Activities in Chengdu

Chengdu's Fenghuangshan Sports Park is a modern multi-venue complex built for the 2023 FISU World University Games. The 60,000-seat main stadium features a dramatic undulating roof inspired by the mythical phoenix.

No visit to Chengdu is complete without a Sichuan hot-pot session. In a traditional restaurant, a bubbling cauldron of chilli oil, Sichuan peppercorns and numbingly spicy málà broth arrives at the table, and diners cook their own sliced meats, tofu and vegetables.

Chengdu is China's undisputed mahjong capital — the clatter of tiles is the city's unofficial soundtrack. In any traditional teahouse, locals will happily invite foreigners to join a casual game, teaching the Sichuan variant's rules between rounds of jasmine tea.

Heming Teahouse in People's Park is Chengdu's most iconic traditional teahouse, where locals have gathered for over a century to drink covered-bowl tea, play mahjong, and enjoy ear-cleaning services. It perfectly embodies the city's leisurely culture.

The Jincheng Lake Greenway is an 85 km loop trail circling Xinglong Lake in southern Chengdu. The flat, well-paved path winds through wetlands, flower gardens and lakeside parks, making it ideal for a half-day cycling excursion.

Shufeng Yayun Sichuan Opera Theatre offers nightly performances of traditional Sichuan opera, famous for its dramatic face-changing (bian lian) technique. Performers switch painted silk masks in fractions of a second — a closely guarded secret of the art form.