Traditions and customs in Chengdu

1. Teahouse culture

Chengdu's defining social institution — hours over one cup, mahjong, and nobody hurrying.

• Cost: CNY 15–40 all afternoon

2. Sichuan opera and face-changing

Bianlian, where masks change faster than the eye follows, and the technique is a guarded secret.

3. Ear cleaning

A teahouse service with a set of specialised tools, performed in public and oddly popular.

4. Mahjong

Played everywhere, loudly, and by rules that differ from every other province.

5. Hotpot as a social form

Communal, long, and the default way to spend an evening with anyone.