Chengdu.

Chengdu's teahouse culture runs deep, and the century old Heming Teahouse inside People's Park, the city's first public park, dating to 1911 and still its largest green space downtown, remains the classic spot to sit for hours over a single pot of tea. Wuhou District, home to Sichuan University, adds Jinli Street and the historic Wuhou Temple as an easy evening walk from campus. Between two universities with a combined 110,000 or so students, club and society life across Sichuan University and UESTC gives newcomers plenty of ways in beyond the teahouses.

• Heming Teahouse, inside People's Park since 1911, is the classic spot for tea.
• Wuhou District mixes Sichuan University with Jinli Street and the Wuhou Temple.
• Sichuan University and UESTC together teach well over 100,000 students.

Living Cost estimates a single person's total monthly budget in Chengdu at around 688 US dollars including rent, or about 390 dollars without it. A one bedroom, 40 square metre flat near the centre averages that same 390 dollars a month, and an inexpensive restaurant meal comes to about 2.83 dollars. The Chengdu Metro keeps transport cheap too, with fares starting at 2 yuan for a 2 to 4 kilometre trip and a 10 percent discount on the Tianfutong transit card.

• Budget around 390 US dollars a month without rent, or 688 with it.
• A one bedroom flat near the centre averages about 390 dollars a month.
• Metro fares start at 2 yuan, with 10 percent off on the Tianfutong card.

Dorms are the standard first option for exchange students at both Sichuan University, spread across its riverside Wangjiang and newer Jiang'an campuses, and UESTC, split across four campuses including Qingshuihe. Many students later move into shared flats around Wuhou District, home to Sichuan University itself and dense with more than 1.8 million residents. Private listings in this market run almost entirely in Chinese, so bring a Chinese speaking friend to check any contract and confirm the terms before handing over a deposit.

• University dorms are the usual first option at Sichuan University's Wangjiang or Jiang'an campuses.
• Wuhou District, with over 1.8 million residents, is the main student housing area.
• Private rentals run almost entirely in Chinese, so bring help to check contracts.

Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport, about 16 kilometres southwest of downtown and handling some 33.5 million passengers in 2025, connects directly to Metro Line 10, while the newer Tianfu International Airport runs its own express Line 18 and Line 19 into the city. From either, the Chengdu Metro, now 17 lines and 447 stations across more than 720 kilometres of track, ranks as the world's fourth longest metro system. Fares run from 2 yuan for short hops, paid by Tianfutong card or QR code, with a three hour grace period to change lines without paying again.

• Shuangliu Airport, 16 km from downtown, connects directly to Metro Line 10.
• The Chengdu Metro is the world's fourth longest, at 17 lines and 447 stations.
• Metro fares start at 2 yuan, with a three hour grace period between rides.

Sichuan University, founded in 1896, teaches more than 70,000 students, over 37,000 of them undergraduates, across its Wangjiang and Jiang'an campuses in Chengdu, and ranks 77th worldwide on the Academic Ranking of World Universities, with particular strength in chemistry, materials science and medicine. The University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, founded in 1956 and home to around 40,000 students, ranks first nationally in electronic science and information engineering, and partners with more than 200 universities across 67 countries. Like other Chinese universities, the academic year runs two semesters, September to January and February or March to July.

• Sichuan University, founded in 1896, teaches over 70,000 students across two Chengdu campuses.
• UESTC ranks first nationally in electronics, with over 200 partner universities worldwide.
• The academic year runs two semesters, September to January and spring to July.

For a full semester you need an X1 student visa; anything under 180 days uses the X2. Your host university sends an admission letter plus a JW201 or JW202 form, and you take both to a Chinese embassy or visa centre back home. Requirements and fees swing a lot by nationality, so check your own local embassy rather than trusting a mate from another country.

The bit people forget: an X1 visa only gets you in the door. Within 30 days of landing you must convert it into a residence permit at the local Public Security Bureau (Entry-Exit office), which means a health check and passport photos. Miss the deadline and the fines are real.

• X1 visa, stays over 180 days, needs JW202 + admission letter
• Residence permit, apply within 30 days at the local PSB
• Medical exam, required for the permit, budget €50–80
• Rules vary by nationality, always check your own embassy

Chengdu earned its UNESCO City of Gastronomy title in 2011 largely on the strength of Sichuan cuisine's mala flavour, the numbing spiciness that comes from pairing Sichuan pepper with chili, best experienced in a proper hotpot or a plate of mapo tofu. Dan dan noodles, originally sold by street vendors carrying their gear on a pole, remain a cheap, everyday classic worth seeking out from small local joints rather than tourist restaurants. The city's teahouse culture, still centred on places like the century old Heming Teahouse, gives the food scene somewhere to slow down between meals.

• Mala, the numbing spice of Sichuan pepper and chili, defines Chengdu's cuisine.
• Mapo tofu and dan dan noodles are Sichuan classics worth trying from small joints.
• The century old Heming Teahouse is the place to slow down between meals.

Wuhou District, home to more than 1.8 million people and to Sichuan University itself, holds the historic Wuhou Temple and Jinli Street alongside the university's own riverside campus. Jinjiang District, Chengdu and Sichuan's political and commercial core with over 900,000 residents, contains the Chunxi Road and Taikoo Li shopping districts and hosts nearly half the city's Fortune 500 company offices. Between the two, students can pick a quieter, older base near campus or a livelier, shinier one downtown, with the whole city linked by an ever expanding metro.

• Wuhou District holds Sichuan University alongside Jinli Street and the Wuhou Temple.
• Jinjiang District is Chengdu's commercial core, with Chunxi Road and Taikoo Li.
• The expanding metro links both districts easily to the rest of the city.

The Leshan Giant Buddha, the world's tallest stone Buddha at 71 metres and part of a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1996, sits about 120 kilometres from Chengdu alongside Mount Emei, the highest of China's Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains at over 3,000 metres and dotted with 76 historic monasteries. The Dujiangyan irrigation system, an engineering feat from around 256 BC still watering the Chengdu Plain today, sits on the plain's western edge. Chongqing, China's dramatic mountain megacity, is just an hour away since the high speed line was upgraded to 350 kilometre an hour Fuxing trains in 2020.

• The Leshan Giant Buddha and Mount Emei sit together about 120 km from Chengdu.
• Dujiangyan's ancient irrigation system, from around 256 BC, still works today.
• Chongqing is just an hour away since the 2020 high speed rail upgrade.

Chengdu gets some of China's lowest annual sunshine, with only around 1,006 hours a year and persistent humidity and fog, so do not judge the city on a grey first week. Set up a mobile payment app before you arrive, since the metro and most shops run on Tianfutong cards or QR codes rather than cash. Ease into the mala spice gradually rather than ordering the wildest hotpot broth on your first visit. Book Sichuan University or UESTC dorm housing early, since Wuhou District's private market fills up fast around term time.

• Chengdu gets only around 1,006 sunshine hours a year, so expect grey skies.
• Set up a mobile payment app; the metro mostly runs on cards or QR codes.
• Ease into mala spice gradually rather than ordering the wildest hotpot first.