Things to Do in Chengdu, China

Quick facts: Every day, over 100 giant pandas live here, from newborn pink cubs to full-grown adults. It is also the world's largest giant panda breeding research institution, having successfully bred more than 300 giant pandas to date.

Highlights: Early morning is the most magical time here. Panda cubs a few months old make yelping sounds like puppies in their nursery boxes, and the keepers hold a group feeding ceremony called "Panda Kindergarten." Watching a dozen furry baby pandas line up to drink milk is a happiness that simply melts your heart.

Quick facts: Inside the temple complex covering 37,000 square meters, you will find the "Three Perfections Stele" with inscriptions written by Tang Dynasty Prime Minister Pei Du and calligraphy by the renowned calligrapher Liu Gongchuo. Over 2,000 ancient cypress trees surround the halls with red walls and gray tiles, among which one is said to have been planted personally by Zhuge Liang, with a tree age of over 1,700 years.

Highlights: On the eaves of the main hall are 47 ceramic figurines of characters from the Three Kingdoms period, each with a different expression and demeanor. On rainy days, the glaze takes on a bluish-green sheen. What is even more special is that the scent of sandalwood from the incense burner blends with the fresh fragrance of the ancient cypress trees, enveloping the entire courtyard in a tranquil feeling that transcends a thousand years.

Quick facts: Over two million visitors come each year to this tranquil garden dedicated to the Poet Saint. Inside the garden, more than 800 couplets and over 150 stone tablets form the most concentrated collection of Du Fu-themed calligraphy steles in China.

Highlights: In the lotus pond in front of the thatched cottage live dozens of turtles collected from the old city districts of Chengdu. They have been living here for over twenty years, and the locals call them the "Poet Saint's Guardians." Every year on the third day of the third lunar month, the garden sets out the four treasures of the study, allowing visitors to copy Du Fu's poems in front of the thatched cottage, with paper and ink provided free of charge.

Quick facts: Mount Qingcheng is divided into the front mountain and the back mountain. The front mountain is dotted with Taoist temples and thrives on incense offerings, while the back mountain is more secluded and pristine. It is one of the birthplaces of Chinese Taoism, with 36 Taoist temples remaining on the mountain, originally built during the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Highlights: In the morning mist in front of Laojun Pavilion, you can glimpse the white-robed figures of Taoist priests practicing tai chi, appearing and disappearing as if from a thousand years ago. Even more delightful is the sound of the stream in the Five Dragon Ravine on the back mountain, interwoven with bird calls. Along the way, you might even encounter wild macaques in the mountains, creating a scene that rivals any martial arts novel.

Quick facts: This 71-meter-high cliff-side statue sits at the confluence of three rivers, standing taller than a 20-story building. The top of its foot alone is as large as two basketball courts. The carving of the giant Buddha took 90 years, with three generations of artisans working in succession. A 13-story pavilion was once built over it to protect it from wind and rain.

Highlights: The Giant Buddha once underwent a 20-year restoration project, during which craftsmen discovered over a thousand original Tang Dynasty bricks on its head. Even more astonishing, hidden inside the Buddha's ears and hair is a concealed drainage system, ingeniously designed by Tang Dynasty artisans, allowing this colossal statue to remain seated majestically through over a thousand years of wind and rain.

Quick facts: Over a thousand bronze masks, sacred trees, and ivory artifacts were unearthed from two sacrificial pits in 1986, each one uniquely shaped and completely unlike Central Plains bronzeware. Archaeologists have yet to find any written records, and which ancient kingdom these relics belonged to and why they were buried remain unsolved mysteries.

Highlights: The bronze sacred tree stands 3.96 meters tall, divided into three tiers of branches, with nine divine birds perched on each tier and a auspicious beast standing at the very top. The entire tree reaches from the floor to the ceiling of the exhibition hall. The most bizarre are the protruding-eye masks, with eyeballs bulging outward as much as 16 centimeters, looking just like alien figures, making every visitor standing before them gasp involuntarily.

Quick facts: A central urban oasis covering over 70 mu, this park attracts tens of thousands of residents every day for tea, dancing, and mahjong. The century-old ginkgo grove in the park turns a brilliant gold every autumn, making it the most down-to-earth leisure spot in the hearts of Chengdu locals.

Highlights: The Heming Teahouse deep inside the park has been in operation since 1923. Bamboo chairs, copper kettles, and lidded bowls of tea cost just over ten yuan, and you can sit all day without anyone asking you to leave. Every Sunday morning, an English corner and a matchmaking corner take place simultaneously. White-haired elderly men chatting fluently in English with foreign students is a scene you can probably only see here in all of China.