In 2010, I spent a semester abroad in Chengdu, China. I chose Chengdu because I wanted to go to China badly and hadn't taken enough language classes to be accepted to any of the other programs, and because I had been to Beijing before and wanted to try something new. After the initial period of anxiety about being in an unfamiliar place, I fell deeply in love with Chengdu. I loved doing my homework in the tea houses and having old women come up behind me to peer at my textbook over my shoulder. I loved getting lost and finding new restaurants with to-die-for gongbao chicken and fried potato slivers. I love every inch of the city, and I want everyone to know it. So here are nine reasons why I love Chengdu, and why you should too:
1) Life is lived at a slower pace.
As opposed to the businessmen and government officials residing in cities like Beijing and Shanghai, the residents of Chengdu appreciate a slower pace of life . People in Chengdu like to take long, rambling walks along the river front or spend hours at teahouses playing mahjong. They often spend their afternoons napping or playing with their children.
2) Shopping is a competitive sport.
At the center of the city lies Chunxi Lu , a warren of shopping catering to every budget. It accommodates everything from the sparkling storefront of Louis Vuitton to rows of nameless stalls in multi-story buildings. I find bargaining exhilarating, and I am convinced that most of the shopkeepers enjoy it too.
3) Chengdu is the stomach of China.
Sichuan province, in which Chengdu resides, is known for its spicy, flavorful cooking. It's most famous cuisine is hotpot. At hotpot restaurants, groups gather around pots to cook everything from lotus root to thinly sliced beef in bubbling oil flavored with Sichuan peppercorns. Between meals, thousands of street food vendors throughout the city sell snacks from every region of China: hand-pulled noodles, kabobs, duck organs, bubble tea, steamed buns… Honestly, I could write a one-hundred page list of all of the delicious foods I ate in Chengdu.
4) Residents of Chengdu are incredibly friendly.
As a foreigner traveling in Chengdu, it takes effort to avoid the hospitality of Chengdu's residents. Random people walking down the street will ask you to practice English with them, invite you to eat with them, take you on unsolicited tours of the city, etc. My friends and I were invited to dinner at one graduate student's house, and she taught us to make dumplings. The next time I visited Chengdu, a retired man treated me to Starbucks and offered to teach me and my future children taiji.
5) Parks and teahouses abound.
Chengdu contains numerous public parks. Within these parks one can find bamboo groves, traditional architecture, ponds with boats for rent, bonsai trees, monuments, children's rides, spontaneous taiji and aerobics classes, amateur calligraphers, culinary artists making animals out of sugar, karaoke, and more. My favorite park is the bamboo park next to Sichuan University.
6) Foreigners are eased into Chinese society.
Within Chengdu, there are dozens of expatriate restaurants and bars. Every one of these stocks copies of Go Chengdoo Magazine, an English-language magazine containing articles about tourist attractions and advertisements for conversation partners and language classes, as well as apartments and jobs.Hostels like Lazy Bones help foreigners navigate the city and plan excursions. Although my friends and I were living in a dorm on campus, we spent many afternoons at Lazy Bones eating Indonesian fried rice and playing pool with the staff.
7) The nightlife is active and accessible.
There are clubs, karaoke bars, and regular bars located throughout the city, easily accessible by taxi. If you want to dance, sing, attend themed costume parties, listen to live music, or just sit, drink, and gorge on trays of fresh fruit, you will not be disappointed. One of the highlights of my semester in Chengdu were a pumpkin carving contest at Shamrock, an Irish pub.
8) Chengdu leads to Tibet.
Sichuan province is adjacent to Tibet, which means that Tibetan culture is prevalent in the city of Chengdu. Without leaving city limits, one can eat yak (mouth-watering) and momos (fried potato goodness), as well as shop for Tibetan souvenirs. Furthermore, it is relatively simple to join a tour group traveling from Chengdu to Tibet.
9) Chengdu is home to the Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding.
For just 100 kuai, tourists can visit the Panda Base and see giant pandas, red pandas, swans, and koi fish up close and personal. For various fees, you can hold and/or feed any of these animals. This alone is reason enough to visit Chengdu. There is very little more adorable than a panda lying on its flabby stomach, chowing down on bamboo.
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