Chengdu is the gateway to southwest China and home to West China Hospital at Sichuan University — consistently ranked China's number one hospital for overall clinical capability. The hospital's scale is extraordinary: over 4,000 beds and specialist departments covering every major medical discipline. Chengdu University of TCM's affiliated hospital is a national centre for traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture, and integrative oncology.
The city is famous across China for its leisurely pace and extraordinary food culture. Sichuan cuisine — centred on the numbing heat of the huajiao pepper — is one of the world's great culinary traditions, and Chengdu has been designated a UNESCO City of Gastronomy. The Giant Panda Research Base just outside the city allows visitors to observe giant and red pandas in a near-natural setting.
Chengdu Tianfu International Airport is one of China's newest and largest, with rapidly expanding international routes to Europe and Southeast Asia. The city's combination of world-class medical resources, accessible culture, and excellent transport links makes it one of the strongest choices for medical tourism in western China.