I first travelled to Sichuan in 2006, and my immediate reaction when I stepped out into Chengdu was a slightly bewildered: “Two thousand or so years of history… where is it?” On the surface, the concrete sprawl had seemingly swallowed the past. But it didn’t take long to realise that the history wasn’t in preserved monuments – it’s most alive in the neighbourhoods…

There are plenty of reasons to be drawn to Sichuan (pandas, that food, the local opera style, natural beauty and glimpses of Tibetan culture spring to mind), but honestly, you could ditch the sight-seeing completely, decamp to a teahouse, sit with the locals, break out the melon seed snacks and be totally happy…