One great thing about a city as relaxed as Chengdu is inexpensive massage. Although not as pervasive as the teahouses, massage places are easy to find and certainly widely available. The trick is finding a place that doesn't cost too much but is still good quality.
Just by walking down the street and peaking into a few places you'll notice small foot massage places. Of course they offer full fledged pedicures, but the normal service is a foot soak followed by an hour rub. Usually you can choose between a variety of Traditional Chinese medicinal herbs to soak your feet in for reasonable prices ranging from 25RMB to 60RMB. If you are a little adventurous try foot cupping.
However the best of these small massage parlors are the blind massage places. Although the people may not actually be blind it is believed that this technique is excellent. However if you can find a blind masseur then go for it! Being blind actually does allow them to be more sensitive and give a great massage.
If you don't like the environment of those small massage places then there are many bigger places to relax. Here they have private rooms for two people and give complimentary tea and fruit. If you'd like you can even get a big room with a bed and bathtub/hot tub.
Be careful though! Sometimes these places are quite pricy because men will go here to do business and in Chinese culture doing business means spending a lot of money the first time they negotiate. Anyways you can relax there all day for under 200RMB.
There are a few places that take it to the next level with saunas, bathhouses, massage, and all-you-can-eat buffets. Although these places are more common in northern China you can check out Chengdu's take on it.
Not too far away from downtown Chengdu are a few natural hot springs. These places are equipped to keep you entertained all day and the buffet will keep you well-fed. In the Wenjiang district of Chengdu you'll find Yufu Hot Springs Hotel with more than eighteen different natural minerals that benefit your health. If you travel a little farther to Huashuiwan you'll find many hotels with hot springs.
If you are interested in travelling to Chengdu, please see our popular Chengdu tours below for inspiration.
Our Chengdu tours are totally customizable, so, once you have found one with the main things you want to see and do, you can let us know your other interests and we can price for things like massages and spas. You can tailor-make your own unique tourby telling us your interests and requirements. Let us take the hassle out of arranging exactly what you want.