist attraction. When night falls and the lights glow, strolling along the river reveals the elegant charm of Chengdu. For the most activity in the evening, try the Music Plaza near Jiuyan Bridge, Hejiang Pavilion, and Huoshui Park beside the amusement park.

In the past couple of years, fried rice stalls have sprung up beside the barbecue stands. They stir-fry a mix of meats and vegetables with rice until the aroma has you swallowing hard. For people who work the night shift, a box of fried rice for ¥10 is the perfect late-night snack.

Sichuan opera, Li Boqing's freestyle storytelling (sanda pingshu), and comedic Sichuan-dialect skits performed in bars. Non-locals may not understand the words, but one look at Mr. Li's head and expressions will have you laughing. Many Chengdu taxis play Li Boqing's storytelling on the radio, and you can also request it in hotel rooms. It's best to have some knowledge of the Chengdu dialect so you can really enjoy it.

Chengdu comes alive at night. After dark, the lights blaze and bars and teahouses stay open late. On the Yulin Road bar street, bars often host unknown singers whose performances can be wonderful, making it a great place to unwind.