Chengdu is a city famous for pandas and leisure

Once you come to our home, you'll never want to leave, say the locals of Chengdu, a city that oozes with charm and relaxation. The outdoor teahouses are filled with the sounds of songbirds and feature another unique Chengdu service: professional ear pickers. These people walk though local teahouses carrying cotton swabs and metal picks in two neat quivers. To attract customers they click the picks together but the ear picker is an age-old fixture of Chengdu teahouses and nobody seems to notice.

The Bifengxia Panda Base is one of Chengdu's most popular attractions where visitors can see China's icon up close and personal. Li Wei / For China Daily

Downtown, department stores are selling the newest international fashions and on the busy streets, vendors are hawking everything from pirated software to chicken feet.

The local streets are full of attractive smells of snacks sizzling away.

Leisure can be sensed on the streets, in the markets and alleyways, restaurants and roadside shops. In other parts of the city, Buddhist and Taoist temples are full of heavy incense and chanting monks.

In Chengdu, old and new China get along in splendid harmony.

This is the capital city of Sichuan province, which is the fourth largest city in China with a population of more than 10 million and a history of more than 2,500 years.

Covering an area of 12,000 square kilometers, it is located in Southwest China, and has a typical sub-tropical humid climate.

Marco Polo, the 13th century Italian traveler and merchant, described Chengdu as "China's Paris" and it is place where 21st century travelers will find both traditional and modern China.

Once the capital of Shu State during the Three Kingdom period (220-280), Chengdu enjoys a splendid traditional culture.

Though the physical remains of the ancient city are no longer standing, old traditions seem to be alive as ever. Tea, opera, embroidery, silk and beautiful women have made the city re-known all across China.

Chengdu is also called the Brocade city. In Western Han Dynasty (206 BC), brocade produced in Chengdu was popular among the royals and the rich.

It is also the home of endangered panda, which in recent decades has served as an emblem for the country. Its image appears on a large number of modern Chinese commemorative silver, gold, and platinum coins. There are only an estimated 2,000-3,000 pandas living in the wild and 80 percent live in this region.