Nongjiale, literally farmhouse enjoyment, is a Chinese institution and Chengdu is where it became a mass phenomenon. In the 1980s farmers around the city began opening their courtyards to day visitors, serving home cooking and letting people sit in the garden. The idea spread across the country, but the Chengdu version remains the most relaxed and the most embedded in local life.
What happens on a visit
You arrive in the late morning and settle under a trellis, in a bamboo grove or beside a pond. Tea arrives immediately and is refilled all day. Lunch is a set of home-style Sichuan dishes brought to the table over half an hour: cold dishes, a stew, twice-cooked pork, seasonal vegetables, tofu, and a soup. After eating, people play mahjong or cards on the tables provided, walk in the orchard, nap in a deck chair, and eat again in the late afternoon. Nobody is in a hurry to leave, and nobody is asked to.
Where to go
The classic nongjiale districts are the fruit and flower areas on the eastern edge of the plain around Longquanyi, where peach and loquat orchards fill the hills and guesthouses sit among them; the Pidu and Sandaoyan area north-west of the city along the river; and the foothills of Qingcheng Mountain further out. Most are reached by car in forty minutes to an hour and a half. Larger establishments have swimming pools, fishing ponds and children's play areas, while smaller ones are simply a family courtyard with a dozen tables.
Practical notes
Prices are set per person for the meal, usually with tea and mahjong included, and are low by city standards. Bring cash or a phone with mobile payment, as few places take foreign cards. Booking is advisable on weekends and during peach blossom season in spring, when the best places fill up days in advance. Vegetarians can usually be accommodated if you explain in advance, and the vegetable dishes are often the best part of the meal.
