People's Park Teahouses

If you are new to Chengdu, a teahouse in People's Park can sound a bit intimidating. Like, do you need to know tea stuff, do you need to book, and is it a tourist trap. The short version is that it is easy to do, and it is one of the most normal, everyday-feeling things you can do in the city.

1) What it actually is (and why it is worth your time)

People's Park (Renmin Park) is a central city park where locals come to sit, chat, play cards, and drink tea. The teahouses are not quiet fancy tea ceremonies. It is more like renting a seat for a few hours and getting a big cup of tea, usually with unlimited hot water refills.

The vibe is the whole point. If you want a calm, very "Chengdu" afternoon without planning anything, this is it.

2) Getting there without stress

• The park is in central Chengdu and the address you will see listed is No. 12 Shaocheng Road, Qingyang District.
• Metro is the easiest. Take Chengdu Metro Line 2 to People's Park Station (人民公园站) and walk a few minutes from the exits.
• If you use Didi, searching "People's Park" or "Renmin Park" works fine in English. If it gets confused, paste 人民公园. (That trick saves you a lot of back and forth with the map pin.)

3) Opening hours and what time to go

The park itself is generally open from early morning until late evening, with seasonal hours posted online around 06:00 to 22:30 in summer and 06:30 to 22:00 in winter. Entrance is free.

For the teahouses, the practical tip is: go earlier than you think. Many people show up around late morning or early afternoon, and the popular cheap spots fill up. A lot of teahouses stop serving in the early evening.

4) Picking a teahouse (cheap vs expensive)

This is where I have an opinion.

• The cheap, busy places are the fun ones. They feel local and chaotic in a good way.
• The expensive ones are not "better", they are just more polished and aimed at visitors.

When I went, it was honestly hard to get a table at the cheaper teahouse area, but it was worth it once I managed. I do not recommend going out of your way for the expensive options inside the park.

If you want the famous name: Heming Teahouse is the one people talk about inside People's Park.

5) What it costs and what you get

Expect a wide range depending on where you sit and what you order. A lot of places in the park are roughly 15 to 100 RMB per person.

In the more local style setup, you might pay something like 20 RMB for jasmine tea with unlimited hot water refills, plus the seat. That is the kind of pricing people describe from the park teahouses, and it matched what I saw.

You usually get:

• A seat (often bamboo chairs, sometimes recliners)
• A gaiwan or big cup of tea
• Hot water refills (you will see staff topping people up)

6) How ordering works (without feeling awkward)

It is simpler than it looks.

• Find a seat or get pointed to one by staff.
• Someone comes over, you pick a tea (jasmine is the safe default).
• You pay per person, not per pot.
• Keep your receipt on the table if they give you one.

If it is packed, you might need to share a table. That is normal here, and people do it without making it a big thing.

Payment: most places take WeChat Pay and Alipay, and many still accept cash. If you have payments set up on your phone, you will feel much more relaxed.

7) The small weird extras (ear cleaning, sweets, and random chats)

This is the part that made it feel real to me.

I met a local guy who was so nice. He just started talking to me, and then he offered me different kinds of Chinese sweets to taste. That is not something you can plan, but it happens more in places like this because everyone is just sitting around.

Also yes, the ear cleaning thing is real. Guys walk around with little kits offering ear cleaning in the park teahouses, and people actually do it.
I tried it. It is touristy, but it was honestly fun and kind of nice. The massage though was very rough, so I would skip that part unless you like intense pressure.

Quick do and do not list

Do:

• Go earlier if you want a cheap seat
• Bring your translation app for tea names if you are curious
• Sit down and do nothing for a while. That is the whole point

Do not:

• Overpay for the "fancier" teahouse experience inside the same park
• Stress about etiquette. People are there to relax, not judge you

Conclusion

If you want one easy Chengdu afternoon that does not feel like a checklist, do People's Park and a teahouse. It is low effort, cheap enough, and it gives you a real look at how people spend time here. Once you have found a seat and tea is on the table, everything else feels easy.