In China, people becomes vegetarian due to their faith, few of them are smart enough to understand that vegetarian food is good for their health, actually almost all Chinese trust that vegetarian food can’t offer enough energy and power to our body, and the reason for monks, nuns and Taoists are vegetarian, beside their faith, also because long term plain simple vegetable food will strengthen their mind, purify their spirit, calm their hearts down and resist temptation from outside normal society.
For normal people, we think if someone is vegetarian means he is impossible to be strong and brave, that’s why when a Chinese shout out: “don’t consider I am a vegetarian”, which means please treat me as a strong opponent, or means if you act further invasion, I will strike back or revenge. Such deep-rooted idea has some connection that most of herbivorous animals are weak and reduce to predators’ food, so no one want to be tame sheep and prefer to be strong tiger or lion in today’s fierce competition world.
Another reason is because Chinese families consider how many meals with meat in a week is one of important standard of life level, especially during food shortage time 20 or 30 years ago, so no one want to be vegetarian as will be consider as poor people.
Now more and more people realize that the vegetarian food is good for health, hypertension, hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia force people give up traditional food habit with too much meat and oil, and choose plain simply health food, which of course will try vegetarian food.
In the past, the vegetarian food from temples is plain and simple, just boil the vegetable with a little salt, that’s why only some Chinese old people who trust Buddhism or Daoism can accept and persevere. Young people can try occasionally for unique experience or when they need invisible help from Buddha, such as students hope to past important exam, new graduates hope to pass new company’s interview.
But now, some business people invest to open several good luxury vegetarian food restaurants here, they have downtown location, good decoration, nice surroundings, it seems more and more become a fashion to invite your business partners, sweet heart, and respectable olds go there to have a vegetarian banquet.

Upgrade vegetarian food is out of your imagination, far away from your old impression of plain simple vegetable food, although all ingredients are from vegetables, the well-done dishes can be looks like chicken, fish, pork, shrimps and crab, etc., even the taste can be close to meat. Without advance note, it’s not possible for you to tell from your tongue.

Recommended Chengdu vegetarian food restaurants:
Wenshu Monastery Vegetarian Restaurant
Add: No.66, Wushuyuan Jie
Tel:028-82690233
Daci Temple Vegetarian Restaurant
Add: No.23, Dacisi Road, 1st Section of Dongfenglu
Tel: 028-86658341
Qingyang Palace Vegetarian Restaurant
Add: No. 9, 2nd West Section of 1st Ring Road
Tel: 028-87766584
Zhaojue Monastery Vegetarian Restaurant
Add: inside Zhaojue Monastery, Qinglongchang Town, North Suburb
Tianyuan Vegetarian Restaurant
Add: 2nd Floor of Xiangbinwutong Building, No. 1 Chaoyang Road, Yiguanmiao Street.
Tel: 028-85186083
Caidie New Idea Vegetarian Restaurant
Add: 9th Floor of Qunguang Plaza, No. 8 South Section of Chunxi Road
Tel: 028-65970088
We Gain Vegetarian Restaurant
Add: No.33, Jialing Road,
Tel: 028-61813377
Sunflower Dad Western Vegetarian Restaurant
Add: 1-15 of No.5 Commercial Building of Gonghecun, Hongwasi Jie.
 

Besides popular Mahjong game,  some local Chengdu people are addict to do fishing whenever they have time, in most cases, this hobby is supported by their families and friends. Those fishing enthusiasts don't care about cold in winter, heat in summer, wet from head to foot from the shower, don't mind getting up early and backing home late, or even stay outside for whole night.

Fishing enthusiasts can be divided into three different classes.

Amateurs

They go to fish ponds in the park and holiday resorts, the owner of fish ponds offer all fishing equipment including bait, even arrange someone sit besides you to give you indication and help to brail the fish you get for you. The only purpose is let you can get as much as possible fish, because the cost is charged by fish weight. Although the fish price is higher than from the market, process is more important and with fun, all these places have restaurant attached and they can give the fish they got and pay a little commission, ask the restaurant to cook a fish meal. Fishing is so easy to addictive and forget the time, and always back home with too much fish and have to present to their friends. 

Gambling lover

There are some fish ponds are charged by fishing time, half day or whole day instead of by weight, of course it's more difficult for fishing enthusiasts to get the fish at such places, otherwise the pond owners will be on the rocks very soon. So this is gambling game between fishing man and fish, indeed it's between fishing man and fish ponds owners. high skill and unique hand-made bait are very useful, otherwise you will be loser for sure. of course sometimes a few of fishing man will laugh to the end, and sometimes fish pond owners have to cry on his wife's shoulder.

Hardcore lover

Usually speaking, hardcore lovers don't want to to above places for fishing, they go to nature rivers, lakes and reservoirs, they challenge fish varieties, quantities, weight and environment, they have top quality fishing instruments and secret bait recipe, they need to know fish life habit, weather and season influence on fish, they need to have strong body to make sure can fight with big fish for as long as 3 or 4 hours, they need to super patient to wait beside the water for hours, they need high confidence can persist to the end, and they need powerful psychological quality to face nothing. Their fun and happiness are out of your imagination. 

What's most popular game in China? Not ping pong,  not badminton, not swimming, it's Mahjong, especially in Chengdu, almost all the people except child less than 5 years old join this game, you can find people play mahjong at every corner of city, the voice of shuffling Mahjong can be heard from early morning to late evening whenever you walk on the street, stroll around in the park, shopping at market, visit local family, it's impossible for your ear to escape. OK, let me tell you why the local people like this game so much.

Mahjong is commonly played by four players, possible play by three, too. Mahjong is similar to the Western card game rummy, which is a game of skill, strategy and calculation and involves a certain degree of chance.The standard game is played with a set of 144 tiles based on Chinese characters and symbols, but here in Chengdu, in order to make the game easier and quicker, only 108 tiles been used, at some special gambling occasion, people even only use 72 tiles.

For sure people play mahjong for money, no matter those people who are as old as over 80 years or young secondary school students, they all join this game as gambling, the ante can be from cents to more than 100 thousand Yuan.

Mahjong is very easy to learn, 5 minutes can be graduated and of course there is a long way to be a master, usually speaking you need the time and tuition to practice your skill, not just playing skill, but also skill to observe your opponents, guess their intention, pay attention to their tiny emotion in their eyes, short hesitate on playing, it's a kind of chicken game over the table, but don't say it's not difficult for you, because experienced mahjong masters are good actors, too, they are very good at pretend to be afraid, worry and sad, of course you need to be a good camoufleur anyway.

Another important reason for local people like mahjong game is with small amount of money, not possible to do any else  investment, but people do hope their money in the pocket can increase. Playing mahjong is a chance, almost everyone believe although they are not the most intelligent person in this world, at least they are better than others around them, so they feel confidence can get the money from others'  pockets through playing this mahjong game. Mahjong is also the way to prove themselves, and when they unfortunately fail and lost the money, they also can easily find an excuse to comfort themselves such as bad luck.

There are some saying about this game, such as beginner has strong hand, maybe this is trick to lure more people go join.

No eternal winner and loser if keep playing, this is trick to get those bad skill underdogs come back to play.

You can judge people's characters through mahjong game, this game is also a window to get close to locals, why not to join?