Documentary photograph by Breaknet2025, shared under CC BY 4.0.Chengdu City
Southwest · Sichuan
One pot, two broths, and a table that agrees to share the burn
A chrysanthemum-divided pot carries numbing red broth on one side and clear stock on the other, and everything at the table cooks in the same rising steam.
Rains outside, red inside
Spring drizzle makes open-air hotpot tables the warmest corner of the street.
04 · travel note
City anchorChengdu City
A way throughChoose a riverside or courtyard house, order the divided pot, and let the table decide nothing in advance.
On the wayChengdu and Chongqing both run metro lines within a short walk of the famous hotpot blocks.
With respectOil dishes vary by city: Sichuan favors sesame oil and garlic; ask before mixing, and pace the numbing broth.
Real sceneSeasonal experience
Any winter evening
Take the divided pot, start with nothing fatty — lotus root, mushrooms, tofu skin — then the thin-sliced beef for exactly fifteen seconds, and end the broth before it thickens.