By YI DA

LOCATED in the west Sichuan Basin of Southwestern China, Chengdu was once cited by a magazine as the most stress-free city in China. Bestowed with rich rainfall, fertile land, and a low cost of living, Chengdu is imbued with an atmosphere of ease and comfort, evident in its residents' leisurely manner. The particularity of the region is also perceivable in the local dishes, teahouses and, most of all, in the women of Chengdu. Visitors to Chengdu therefore like to amble around the city, enjoying the exuberant and inexpensive life style, rather than rushing around the scenic spots.

Chengdu is well known for its Sichuan cuisine. Compared with Guangdong dishes, those of Sichuan are equally delicious, but more homely, and the gastronomic pleasure they bring never palls. In China, twice-cooked pork (huiguorou) and diced pork with peanuts in hot spicy sauce (gongbaorouding) are available in most restaurants, and are among the most frequently ordered dishes.

People in different cities have diverse tastes in food: Beijing people enjoy elaborate banquets to bolster their self-esteem; for Shanghainese, the environment and atmosphere of a restaurant take priority over the food, as dining is only a means through which to flaunt their refined taste. People from Guangdong, on the other hand, are solely concerned about the stuff of the repast. As for the people of Chengdu, flavor is of utmost importance. Chengdu people love to try food that is new and in vogue. They will travel the length of the city just to taste a newly devised dish in an out-of-the-way eatery, and local restaurants are adept at coming up with an endless supply of exotic dishes to entice new customers. Once a dish comes into vogue, diners swarm to try it, and it is soon available in almost every restaurant in the city.

Chengdu food is hot, spicy, succulent, and crisp. On Wangping Street, Meiling Road and Yangxixian Street, are numerous restaurants serving hot-pot and original Chengdu dishes. Among them, the three run by scholars are most distinctive. Chuandong Laojia (Eastern Sichuan Hometown) was founded by Er Mao, a poet of the Miao ethnic minority. Having inherited his mother's cooking skills, he developed a series of new dishes that blend the flavor of Sichuan and Miao ethnic food. The Xiangjichu, which was established by another poet, Li Yawei, enjoys brisk business for its savory dishes and rustic-style service, and He Nong, a man of letters, is an exponent of home cooking, and has created the trademark of new-style Sichuan dishes ?¤ Baguo Buyi (Sichuan Commoner).

One very popular leisure pursuit in China is tea drinking, and the teahouse is an indispensable feature in the life of Chengdu people. As cafes and bars supersede teahouses in other Chinese cities advancing towards modern metropolis status, most of the traditional teahouses still do a good trade in Chengdu, the most celebrated being the one inside the Great Mercy Temple.

It is said that the Great Mercy Temple was the first place that Du Fu, eminent poet of the Tang Dynasty, visited after arriving in Chengdu, and that he ate the free porridge given to the homeless there. In the dynasties following, the temple served as both a Buddhist sanctum and a place of recreation for both officials and the populace. It is only in Chengdu that Buddhism and human society blend harmoniously. Today a Chengdu Museum and teahouse have been built inside the Great Mercy Temple. After ordering a pot of jasmine tea at a nominal five yuan charge, the customer may spend the whole day in the traditional-style teahouse, with its winding corridors, carved beams, painted pillars, and broad fanlight. Waiters serve tea in a particularly skillful manner, from a distance with a long-spouted brass teapot, from which a narrow arc of hot water pours directly into the cup without spilling a drop. Besides tea, breakfast, lunch and dinner, a full range of Sichuan dishes is also served at the Great Mercy Teahouse. Casting a glance around the parlor, you may see young lovers billing and cooing, middle-aged men reading the newspaper, and elders tending their pet birds.

The teahouses in Chengdu reveal a particular attitude towards life: that of acquiring the best service at the least cost. Social demarcation within the social strata is blurred in the teahouse. Sipping tea at the same table, people from different regions become friends.

The carefree life in Chengdu greatly benefits local women, who are generally of a sweet and charming nature. A Chengdu-based writer has portrayed Chengdu girls in this way: "Chengdu girls sound delectable and tender, even when they are squabbling. Many of my friends are true Chengdu women. Despite having different dispositions and interests, they all radiate feminine charm."

The same writer also made observations on Chengdu beauty: "Chengdu is known for its pretty women, but Chengdu girls are not beauties in the traditional sense. Most of them are of small stature, with round faces and undistinguished features, but nevertheless have great charm due to their coquettish appeal. Such loveliness does not stem from delicacy or humility, but a kind of vigor and power that combines assertiveness and compromise." She gives an example. One of her friends has a sharp tongue, and often inadvertently gives offense. One day, she argued with a colleague over a trifling matter, and exasperated him with her loquacity, but after half an hour, she felt sorry, and tried to make amends with the man, who was still simmering with rage. She passed by him, carrying a cup of lukewarm water, pretended to trip, and spilt the water over his arm, and hurried to dry his clothes with a tissue, making abject apologies. In the process of apologizing and fussing over this spilt water, all hostility faded away. This is Chengdu woman, charming, smart, and smooth. They may get it wrong at first, but eventually come through.

During their first days in Chengdu, visitors may wonder at the prettiness of the local girls, and the idleness of the local men, but they soon find out why this should be: good food, sound sleep, warm weather, rich resources, fertile land and low prices. In Chengdu even the smallest business can ensure a reasonable standard of life. This also explains why relaxation and mah-jong are so prevalent in this city.

Tourist Guide

Downtown Scenic Spots

The Du Fu Memorial Hall: Located by the Huanhua River outside the Western Gate of Chengdu, this hall was the residence of Du Fu during his exile in Chengdu. Its garden and architecture are in an elegant, classical style. The hall also serves as a museum devoted to this great poet, where over 30,000 volumes and 2,000 relics are kept, including finely printed, photo-offset and hand-written copies of Du Fu's poetry, dating from the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties.

The Sichuan Provincial Museum: on the Chengdu Renmin South Road, this is the largest museum on local history in southwestern China. Its exhibits include fragments of the skull of Ziyang Man and stone tools of the Paleolithic Period, bronze ware of the ancient Ba and Shu kingdoms, carved bricks and pottery figurines of the Han Dynasty, and antiquities of ethnic groups, such as Tibetan, Qiang, Yi and Tujia.

The Temple of Marquis and the Qingyang Temple are also noted tourist sites in Chengdu.

Scenic Spots in the Rural Areas

Dujiang Weir: Located in Dujiangyan City, 50 km west of Chengdu, the Dujiang Weir is a famous ancient irrigation works. Built during the Warring States Period, the weir has a history of 2,300 years. During the past centuries it has played an important role in irrigation and flood-prevention, and is a paradigm within the history of water conservancy construction in China. Through application of hydromechanics theories, and other sciences, this weir is able to discharge flood-water in the rainy season, irrigate farmland in the dry season, and also effectively tackle silt sedimentation. Dujiang Weir attests to the wisdom and ability of Chinese ancestors.

Qingcheng Mountain: Lying 16 km from Dujiangyan City, Qingcheng Mountain is one of the cradles of Taoism and a famous summer resort. In the ranges of hills and lush forests nestle a number of Taoist temples.

Xiling Snow-capped Mountain: Located 50 km west of Dayi County in Chengdu, the Xiling Snow-capped Mountain is a national scenic spot in China, with its highest peak towering 5,364 meters above sea level. Within the 480-square-kilometer tourist area 27 scenic spots have been explored, which feature quaintly shaped peaks and rocks, ranges of hills, vast tracts of stone forest, and peaks of red granite of 400 varieties. The 1,000-mu ancient sweet osmanthus forest and 50-km-long azalea forest is a marvelous spectacle to behold on the mountain. The area is also rich in wild animal resources including monkeys, gnus and pandas.

Best Tourist Season

Dominated by a subtropical monsoon climate, Chengdu has an early spring, a long, hot summer, a cool autumn, and a temperate winter. March to June and September to November are the ideal times to visit Chengdu. Visitors, however, are also recommended to take a tour of summer resorts, such as Xiling Snow-capped Mountain, the Nine-Dragon Ditch, Qingcheng Mountain, and Longchi Forest Park, in July and August, and to enjoy the snow scenery in the Longchi Forest Park and Xiling Snow-capped Mountain in winter.

Recommended Tour Routes

One-day Tour: visiting the Qingyang Palace, the Du Fu Memorial Hall, the Sichuan Brocade Factory and the Sichuan Embroidery Factory in the western suburbs of Chengdu in the morning, and the Temple of Marquis, and the Sichuan Provincial Museum in the southern suburbs in the afternoon.

Two-day Tour: The first day is as above. The second day comprises a visit to the Tomb of Wang Jian, king of the Former Shu Kingdom in the Five Dynasties Period (907-960), and the Manjusri Temple in the morning, sampling vegetarian food served at the temple at noon, visiting the River-overlooking-Pavilion Park in the afternoon, having dinner at a local teahouse, and admiring Sichuan folk art and the local folkways in the evening.