Perhaps the best example of Chengdu’s old-meets-new approach is the Taikoo Li district where a complex of designer fashion boutiques has been built around the tranquil Qing Dynasty Daci temple. Set within a heritage building a five minute walk away is the contemporary Mi Xun tea house (the city has the largest number of tea houses in the world) where there are more than 60 varieties of tea on the menu.
For a more traditional shopping experience, take a wander down Wide and Narrow Alley. Once home to high ranking military officers from the Chinese army, it is now two criss-crossing shopping streets where food stalls sell snacks such as pineapple rice, kung pao chicken and rabbit heads, and wooden huts are filled with calligraphy kits and tea sets (both make lovely gifts to take home). If you are interested in seeing Sichuan Opera (it involves the ancient art form of ‘face changing’ where performers wear colorful masks, which they switch in a flash as they alternate characters), one of the best places to catch a show is the Jinjiang theatre in the city centre.
Spend a day at the Chengdu Panda base where you can watch as the animals lay on their backs chomping steadfastly through clumps of bamboo, curl up into fluffy balls to sleep in the trees frame (pandas doze for up to 14 hours each day) or if you are lucky, lark about on a climbing frame. Nearby is the city of Dujiangyan where street food stands sell pig snouts and scorpions on sticks. You can hike up Unesco World Heritage Site Qingcheng Mountain, which is dotted with temples and often shrouded in bewitching early morning mist (there is also another, often less crowded giant panda base here if you have not had enough of a fix already).
For a flavor of real Sichuan countryside, head north to the Jiuzhagoui Valley national park and nature reserve. Another Unesco World Heritage Site, this vast park has more than 100 lakes, a handful of waterfalls, mountains and Tibetan villages. It is spectacular all year round, with glittering lakes and fields of green in summer and magical snow-capped mountains in winter.