Chengduisblessedwithbothculturalsplendorandnaturalcharm.ItisthehometownofDuFu(712-770),laudedasthesageofpoetry,theChuanOpera,whichisbestknownforitsmagicalmaskchangingskill,Shubrocade,Shuembroidery,aswellasSichuancuisine.Forwildlifelovers,Chengduisthenaturalhabitatoftheendangeredgiantpanda.
Abenignclimate,arichhistory,abundanceofresources,andalifeofeaseandtranquilityallmakeChengduacitythatwillwinyourheartandmind.Onceyouhaveexperienceditscharmsyoumayneverwanttoleave.
TheWorld鈥檚OldestWaterConservationProject
TheMinjiangRiver,atributaryoftheYangtze,isthelargestsourceofwaterinChengdu.ItrushesdownfromtheMinshanMountaininthewesttotheChengduPlain273metersbelow.Inancienttimes,thecitywaspronetofloodinginspringandsummerduetoitslowaltitudewhenthewaterflowedinragingtorrents.Inthedryseason,however,droughtwasaregularproblem.In256BC,localgovernorLiBingstartedaneight-yearprojecttocarvethroughtheYuleiMountainandbuildtheirrigationsystemDujiangyan.
Takingadvantageoftheslopingterrainthatishigherinthenorthwestandlowerinthesoutheast,Dujiangyanharnessestheriverbydividingwater,reducingsilt,andcontrollingtheflow.Iteffectivelyalleviatedfloodsandfacilitatedirrigationoflocalfarmlands,hencesignificantlyboostingChengdu鈥檚economy.
Dujiangyanisstillfunctioning2,000yearsafterconstruction,theonlyfunctioningirrigationsystemthatwasbuiltinancienttimesintheworld.Itisanoutstandingexampleofhumankind鈥檚exploitationofnaturewithoutdamagingit,andstandsfortheharmonyandunitybetweenhumankindandnature.In2000,DujiangyanwasnamedaUNESCOWorldHeritageSite.
CapitaloftheShuKingdom
Chengduwasthecapitalofregionalregimesformillennia.OneofthemwasthestateofShuoftheThreeKingdomsPeriod(220-280)foundedbyLiuBei(161-223)in221.ThestoryofLiuBeiandhissupportersisknowntoeveryChinesehouseholdthankstotheclassicnovelRomanceoftheThreeKingdoms.
InthelateyearsoftheEasternHanDynasty(25220),thepowerofthecentralauthoritywaserodedbyrisingwarlordsacrossthecountry.Afteraperiodofprolongedwarfare,threeofthesewarlordswerevictorious.Theywentontoestablishthreerivalkingdoms.ThekingdomfoundedbyLiuBei,namedShu,occupiedsouthwesternChina,includingtoday鈥檚Yunan,Sichuan,andGuizhouprovinces.
Onthefoundationofdevelopedagricultureandahandicraftindustry,especiallysilkproduction,theregionsoonestablishedavibrantcommodity-basedeconomy.Historicalrecordssaythatthecityteemedwithshopssellingagreatvarietyofgoods,includingthoserareinChina.Thoughwarswerefrequent,theShueconomyandsocietyescapeddestruction.
Inthecenturiesthatfollowed,ChengdugrewintoametropoliswithaboomingeconomyandculturethatmatchedChang鈥檃n(today鈥檚Xi鈥檃n),andLuoyang,bothcapitalsofseveraldynasties.In1023,theworld鈥檚firstpapermoney,Jiaozi,wasofficiallyissuedinChengdu,atestimonyoftheadvancedeconomyintheregion.
PhysicalremnantsoftheThreeKingdomsperiodaboundinChengdu,andanecdotesofwarriorsandstrategistsofthattimearestillfondlyrememberedandpasseddowngenerations.Historyisalivehereontheage-oldbridges,inthetwistinglanes,andintraditionalteahouses.
HabitatofGiantPandas
Inthespringof1869,FrenchmissionaryArmandDavidencounteredablackandwhiteanimal,whichhenamedtheblack-and-whitebear.HelatersentthisspecimenfordisplayinParis,introducingthisrareanimaltotheWestforthefirsttime.
Fossilsshowthatgiantpandasfirstappearedonearthtwotothreemillionyearsago,andtheirpopulationpeakedhundredsofthousandsofyearsagowhentheirhabitatscoveredmostterritoriesofeasternandsouthernChina.Allotheranimalsdescendingfromthatagearenowextinct,butthegiantpandahassurvived,whichearnsittheepitheta鈥渓ivingfossil.鈥滻tshabitathashowevershrunktotheQinlingMountaininShaanxiProvinceandtheMinshanMountainattheborderofSichuanandGansuprovinces.Sichuanisahavenforthisendangeredanimal.
Inthe1980s,Fargesiarufa,awoodybambooandmajorsourceoffoodforthegiantpanda,diedafterfloweringincertainpartsofSichuan,leavingmanygiantpandasfacingstarvation.SomehadtobetakentotheChengduZoo.Forbetterprotectionofthisrareanimal,Chengduestablishedabreedingbasein1987.Overthepast30yearsithasmadetechnologicalbreakthroughsinsuchfieldsasartificialbreeding,reproduction,diseasetreatmentandprevention,andpopulationgenetics,andexpandedthenumberofgiantpandasinitscarefromsixtomorethan100.
Thefacilityisopentovisitors.Itmimicsthenaturalenvironment,withartificiallakes,rivers,bambooforests,andlawns.Thebuiltupareasincludeasectionforpregnantpandasandnew-bornsandairconditionedenclosureswithattachedgardensforpandas.Visitorscanobservetheseadorableanimalsplayingoutdoorsincoolweatherorwatchthemthroughglasswallsduringhotdays.
Slow-PacedLife
ThepaceoflifeinChengduismuchslowerthaninotherbigcitiesinChina.Localsspendlonghoursintheteahouses,playingmahjong,orwatchingstorytellingperformances.
TheteahouseisasymbolofChengdu,ubiquitousonstreets,inparks,underbridges,andnexttohistoricsites.Mostofthemarepackedtocapacitymuchoftheday.Withbamboochairs,thethree-pieceteawareandwaiterswhocanbalanceastackofdozensofcupsandexpertlyfillthecupsfromadistancewithlong-neckedkettles,theteahouseisthebestplacetosavortraditionalChengduambiance.
Chengdupeoplelovetoeat,andthecityisheavenforfoodies,withrestaurantsservingdaintydishesandsnacksaroundeverycorner.PopularalloverChina,thespicySichuancuisineisinfacthighlynuancedinflavorbecauseoftheteam-upofcayennepepper,Sichuanpepper,blackpepper,andamultitudeofothercondiments.TheingredientsarecommoninChinesediet,anotherreasonthatSichuanfoodappealstopeopleofdifferentsocialstrataandregions.
ChengducuisinebelongstotheShanghebang,oneregionalstyleofSichuancuisine.Itfeaturesawidervarietyofcondiments,lightertaste,andmoreemphasisontheoldtradition,andisthemostlovedofallSichuancuisine.Thelistofitssignaturedishesislong,andnewinventionsoverrecentyearshavealsogoneviral.In2010,ChengdujoinedtheUNESCOcreativecitiesnetworkasarenownedcenterofgastronomy.
(CompliedbyChinaToday)MountQingcheng
Thismountain,10kmsouthwestofDujiangyan,isacradleofTaoism,aworldheritagesiteand5Anationaltouristresort.Itiscoveredinluxuriantvegetationallyearroundandscatteredwithamultitudeofplacesofinterest,includingTaoisttemplesandmountaincaves.
Transport:TakeashuttlefromShuangliuInternationalAirport.WuhouMemorialTemple
ThetempleisamemorialforShuHanstrategistZhugeLiang(181-234).TherewasaseparatememorialforKingLiuBeinextdoor,andthetwowerelatermerged.ThecurrentWuhouMemorialTemplesprawlsover150,000squaremeters,andconsistsofthemajorstructuresofLiuBei鈥檚tomb,thememorialtempleforZhugeLiangandSanyiTemple(forLiuandhistwoswornbrothers).Onitspremisesarealsoanumberofinscribedsteles.
Transport:TakebusesNo.1,57or82totheWuhouMemorialTemplestop.
TheSouthBridgeofDujiangyan.
AgiantpandaattheChengdubreedingbaseonApril30,2018.ChengduResearchBaseofGiantPandaBreeding
Theresearchbase,15kmfromdowntownChengdu,servesasbotharesearchinstituteandaneco-park.Onitspremisesalsolivetheredpanda,orlesserpanda(Ailurusfulgens),peacock,andswans.Smoking,flashphotography,andfeedingandtouchingtheanimalsareallprohibited.
Transport:TakebusNo.198indowntownortakeashuttlefromtherailwaystationorairport.AhotpotcontestforinternationalchefsheldinChengduonApril25,2018.
AteahouseinthePeople鈥檚ParkinChengduisfilledtocapacityonMarch23,2018.SichuanCuisineMuseum(ChuancaisMuseum)
LocatedinPiduDistrictofChengdu,themuseumincludesstaticexhibitions,interactive,andexperiencesectionswherecookingclassesaregiven,aswellasafoodcourt.Itisaplacetogainknowledge,trylocalfood,andhavefun.
Transport:TakebusesNo.727or705.
TheKuanzhaiAlley
ThealleyinQingyangDistrictconsistsoftheKuan(wide),Zhai(narrow)andJing(well)alleyslinedbycourtyardsoftraditionalstyledatingbacktotheQingDynasty.ThisregionisoneofthethreemajorhistoricaldistrictsinChengdu,withtheothertwobeingtheDaciTempleandWenshuTemple.
KuanAlleyisacenterwherevisitorscanexperiencelocallifeandcustoms,whileZhaiAlleyfeaturescourtyardhouses,manyofwhichhavebeenturnedintotrendybarsandrestaurants.Visitorscanunwindforawholeafternoonhere.
Transport:TakeSubwayLine4toKuanzhaiAlleyStation.