The Institution Responsible for 80% of All Captive Panda Births, the Firefox Browser Named After a Red Panda & the 1,200-Year Stone Buddha With a Built-In Rain Drainage System
The panda base's 230 pandas and 80% captive-birth share; the red panda as the Firefox browser logo's namesake; the IUCN 2016 reclassification from Endangered to Vulnerable; the Pixian doubanjiang fermented paste as intangible cultural heritage; the Leshan Buddha's carved hair-drainage system maintaining the stone for 1,200 years; and the Chengdu Tianfu Airport's direct 10-hour London flight as western China's most connected international gateway.
The Sichuan Opera, Du Fu's Thatched Cottage & the Plain That Fed the Han Dynasty
The Wuhou Shrine's reverse hierarchy (minister above emperor) as a unique Chinese temple convention; Du Fu's Thatched Cottage as the most visited poet's residence in China; the Chengdu Plain's Han Dynasty rice surplus feeding the empire during the Three Kingdoms wars; the biànliǎn face-changing as Chinese state secret; the Sanxingdui sacred tree's cosmic symbolism; and the Chengdu teahouse as the most democratized social institution in Chinese urban history.
The Earthquake That Exposed Tofu Construction, the Dinosaur Capital Producing More Significant Fossils Than Anywhere in China & the Dog That Barks at the Sun
The Wenchuan earthquake's 7,000 collapsed school classrooms vs. surviving government buildings; the Beichuan ruins preserved exactly as of May 2008; the Zigong Dinosaur Museum built over its own excavation with 30 in-situ dinosaur skeletons; Huanglong's 3,400 travertine pools as the world's largest concentration; Xue Tao's 768–832 CE poetry paper still manufactured today; and the 144-hour transit visa-free policy covering 53 nationalities for Chengdu visits.
The 300-Year Paste With Its Own Museum, the Glacier Descending to 2,850m (the Lowest in Asia South of the Arctic Circle) & the Wonton Restaurant Open Since 1941
The Pixian doubanjiang's 3–10 year outdoor fermentation in ceramic urns; the Hailuogou Glacier at 2,850m as Asia's lowest-altitude glacier south of the Arctic Circle; Jiuzhaigou's mineral-rich glacial water creating the world's most saturated lake colors; the Long Chaoshou wonton restaurant at the Chunxi Road location since 1941; Chen Mapo Tofu's lineage to the pockmarked woman's 1860s original; and the Zizilaixin Lantern Festival as the most elaborate Chinese lantern festival in the world.
The UNESCO Gastronomy City Where the Spice Numbs Before It Burns, the 3,000 Aggressive Mountain Monkeys Armed With Walking Sticks & the State-Secret Face-Changing Opera That Switches Masks in 0.1 Seconds
The Sichuan peppercorn's hydroxy-alpha-sanshool activating tactile not heat receptors; the Emei macaque walking-stick deterrent programme for 3,000 mountain monkeys; biànliǎn face-changing as a Chinese state secret performed in under 0.1 seconds; the People's Park's 2,000-seat outdoor teahouse and the ear-cleaning craftsman; the Foxconn Chengdu factory as the world's primary iPad production facility; and the Tibet Travel Permit's 5–10 day Chengdu-only processing requirement.
The 20%-Efficiency Bear That Eats 16 Hours a Day, the Irrigation System With No Moving Parts Running for 2,250 Years & the Bronze Masks That Don't Look Like Anything Else in China
The panda's 20% bamboo digestion efficiency; the Chengdu cub-swapping technique raising twin survival from 30% to 90%; the Dujiangyan Yuzui's centrifugal sediment removal with no mechanical parts for 2,250 years; the Sanxingdui 3.95m bronze sacred tree as the largest Bronze Age casting found in China; the 142 CE Qingcheng Mountain founding of organized Taoism; and the optimized 4-day itinerary with 08:00 panda timing and bronze mask hall allocation.