Discover the luxury Six Senses resorts and spas in Chengdu, China

Pandas may be Chengdu’s most cuddly asset, but the city is growing in stature, both as a holiday destination and in real time: gleaming skyscrapers tower over restored Qing Dynasty siheyuans (courtyard houses) and pagodas. Vivacious street markets showcase delicate paper crafts and sculpting with spun sugar, and restaurants host Sichuan opera shows where performers don bold costumes and masks and perform Biàn Liǎn (face-changing) dances and fire-spitting, or wield elaborate marionettes. Gastronomes come here to feast on the spicy hot pots and Dan Dan noodle dishes that have earnt Chengdu one of its two Unesco titles; the first as a city of gastronomy, the second for the world-heritage site Dujiangyan irrigation system, which dates back to 256 BC.