There’s more to the ancient city of Chengdu in southwestern China than fluffy pandas and spicy food. It is a city where the pace of living is bent on slowing down. Located closer to Tibet than Shanghai, life in Chengdu is laid-back and often sprawls outside in open air in elegant and atmospheric teahouses, in lush parks where locals practice Taichi, and over a table of Mahjong.
In the past few years, Chengdu has also seen its economic booms as a regional consumption center for luxury, dining and drinking thanks to the city’s expanding Middle Class. It was ranked No. 1 city on the list of 15 cities that freshly gained the first-tier city status based on a set of parameters including business resources, lifestyle diversity, and retail industry. It’s one of the most progressive cities in China, with a bustling art scene and a more tolerate attitude towards LGBT groups, landing it a moniker as China’s queer capital.
The city’s bar scene like the city itself is vibrant and diverse. Its importance as a distribution and trading center for wine, spirits and other alcoholic beverages particularly in western and southwestern China was cemented when it’s picked as the hosting city for mainland China’s biggest drinks show, China Food and Drinks Fair, in March every year.
We selected five wine bars in the city that stood out for its wine selection, service and overall atmosphere that should be on every visitor’s list and for wineries and importers who are looking to reach wider customers.
This is the first of our new series that will focus on regional wine scenes in China to give the trade a more updated and insightful view of China’s diverse wine scene across different cities not just limited to Beijing or Shanghai.
Scroll through the pages to see all the bars selected by us.
