Chengdu abounds in supermarkets, including three Carrefour (Jialefu) stores (open 9am-10pm). Thanks to discounts and a broad selection of Chinese and imported products, shopping here always feels like the day before Christmas -- festive, but impossibly crowded. If you abhor body contact with perfect strangers, go elsewhere. If you don't mind it, the most accessible location is at Babao Jie 1 (tel. 028/8626-6789). Take bus no. 4, 56, or 76 to Babao Jie. Trust-mart (Haoyouduo Chaoshi), located at Jinxiu Lu 2 near the corner of Kehua Bei Lu on the south side of town, is a block long, next to McDonald's and almost opposite KFC. Open from 9am to 10pm, it's a grocery store, drug store, and department store in one, and one of the few stores in China to carry tampons. Take bus no. 6, 76, or 77. The best, most convenient supermarket at which to buy snacks for a long train journey is the huge Renmin Shangchang (People's Market) opposite the main railway station. It also has a bakery and a fast-food restaurant that serves a Chinese breakfast for ¥1 to ¥4 (15¢-50¢/5p-25p). Open 7:30am to 9:30pm. Chunxi Lu is the most lively shopping and dinning area. It has restaurants of different cuisines and major shopping malls such as Ito Yokado, New Asia Plaza, and the newly open Japanese brand Isetan. Take bus no. 58 or 81.
