People's Park Chengdu: Tea, Ear Cleaning & Local Life Guide

Chengdu doesn't run on coffee — it runs on lidded teacups. People's Park (人民公园) is where you see it happen: hundreds of bamboo chairs spread under century-old sycamore trees, porcelain gaiwan tea in every hand, and an ear-cleaning master tuning his copper fork at the next table. No ticket, no reservation, no tour group — just Chengdu's daily slow-life ritual playing out in the open.

[图:成都人民公园竹椅盖碗茶全景.jpg]

Chengdu's Open-Air Living Room Since 1911

People's Park isn't a park built for scenery — it's a social venue. You come here not to see flowers or a lake, but to watch people.

Established in 1911, it was Chengdu's first public park, originally named Shaocheng Park (少城公园). Over a century later, the city around it has transformed beyond recognition, but the park's role hasn't changed: locals come here to sip tea, play chess, walk their birds, dance, gossip, and scout marriage partners for their adult children. On any given weekday at 2 PM, the bamboo chairs at Heming Teahouse (鹤鸣茶社) are already full — something you'd struggle to see in any other Chinese city.

The park covers about 12 hectares in central Qingyang District, steps from Tianfu Square. Its most significant historical landmark is the Monument to the Martyrs of the Railway Protection Movement (辛亥秋保路死事纪念碑), a national-level heritage site honoring those who died in the 1911 Sichuan Railway Protection Movement — an uprising that helped trigger the wider Xinhai Revolution. For most visitors, though, the monument serves as a quiet backdrop in a sea of bamboo chairs and porcelain teacups.

For independent travelers, what makes People's Park worth a half-day is this: it's Chengdu's least "touristified" landmark. No admission fee, no English-language guided tours, no staged performances — what you see is what Chengdu locals do every single day.

[图:成都人民公园辛亥秋保路死事纪念碑.jpg]

Getting to People's Park

Metro (recommended)

Take Metro Line 2 to People's Park Station (人民公园站). The station has multiple exits — follow the signs and you'll reach the park entrance in under 2 minutes.

Coming from Tianfu Square? Transfer from Line 1 to Line 2 (one stop), or simply walk — it's about 10 minutes on foot.

Bus

Several bus routes stop at "People's Park" (人民公园站): routes 5, 13, 43, 47, 53, 58, 62, 64, and 78. The park entrance is right at the bus stop.

Walking

From Tianfu Square (天府广场): 10 minutes on foot (800 m). From Kuanzhai Alley (宽窄巷子): 10–12 minutes (900 m). Both are common pairing options for a half-day itinerary.

Taxi

From most hotels in central Chengdu, a taxi takes 10–20 minutes. Show the driver:

Address: No. 9 Citang Street, Qingyang District (青羊区祠堂街9号).

Gaiwan Tea at Heming Teahouse

This is the main event at People's Park — not "visiting" anything, but sitting down and drinking tea the way locals have for a century.

Heming Teahouse (鹤鸣茶社)

Heming Teahouse has been operating since 1923, making it one of Chengdu's oldest surviving teahouses and the largest in the park. Rows of bamboo chairs spread under century-old Chinese parasol trees — your ceiling is the canopy, not a roof. On sunny days, dappled light filters through the leaves; on rainy days, the patter of rain accompanies your tea.

[图:成都鹤鸣茶社竹椅与百年梧桐树.jpg]

How to order gaiwan tea

Find an empty bamboo chair and sit down. A server will come over to ask what you'd like. Here's the process:

1. Pick your tea. The menu lists a dozen varieties, priced around ¥15–25. Jasmine tea (茉莉花茶, roughly ¥15–18) is the classic everyday choice — it's what most Chengdu locals drink. For a local green tea, try Zhuyeqing (竹叶青, around ¥20–25), a Sichuan specialty. Early morning sessions may offer three-flower tea (三花茶) for as low as ¥3.
2. Receive your tea. The server brings a gaiwan (盖碗) — a three-piece set of bowl, lid, and saucer. Tea leaves are already inside; hot water is poured directly in.
3. Drink. Use the lid to gently push aside floating leaves, then sip through the gap between lid and rim. Don't lift the lid completely off.
4. Refill. When your bowl is about one-third full, rest the lid at an angle against the bowl's edge — this signals "please refill." A server circulates with a long-spouted kettle and tops you up at no extra charge. One cup buys you an entire afternoon.

[图:成都盖碗茶三件套近景.jpg]

Sichuan opera mini-shows

Heming Teahouse hosts Sichuan opera performances (川剧) daily, lasting about 30–40 minutes. The show typically includes face-changing (变脸), fire-spitting, and long-spout teapot acrobatics — roughly 4 acts. Tickets cost around ¥48–58 per person, purchased on the spot. The performance area sits right next to the tea seating, so you can watch while sipping. Check with the teahouse on arrival for exact showtimes, or follow their WeChat account for updates.

Other teahouses in the park

Beyond Heming, the park has Zhenliu Tea Garden (枕流茶园) and Shaocheng Yuan (少城苑), both smaller and quieter. If Heming's bamboo chairs are all taken (common on weekend afternoons), these are solid alternatives.

[图:成都人民公园枕流茶园一角.jpg]

The Ear-Cleaning Ritual

If gaiwan tea is the visual symbol of Chengdu's slow life, ear cleaning is the tactile one.

What is ear cleaning?

Ear cleaning — cǎi ěr (采耳) — is a traditional Chengdu folk craft elevated to an art form. It has been practiced for centuries, and in 2016 Chengdu established China's first ear-cleaning industry association (成华区采耳文化促进会) to preserve and standardize the craft. Inside People's Park, ear-cleaning masters weave between the bamboo chairs carrying specialized toolkits with over a dozen instruments: goose-feather brushes, bamboo scoops, copper tuning forks, curved blades, and horsehair wisps.

The full experience

A session takes about 10–15 minutes. Here's what happens:

1. The master sweeps the outer ear with a goose-feather brush, creating a tingly, almost electric sensation
2. Bamboo scoops and fine tools gently clean the ear canal
3. The copper tuning fork is the highlight — the master strikes the fork and holds the vibrating tip close to your ear. A resonant hum spreads from your ear through your entire body. Deeply relaxing.
4. A final pass with the goose-feather brush wraps things up

The price is around ¥30. You don't need to stand up or go into a shop — it happens right there in your bamboo chair, tea in hand.

[图:成都人民公园采耳师操作特写.jpg]

Hygiene notes

Licensed ear-cleaning masters use single-use cotton swabs and sterilized tools. If you have concerns, opt for the fixed ear-cleaning stalls inside Heming Teahouse (generally more standardized than roaming practitioners), or ask the master directly whether they use disposable instruments. The procedure is gentle — no pain, at most a mild tickle.

Parents, Profiles & the Matchmaking Corner

The matchmaking corner at People's Park is one of Chengdu's most distinctive social phenomena — and the thing that surprises foreign visitors the most.

What it is

Every weekend (especially Saturday and Sunday mornings), an area near the park's south gate transforms into an open-air "marriage market." Hundreds of parents display their adult children's personal information — age, height, education, income, property, and household registration — on A4 sheets of paper, spread on the ground or hung from umbrellas. Parents compare notes, evaluate candidates, and swap contact details. The young people being "marketed" are mostly absent.

[图:成都人民公园相亲角家长资料展示.jpg]

When to go

The matchmaking corner is most active on Saturday and Sunday mornings, 9 AM to noon. A few parents may show up on weekdays, but the scale is nothing like the weekend.

Etiquette for foreign visitors

1. Watching and photographing is fine, but avoid close-up shots of parents' faces or their information sheets — these contain real names and phone numbers. Wide-angle atmosphere shots are more appropriate.
2. Don't laugh or look dismissive. This is a deeply serious matter for the parents involved.
3. You may get approached by enthusiastic parents — especially if you look East Asian and age-appropriate. A smile and a polite "bù hǎo yìsi" (不好意思 — "sorry, excuse me") is all you need.
4. Treat it as cultural observation, not spectacle — it's a genuine window into family dynamics and marriage values in urban China.

Beyond Tea: Bonsai, Boats & Tai Chi

People's Park has more than tea and ear cleaning — though those two are admittedly 90% of the reason to come.

Bonsai Garden (盆景园)

Tucked in the park's northeast corner, the Bonsai Garden (盆景园) is a gem most tourists walk right past. Dozens of Sichuan-style penjing (bonsai) are displayed among rockeries and ponds, some over a century old. If miniature landscapes interest you, it's worth 15–20 minutes. Free to enter.

[图:成都人民公园盆景园川派盆景.jpg]

Lake and boating

A man-made lake sits at the center of the park, with Goldfish Island (锦鱼岛) in the middle. On nice days, you can rent a pedal boat or rowboat for roughly ¥20–40 per hour. The willow-lined banks are especially pretty in spring.

[图:成都人民公园人工湖与划船.jpg]

Morning exercises and evening dancing

The park is a stage for local fitness culture. Mornings bring tai chi practitioners, sword dancers, and diabolo spinners, especially near the monument plaza. Evenings shift to square dancing — several groups claim their own patches of open ground, playing everything from ballroom music to folk tunes. You can watch quietly or join in; no invitation needed. See the timing table below for specific hours.

Chrysanthemum show (autumn only)

Every October–November, People's Park hosts the Chengdu Chrysanthemum Show (成都菊花展), one of the city's longest-running flower exhibitions. Tens of thousands of potted chrysanthemums in over a hundred varieties fill the park. Free admission.

Children's playground

A small amusement area on the park's west side has bumper cars, a carousel, and other rides — a quick stop for families with young children.

Best Times and Crowd Strategy

People's Park is free and open year-round. Hours vary by season: summer (approx. May–Sep) 6:00–22:30, winter (approx. Oct–Apr) 6:30–22:00. Different times of day deliver very different experiences:

Weekdays vs. weekends: Weekday afternoons are more relaxed, and you'll easily find a good bamboo chair. Weekend afternoons at Heming Teahouse may require waiting for a seat — but the matchmaking corner only happens on weekends.

Seasonal tips: All four seasons work. Spring (Mar–May) and autumn (Sep–Nov) have the most comfortable temperatures, and autumn adds the chrysanthemum show. Summer (Jun–Aug) is muggy, but the shade of the sycamore trees makes tea-drinking surprisingly pleasant. Winter (Dec–Feb) is grey and damp, yet locals show up rain or shine.

Evening lighting: May–Sep 8:00–10:30 PM, Oct–Apr 6:30–10:00 PM.

What's Nearby

People's Park sits in the heart of Chengdu, with several worthwhile stops within walking distance.

Kuanzhai Alley (宽窄巷子)

A 10-minute walk north from People's Park brings you to Kuanzhai Alley (宽窄巷子) — three parallel lanes of restored Qing-dynasty architecture now filled with teahouses, snack shops, craft stores, and creative spaces. Crowded but photogenic. Walk here from the park's north side.

Wenshu Monastery (文殊院)

About 20 minutes northeast on foot, Wenshu Monastery is a Tang-dynasty Buddhist temple and Chengdu's most important Han Buddhist monastery. Free entry, and the on-site vegetarian restaurant is worth a try. See our full Wenshu Monastery guide.

Tianfu Square (天府广场)

A 10-minute walk east takes you to Tianfu Square — Chengdu's central landmark and metro hub (Lines 1 and 2). Flanking the square are Sichuan Museum and Chengdu Museum (成都博物馆), both free. Worth a visit if you're interested in Sichuan's history and art.

Pairing with Chengdu's food scene

After tea at the park, walk to Kuanzhai Alley for skewered hotpot (串串香), or take a taxi toward Jinli (锦里) or Chunxi Road (春熙路) to continue your Chengdu food trail. See our Chengdu food guide for recommendations.

Beyond This Guide

People's Park is a perfect starting point for exploring Chengdu — the park, tea, food, and temples are all within walking distance. If you're building a full Chengdu itinerary and want advice on timing, neighborhoods, and how to stitch it all together, we can help.

More to explore in Chengdu:

• Wenshu Monastery: Visitor's Guide & Local Tips
• Chengdu Panda Base: Complete Visitor's Guide
• Chengdu Food Guide