Chengdu is the capital of the Sichuan province and home to about 16.3 million people. It is known for mainly two things:
- Firstly, there is the Chengdu Giant Panda Research Base, which is dedicated to researching and, more importantly, breeding Giant Pandas to hopefully prevent them from extinction.
- Secondly, the name Sichuan is, of course, widely known as a synonym for spicy food.
How to get to Chengdu from Zhangjiajie
There is no direct connection, but the trip can comfortably be done by bullet train with a transfer in Huaihua. The distance is quite far and the trip took about 8 hours.
Chengdu
Chengdu is a modern city without many memorable attractions. Out of the five places I visited in China, this was certainly the most skippable one. One day is enough to visit the Panda Research Base—which basically feels like a zoo with only pandas—and to enjoy a spicy hot pot in the evening.
Click on one of the pictures to open the Chengdu gallery :
