The bewitching Chengdu between Ming culture and futuristic architecture

Giving a glittering welcome, especially if you land in the evening when they are extraordinarily illuminated, are the Twin Towers of the Financial Centre, rising 220 metres into the sky of Chengdu. This city located in the South West of China, deeply linked for more than two thousand years to the Qing dynasty, is increasingly imposing itself, after Beijing and Shanghai, as a megalopolis full of irresistible scenic, cultural and gastronomic attractions. Set against the backdrop of the Sichuan mountain range as high as five thousand metres, Chengdu was, in fact, the cradle of the ancient Shu civilisation, exported brocade fabric to Europe via the Silk Road, and is now already projected into the future thanks to its futuristic architecture, without, however, denying its artisanal, literary and artistic past.