Sichuan opera masks are popular souvenirs. Jiang Xiaoming / For China Daily

The bronze statue of Du Fu in the Tang Dynasty poet's former residence. Lu Xizheng / For China Daily

Shi Guanghua picks his top 3

You can't leave Sichuan without sampling:

Mapo tofu: "This best represents the ma la style. There are at least 5,000-odd dishes prepared from beans in Chinese cuisine and one could write a whole book on this subject."

Twice-cooked-pork (Huiguorou): "This is the best among the so-called 12 gold hairpins (adornments) of home cooking in China."

Napa cabbage in consomme: Preparing the soup involves a rather intricate procedure conducted over four or five hours. At the end of it, the cabbage opens up like a blooming lotus in the consomme.

"It's regarded as the masterpiece of Sichuan cuisine and is hardly ever cooked nowadays. The simplest of ingredients are used to cook this deluxe delicacy."

In 1963, when Shi's monthly income was 31 yuan, the dish cost 2.8 yuan. In the 1980s, it cost 88 yuan.

Just how hot does it get?

While spicy Sichuan food is often referred to by the generic term ma la (tingling spicy), here are some of the subtler variations, with examples of preparations in which one might find them.

The Chinese-English Dictionary of Sichuan Cuisine lists the following:

Hot and sour / Hot-and-sour noodle

Jiao (Chinese prickly ash) ma flavor/ Jiaoma-flavored chicken

Hot-and-spicy/ Hot-and-spicy crab

Hu la flavor/ Hu la-flavored chicken powder (this is the strongest)

Ma la / Mapo tofu (the perfect dish should combine the following properties: tingling, hot, fresh, savory, warm, tender and crisp)

Food writer Shi Guanghua adds to the variations:

Dry hot/ Sliced chicken with chili sauce

Fresh hot/ Any dish with a sprinkling of green pepper

Multi-flavored with hot as the predominant taste/ Fuqi Feipian (sliced beef and offal in chili sauce)