Boraxo

I have been here several times for business and would not return to the city as a tourist except for the panda thing. The hot spots are not appealing to those of us who cannot handle spicy, oily food. The air quality is very bad. And the sidewalks are extremely unsafe - not because of crime but because people drive electric scooters on the sidewalk - silent killers. Not sure if this is unique to Chengdu but did not encounter this problem in Beijing or Hong Kong. Both of which have better, healthier food options. I did enjoy the face changer performance - well worth seeing if you find yourself here.

If I had 2 weeks in China I would visit Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and maybe Xian- Chengdu would be way down the list.

vh_bu98

Chengdu is known for spicy food especially for the use of Sichuan peppercorns, so it's definitely not for everyone. But you can get hot pot with a different base besides the spicy oil one. There are also lots of different foods besides hot pot and I like the crawfish stir-fry. I have been to Beijing and Chengdu and haven't found one to be healthier than the other. Peking duck is the stand out dish in Beijing, but most of the northern dishes are not better. Hong Kong is a different story in itself in terms of culinary options. But I have dined at private restaurants in Chengdu that would be consider fine dining.

The air quality is bad in most Chinese cities and Beijing is known to be one of the worse. Chengdu and Beijing were about equal this year, but the nice thing with Chengdu is that you can go up to the mountains where the air is better.

As for the scooters on the sidewalk, I didn't really see much of that during my trips to Chengdu. I have been to Vietnam, where that kind of thing is a lot worse.