The capital of southwest China’s Sichuan province, Chengdu is both an ancient and a modern city, with a long history and traditional Chinese culture mixed in with brand new skyscrapers that seem to be sprouting up every few hours. A morning here is well-spent wandering the massive People’s Park, where locals gather to sip tea, take a boat ride, or get in the groove with live music and plenty of group dancing. From there, a stroll through downtown’s Tianfu Square gives you a glimpse into both Chengdu’s past and future.

成都 – chéng dū

Chengdu

 

四川 – sì chuān

Sichuan

 

毛主席 – máo zhǔ xí

Chairman Mao

 

人民公园 – rén mín gōng yuán

People’s Park

 

人民喜欢来这里租一条船 – rén mín xǐ huan lái zhè lǐ zū yī tiáo chuán

People like to come here to rent a boat.

 

茶馆 – chá guǎn

tea house

 

休息 – xiū xi

have a rest

 

看报纸 – kàn bào zhǐ

read a newspaper

 

喝茶 – hē chá

drink tea

 

扇子 – shàn zi

fan

 

他们有大提琴，一个歌手，萨克斯，小提琴，电子琴，和二胡

tā men yǒu dà tí qín, yī gè gē shǒu, sà kè sī, xiǎo tí qín, diàn zǐ qín, hé èr hú

They have a cello, a singer, a sax, a violin, a keyboard, and an er hu.

 

很多人喜欢来这里跳舞 – hěn duō rén xǐ huan lái zhè lǐ tiào wǔ

Many people like to come here to dance.

 

后空翻 – hòu kōng fān

backflip

 

水书法 – shuǐ shū fǎ

water calligraphy

 

二百五 – Èr bǎi wǔ

250 (stupid person)

 

帅哥 – shuài gē

handsome guy

 

棒球 – bàng qiú

baseball

 

本垒打 – běn lěi dǎ

home run

 

天府广场 – tiān fǔ guǎng chǎng

Tianfu Square

 

四川科技馆 – sì chuān kē jì guǎn

Sichuan Science and Technology Musem

 

钟水饺 – zhōng shuǐ jiǎo

Zhong Dumplings

 

拍黄瓜- pāi huáng guā

smashed cucumber

 

担担面- dàn dàn miàn

dan dan noodles

 

牛逼 – niú bī

f***ing awesome

 

麻婆豆腐- má pó dòu fu

mapo tofu