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Most guest houses and travel agencies offer to arrange visits to these traditional shows. It is more like a burlesque cabaret than an actual opera, sometimes including magicians, traditional musicians, shadow plays, comedy (spoken in Chinese though), and dancers besides the traditional pieces. Of course the most famous is never omitted: quick face-changing and fire spitting performed by dancers clad in colourful traditional costumes. You will follow the story sitting at your table, sipping on your constantly refilled tea cup and nibbling some salted snacks. Note that there are many teahouses in the city that offer the show every night. Try the local favorite at Shu Feng Ya Yun (蜀风雅韵) teahouse located in Chengdu Culture Park (文化公园) on Qintai Road (it is beside Qingyang Temple). You will be seated on a covered open ground (cooled by fan; no A/C), which is actually the center of the traditional teahouse building. You might have to book in advance or just ask the concierge of your hotel to book it for you.Shows usually last about 1.5 hours and include face-changing, fire-spitting, and acrobatics. Tickets range from ¥100-300 depending on seating.
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青羊宫; Qingyanggong; lit. Palace of the Black, Green or Blue Ram
This Taoist temple is the oldest and biggest of its kind in the area, located in the west of downtown. A large and still-active temple that takes into consideration Taoist philosophy in its construction, and with both a park next door and a number of relaxed courtyards inside. While it has a long history, the buildings are modern, cheaply-made concrete constructions, and it quite frequently shows. The statues inside are also cheap modern constructions of no real interest. A teahouse and a vegetarian restaurant can be found within the temple complex.
宽窄巷子
Very nice place with lots of (expensive) tea houses, restaurants and local snacks. Great for relaxing. Streets date from late Qing-dynasty style but have been rebuilt. Free government Wi-Fi in this place.
Chengdu Lacquerware Craft Workshop
A workshop where you can learn about the intricate art of Chengdu lacquerware, a national intangible cultural heritage. Under master guidance, you can try your hand at polishing or painting a small piece, creating a unique souvenir.
四川博物院 (sì chuān bó wù yuàn)
3 floors museum containing artifacts (bronze, pottery, carving, etc.), including coverage of different tribes in Sichuan. Visit can be completed in about 2 hours.
人民公园; rén mín gōng yuán
This park is a rare island of tranquility amid the noise and hustle of central Chengdu. It contains beautifully landscaped walking paths, lakes with paddle boats for rent, tea shops and restaurants, children's amusement rides, small sports facilities, and other attractions. Some old people use the park to sing and dance in separate groups. Some people practice calligraphy with water on the floor around a monument in the northwestern corner of this park. Some parents take their unmarried children's information here to find potential candidates. The park is a great place to take a child or a date, and it is always full of locals relaxing and enjoying themselves. For laughs, there is an information display which lists the city's current air quality, claiming there is about 4 times less pollution than the US Embassy reports.
Teahouses are plentiful in Chengdu, and drinking tea and playing Mahjong is how many local people relax. On a sunny afternoon pick a table in the park with an out-door tea house and sip your tea while listening to the locals gossiping. Not for the faint hearted, take the opportunity to have your ears cleaned by local "experts" armed with a tuning fork and a myriad of "insertion tools". Weird but effective! There are thousands of teahouses in Chengdu so you'll find them from other places than Renmin Park as well.Teahouses in the park are busiest in the afternoon. A cup of tea typically costs ¥10-30 and can be refilled.