Chengdu
The Sichuan Fire
Portrait
Sichuan cooking works on mala — the numbing tingle of Sichuan pepper against the heat of chilli, two sensations that arrived from different continents and met here. Chengdu's teahouse culture is a civic institution: bamboo chairs, a bottomless cup, mahjong and ear cleaning, all afternoon, and the giant panda breeding base is on the edge of town.
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