My recent trip to Chengdu has been nothing less than amazing. I was very surprised to see just how modern the city is. From skyscrapers to traditional architecture, clean roads to modern underground train system, Chengdu stands out a lot.
Since I went to Beijing before Chengdu, I have to say the massive difference between the two places. Chengdu feels like it has progressed with time and embraced modernity, whereas Beijing feels like it has not moved on from its past albeit the surge in technological improvement in the city. But of course, this is all my personal opinion.
So since I was part of a very luxurious trip, I’m highlighting three iconic places in Chengdu that are surprisingly ultimate high-end.
- IFS Chengdu
Almost all the major international brand you can think of can be found right here. Not only is the shopping mall filled with brands, the traditional-looking buildings opposite IFS (太古里) along Hongxing Road 3rd Section houses Dior, Gucci and Prada. WHUT! It’s basically a luxury town on its own here.
I’m also very impressed at how they managed to transform these traditional houses into a shopping arena and a tourist attraction. I think that’s very genius. I didn’t have much time to walk around, but 太古里 (Tai Gu Li) is definitely somewhere to explore!
- Luxelakes
When I reached this place I basically went ‘WTF’. Basically, this is the place for the rich and famous. Art galleries, private residences, villas, parks, I mean it’s really a rich person’s playground. I’m introducing this place to show that Chengdu is really a developed city that is comparable to many of the metropolitan cities in the world. A great eye-opener for sure.
- Chengdu Panda Research Base
Well, Chengdu in every way is synonymous with Pandas. And what is amazing is how the people there have dedicated their time to ensure that the great pandas do not go extinct. The panda park is open to public and is freaking huge. It is almost impossible to just walk around the whole park, so thankfully since I was with a VIP team, we had buggies to bring us around ahaha.
It was really a waste to have had only such little time to explore Chengdu, but I really really recommend going there, since we do have direct flights to Chengdu from Singapore! I will definitely go there again to explore this exciting city.
Cr: @jeeheng
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