Chengdu is called the city of pandas, but it turned out to be much more than that. Together with Shanghai, it's the only city where we'd seriously consider living. Part one: temples, a park full of life, Sichuan opera and a real-life "Tinder" run by parents.
We've been home for more than a month and I can't think of anything else. China won us over, and almost everyone who goes there seems to feel the same.
Arriving after a very long day
The train pulled into Chengdu at 5 p.m. after a day that had started more than twelve hours earlier. We were exhausted and badly needed a shower. Outside the station a local driver offered to take us to the hotel. In Europe I'd never accept, but we agreed on a price, and he and a second van helped us load our mountain of luggage. They were really good people.
Our hotel was a hidden place: you take a lift to the 3rd floor and then a second, internal lift up to the 14th, with a view over the whole city.
"They're living 20 years ahead"
I filmed this part walking around in public, and nobody bothered me. Shanghai, then Chongqing, then Chengdu, each one better than the last. A taxi driver told me that in three years all public transport here will be electric and driverless. As someone who loves technology, this is where I want to be. Much of what we're told about China in the West just isn't true.
Wenshu Monastery and People's Park
We woke up to rain, about 20 degrees cooler than Leshan and Chongqing, and perfect for exploring. Wenshu Monastery is Chengdu's largest and best-preserved Buddhist temple, a peaceful oasis about 1,400 years old, famous for its teahouse and vegetarian restaurant.
People's Park (Renmin Park) is the essence of Chengdu's slow-paced lifestyle. It's a historical monument and at the same time the centre of local social life: people dancing, playing cards, drinking tea. Hidden inside it you can watch a live Sichuan opera face-changing show.
The marriage market
At weekends, part of the park becomes an open-air marriage market. Parents act as matchmakers and display their adult children's "résumés": age, height, job, income. It may look old-fashioned, but it serves a real purpose, connecting families and keeping alive traditions around marriage that run very deep.