I\u2019d heard they have some panda centers, but since I had already seen pandas at the Beijing Zoo, I wasn\u2019t too eager to go. Big mistake!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After learning about the places I could visit in Chengdu and since it was on my way anyway, I decided to make a stop here. Specifically, I had: half a (rainy) day to explore the neighborhood I was staying in + 2 full days with guided tours and wandering around like crazy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Capital of Sichuan<\/strong> Province, Chengdu is a city with 21 million people, ranking 4th in China after Beijing (22 million), Shanghai (25 million), and Chongqing (over 30 million!). It\u2019s a relatively new city, but it already boasts 5 ring roads (considering that Beijing has just one more), 15 metro lines, one of the most modern airports in Asia (Chengdu Tianfu, opened in 2021), friendly people, and many other things. One of them: paying for the metro using\u2026 your face. A cool trick I already wrote about here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPanda bears and super spicy food \u2013 these are the two things Chengdu is famous for\u201d, someone told me right before I arrived. I decided not to miss either, even though just thinking about \u201csuper spicy\u201d made me feel like my poor butt was going to be on fire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Still, I promised myself not to overlook the city’s other \u201coffers\u201d either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou can go to People\u2019s Park and feel like a true Chengduer.\u201d To be honest, that suggestion didn\u2019t sound too exciting to me. I mean, come on, we have parks to walk around in too, I don\u2019t need to cross the planet and spend money to do that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n BUT\u2026 where I least expected it, that\u2019s where I had the biggest surprise!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Located right in the city center, People\u2019s Park is one of the oldest and most popular public spots in Chengdu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Locals come here to relax, play mahjong, dance, show off their singing skills in open-air karaoke sessions, and much more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And me, the clueless tourist? What am I supposed to do?<\/p>\n\n\n\n I start my visit to the park with\u2026 lunch, even though it\u2019s not quite lunchtime yet. But I figured I shouldn\u2019t let a growling stomach get in the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Beyond the beef noodles, I share with my guide some dishes I never in a million years would have guessed!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then I stumble upon the entrance to a huge teahouse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This Tea House is super<\/em> popular! Lots of locals come here just to chill, ordering only one tea and stretching it out for hours. It\u2019s a totally accepted thing \u2013 no one gives you dirty looks if you sit there forever with the same cup in front of you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just as I was still deciding whether I wanted to try the whole “tea leaf contemplation” experience, I noticed some folks in burgundy uniforms walking among the tables, clinking some metallic tools. Not a disturbing sound, quite the opposite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat are these people doing?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey clean your ears and then give you an inner ear massage!\u201d OMG, I couldn\u2019t believe it!!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n I had read about this back in 2018, when I went to Tokyo, and I kept looking for a way to experience it, but I couldn\u2019t find it anywhere in the city. And here it came right to me!<\/p>\n\n\n\n This ear cleaning offered by street specialists is a traditional Chinese practice, specific to the Sichuan region, and especially the city of Chengdu. Here, it\u2019s considered part of the local identity<\/strong>. While in other major cities you can only experience this in specialized salons, here it\u2019s a cultural street experience. You\u2019ll find practitioners of this craft in parks, teahouses, and shopping streets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m in!\u201d I say so suddenly that I startle my guide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We start circling around the teahouse tables like two lost birds, because I have no idea who to stop at. Actually, there aren\u2019t many options \u2013 most of them already have clients. Ugh, and some of them even look really trustworthy!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Off to the side, I spot a young guy. The only one without a client. I ask my guide twice if it is really okay to go to him. What if he\u2019s a beginner, what if his hands shake, who knows??…<\/p>\n\n\n\n She reassures me by saying that all of them are certified, not just anyone can throw on a burgundy jacket and start poking into people\u2019s ears on the street.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Okay, okay, let\u2019s approach him, I say. Well, she does, because I still only know \u201cxie xie\u201d in Chinese\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n And oh boy, what follows!<\/p>\n\n\n\n First, the guy asks me if I want him to use new tools or reused ones in my ears. What?!? Here\u2019s the thing: many people are fine with reused tools because they disinfect them after each use. Plus, it\u2019s cheaper: if you want brand-new tools, you\u2019ll need to pay a little extra.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The guy shows me the little pouch with the new tools, and I suddenly feel like I am about to get a blood test, you know, when the nurse says: \u201cSee? The needle is sealed!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He puts on his miner headlamp and begins the operation \u201cWax out of the ears\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He tells me to relax. Seriously?! I think I even held my breath, afraid that he might poke that stick somewhere it shouldn\u2019t go\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n It tickles. Every now and then, he takes the stick out and tries to show me what was on it. Then he grabs something like a tuning fork tweezer (the thing I kept hearing clinking along the paths), a stick with a tiny brush at the tip, and begins the massage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I don\u2019t know how to describe this massage. Judging by the tools I saw \u2013 a stick with a brush at the tip, a rod with a feather at the end \u2013 it is like cleaning a bottle with a brush, mixed with dusting with a feather duster, but on a much smaller scale. On the stapes scale, actually. And the malleus. Because both were vibrating in there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The whole thing lasts a few minutes. Maybe 5. To me, it felt like an eternity!<\/p>\n\n\n\n All done. I pay 50 yuan + 10 extra because I wanted new tools. No more stress, now the wind whistles through my ears even louder \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n We keep walking through the park. We don\u2019t get far, though, because suddenly\u2026 I see pink in front of my eyes!<\/p>\n\n\n\n A long, winding alley is lined on both sides with countless laminated A4 posters. Passersby stop and read what\u2019s written on some of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I find out that this is the so-called \u201cmarriage market\u201d \u2013 quite literally a matchmaking fair. The people featured on the posters are looking for a life partner. Pink posters are with women, and the light blue ones (on a different path) are with men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n China had a law, enacted in 1979, that allowed families to have only one child. That law was repealed in 2016. The result? They now have way more men than women! So this market is in high demand!<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the funniest part is that, in most cases, it\u2019s not the young people paying for the posters, it\u2019s their parents! \ud83d\ude42 Desperate to promote their children in hopes of finding them a husband or wife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s not free. You pay for one month, two, three \u2013 however long you think it\u2019ll take for your personal info, displayed for all to see, to attract the right match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n First, there\u2019s information about the \u201cseeker\u201d: name, birth date, height, marital status, and a few other personal details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Under the section \u201clooking for\u201d, the seeker clearly states what they want. Height is an extremely important criterion! A minimum of 170 cm is often required \u2013 apparently, nobody wants short kids\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then comes the job \u2013 the candidate must have a stable job, because that means a guaranteed pension. Freelancers, farmers, and part-timers are usually considered less desirable, as they don\u2019t qualify for a pension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Next up: expectations regarding property (owning a house, ideally).<\/p>\n\n\n\n And last but not least, the candidate must NOT have bad habits: no gambling, no drinking, no smoking, and ideally, no tattoos either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What\u2019s funny is that, at the bottom of the poster, it clearly states that the information is provided by the \u201cmarriage seeker\u201d, so you can imagine how much parents tend to embellish their children\u2019s profiles. And of course, in most cases, the phone numbers listed are the parents\u2019 numbers \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n Among the classic posters, I came across some special ones too:<\/p>\n\n\n\n This guy, 27 years old, didn\u2019t bother to fill out the entire template. He simply wrote:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Man<\/strong> Still, he\u2019s a good candidate \u2013 he\u2019s 1.75 m tall! \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.danamladin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/chengdu-china.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Gizzas, I just realized that any of these cities is more populated than our entire Romania!!!<\/p>\n\n\n\nWHAT TO DO IN CHENGDU<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
PEOPLE\u2019S PARK (RENMIN PARK)<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nEAR CLEANING<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Dear Lord and almighty Jackie Chan, what do you mean by \u201creused\u201d??<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo, no, thank you, I\u2019d rather not see it\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nMARRIAGE MARKET<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Looking for Woman<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n