Hot Pot Dinner & Sichuan Opera Evening Tour

5:30 p.m. Pick up from your hotel.

6:00 p.m. Dinner at a well-known hot pot restaurant

Sichuan hot pot is famous for being numbingly spicy thanks to the addition of Sichuan pepper, which creates a tingly, numbing sensation on the tongue. Hot pot is a communal style of dining in which a large pot of broth, often divided into spicy and mild sides, sits in the middle of the table. Diners select their favorite raw ingredients from platters full of thinly sliced mutton and beef, vegetables and mushrooms, noodles and tofu, shrimp and fishballs and toss them into the pot, letting them cook in the boiling broth before pulling them out to enjoy.

8:00 p.m. Shufengyayun Tea House

Sichuan opera is traditionally enjoyed in a tea house, where the audience can relax with tasty snacks and hot tea while enjoying the performance and Shufengyayun Tea House is one of Chengdu's best. Located in the Chengdu Culture Park it is near Qingyang Palace, a famous Taoist abbey, Wuhou Temple and Du Fu's Cottage.

The building is in the style of Sichuan's rustic Old West Shu Country. You'll be in for a treat, as the ancient Chinese dramatic art of face changing is a highlight of the show. Performers wear brightly colored costumes and move to quick, dramatic music. Their faces are hidden by vividly colored masks... and in a fraction of a second, the masks change, revealing completely new faces—joy can turn to fear and then anger in a matter of seconds with the dramatic music, song and dance transcending cultural barriers.

9:30 p.m. Return to hotel