Our planning, as noted, didn't initially give Chengdu much of a chance, as we scurried around ticking off a host of jobs.

Even in the midst of all that scurrying, however, we had the chance to enjoy the Wenshu Temple, which is tranquil and pretty.









Our Chengdu experience really came into its own on Sunday, once we'd returned from Langzhong.

First, we walked, via Tianfu Square with its big Mao statue, to People's Park.



All Chinese parks are pleasant, but this one is particularly so. There's a boating lake for people to putt-putt round. There are various historical monuments. And there are several tea houses. Locals flock to these places to enjoy tea, company, their pastime of choice, and the services of ambulant ear-cleaners and masseurs. The Shao Cheng tea house is enormous, big enough to accommodate even the Sunday crowds. So we ordered ourselves some tea (bamboo for Nigel, something jasmine with floaty flowers for Prudence), and sat back ready to put in a few hard hours of tea house occupation.







Chengdu's teahouses have a fascinating history, and have often been little capsules of social and political change.





From People's Park we headed up to the Tibetan Quarter, and had our final farewell-to-Tibet meal at the A're Restaurant near the Wuhou Temple. Stir-fried yak and wild mushrooms. A wonderful dish of "tiger peppers", with a spicy, vinegary sauce. A round flatbread (soft on the inside, crusty on the outside -- ideal for soaking up the delicious juices from the peppers); a bowl of rice; and unsweetened milk tea. Bliss.

From there you can walk to the tomb of Liu Xiang, the tourist-swamped Jinli Street, and the Culture Park. All interesting and photogenic. The Three Kingdoms, including Zhang Fei and his brotherhood, are big here.





Monday was Panda Day. Following many bloggers' suggestions, we turned out early to catch morning feeding time at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. Doors open at 7.30, so you want to be in the queue by 7.15. Arm yourself with a pancake (with egg, salad, and spicy sauce) from the guy outside.

Once inside the gates, you can either walk, or climb aboard one of the little buses. We walked, and this is a good way to enjoy the really lovely grounds, full of flowers and bamboo and birdsong.

But be warned that the signage is not the park's strong point... It took us a while to find the pandas who'd been let out for breakfast (and we weren't the only ones plaintively asking, "So where actually ARE the pandas?").

Once we'd located our first six, however, we were up and running. They are ten times as adorable in real life as they are in the pictures you've seen, and you just can't stop ooing and aahing and taking photos -- and then seeking out some more, and starting all over again.

We spent about 5.5 hours in the park, mainly observing giant pandas, but also watching red pandas and peacocks (whose mournful miaow is a regular part of the soundscape).

























Monday was also opera night. Sichuan opera, to be precise, which you can catch at the Shu Feng Ya Yun teahouse. It's not cheap, but the atmosphere and the uniqueness of the performances make the price worthwhile. We were treated to music, singing, puppetry, shadow play, acrobatics, a comedy-balancing act, fire-breathing, and the extraordinary mask-changing routine. The teahouse style means you get unlimited tea (the water for which may well be poured from one of those extraordinary long-spouted teapots); ear-cleaners and masseurs are on hand; and snacks like sunflower seeds and glutinous rice balls come with the ticket.























Tuesday, our last day, was Chengdu Museum day. This is a great place, with lots of beautiful artefacts, a reasonable amount of information in English, and a cool cafe where you can buy fruit tea and egg tarts.













Backgrounding all this was Chengdu's superb range of food.

The city is justly famous not only for its chillis but also for its Sichuan peppers, which we first encountered on our trip to Xian and Chongqing. They do tend to pop up everywhere. They were in our breakfast noodles one morning. They were in two of the very tasty trio of dishes we ordered from the vegetarian restaurant at the Wenshu Temple. They were in the round crispy flatbreads (guo kui) that we bought a couple of times. And of course they were in the mapo doufu that is the signature dish of Chen Mapo Doufu (another excellent choice here is the gong bao chicken, which is spicy, sweet, and Sichuan pepper-free). Where these little seeds are NOT, it seems, is in the potato chips that claim to be numb and spicy...









The city also rejoices in a number of what I can only call round bready things... The Chinese are really so good at these. We first made their acquaintance in Xian, but everywhere we've been since then has manifested its array of round bready things. Here in Chengdu there was the thing that was a cross between a pitta and a pancake. There was a purple sweet potato thing. There was a seed-studded disc that went well with beer. And, of course, there was the peanut-studded nemesis that killed my tooth...

This is a city that seems to have its priorities right. It loves food, and it knows how to relax. I'm planning to put it on our itinerary again.