China Guide
Sichuan and Chongqing
Chengdu
Sichuan's relaxed provincial capital, CHENGDU, is a characterful place to spend a few days, perhaps as a base for visiting Qing-dynasty Huanglongxi or the irrigation system at Dujiangyan, or while organizing a flight or train to Tibet. Aside from touring the remaining historical monuments, you can spike your taste buds on one of China's most outstanding cuisines, not to mention getting close-up views of locally bred pandas.
Chengdu is a determinedly modern city, full of high-rise department stores, residential blocks and traffic – the congestion and pollution can be atrocious – but it's also a cheerful place: seasonal floral displays and ubiquitous ginkgo trees lend colour to its many excellent parks and the riverbanks have been landscaped with willows, lawns and wavy paths. The population is also nicely laid-back, enjoying its teahouse culture at every opportunity and unfazed by this being interpreted as laziness by other Chinese.
Sichuan Opera Shows
Price: ¥120–180
Address: Chaguan, in the Chengdu International Convention Centre, Floor 3, 258 Shawan Lu
Address: Shufeng Yayun in the Cultural Park (enter off Qintai Lu)
Address: Jinjiang Theatre, in a lane north of Shangdong Jie
Sichuan Opera – known here as chuanxi – is a rustic variant on Beijing's, based on everyday events and local legends. Most pieces are performed in Sichuanese, a rhythmic dialect well suited to theatre, which allows for humour and clever wordplay to shine through. As well as the usual bright costumes, stylized action and glass-cracking vocals, chuanxi has two specialities: fire-breathing and rapidface-changing, where the performers – apparently simply by turning around or waving their arms across their faces – completely change their make-up.
Today, chuanxi has gone into a decline as a form of popular entertainment, and most locals are not much interested. There are several places to catch a show around town, however, catering to tourists with nightly variety shows featuring short opera scenes, fire-breathing and face-changing, comedy skits, puppetry, shadow-lantern play and storytelling. These are pretty enjoyable and you might even catch occasional full-length operas.
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