Chengdu — Pandas, Peppers & Slow Living

Chengdu moves at its own gentle pace. Visit the Bifengxia or Dujiangyan panda bases early, then spend the afternoon in a riverside tea house or hunting street snacks in Jinli. The food is the point: mapo tofu, gongbao chicken, and numbing-hot hotpot. Day trips reach Leshan's giant Buddha or the misty peaks of Mount Qingcheng.