VacationSelector
The Anshun Bridge over the Jin River, Chengdu
ChengduThe Anshun Bridge over the Jin River
Camelback Mountain above the city, Scottsdale
ScottsdaleCamelback Mountain above the city

Photos: Chengdu by TurnOnTheNight, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped; Scottsdale by Visitor7, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped.

Chengdu or Scottsdale?

Our verdict in twelve categories, each scored against the same fixed benchmark cities, and the climate month by month, so you can choose for your trip.

Choose Chengdu for

  • getting around
  • prices
  • food and drink

What lies behind each score is written up on Chengdu’s own page.

Choose Scottsdale for

  • wellness
  • beaches

What lies behind each score is written up on Scottsdale’s own page.

Scoreboard

Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.

Beaches & swimming. Chengdu 5, Scottsdale 8: Scottsdale leads by 3 points.
Food & drink. Chengdu 86, Scottsdale 46: Chengdu leads by 40 points.
Culture & sights. Chengdu 60, Scottsdale 38: Chengdu leads by 22 points.
Nightlife. Chengdu 68, Scottsdale 52: Chengdu leads by 16 points.
Nature & outdoors. Chengdu and Scottsdale are level on 68.
Day trips. Chengdu 80, Scottsdale 50: Chengdu leads by 30 points.
Good for families. Chengdu 65, Scottsdale 60: Chengdu leads by 5 points.
Getting around. Chengdu 74, Scottsdale 20: Chengdu leads by 54 points.
Shopping & style. Chengdu 64, Scottsdale 60: Chengdu leads by 4 points.
Affordability. Chengdu 80, Scottsdale 32: Chengdu leads by 48 points.
Live music & performing arts. Chengdu 50, Scottsdale 40: Chengdu leads by 10 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Chengdu 58, Scottsdale 72: Scottsdale leads by 14 points.
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What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Chengdu and Scottsdale.

Your match

Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.

Chengdu
Best match
63match

Wins on getting around and prices with your weighting.

Scottsdale
46match

Wins on wellness and beaches with your weighting.

What matters to you?

When should you go?

Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.

Chengdu in July

31 °Cdaytime high
23 °Cnight-time low
177 mmrain in the month
4 hsunshine a day
14 hdaylight a day

Scottsdale in July

41 °Cdaytime high
29 °Cnight-time low
23 mmrain in the month
No recordsunshine a day
14 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°40°50°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

050100150200250JFMAMJJASOND
ChengduScottsdale

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Chengdu: 1991-2020 normals, Chengdu (4.5 km from centre). Scottsdale: 1991-2020 normals, Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport (13.3 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureChengduScottsdale
Official languagePutonghua-
CurrencyYuan Renminbi (CNY)US Dollar (USD)
SocketsACI220 V, 50 HzAB120 V, 60 Hz
Driving sideRightRight
Time zoneUTC+8UTC-7
Emergency numberPolice 110, ambulance 120, fire 119911
Elevation500 m380 m
Main airportChengdu Shuangliu International Airport (CTU)16 km from centre77 non-stop destinationsPhoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)10 km from centre148 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year6 days12 days

By the numbers

MeasureChengduScottsdale
City population20,937,757241,361
People per km²1,456-
Museums within 10 km1010
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km01

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Chengdu or Scottsdale somewhere new.

Browse every destination

Sources

Structured data from Wikidata (CC0). Weather data by Meteostat. Meteorological data provided by NOAA, DWD and others. Rainfall where no rain gauge is within 25 km is from the TerraClimate 1991-2020 climatology (Abatzoglou et al. 2018, Scientific Data), read at the city. Airport data from OurAirports (public domain). Public holidays from Nager.Date (MIT). Exchange rates via Frankfurter, based on European Central Bank reference rates. Non-stop route lists from the "Airlines and destinations" tables on English Wikipedia airport articles, by Wikipedia contributors, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Currency from the ISO 4217 register maintained by SIX, cross-checked against country data from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Price level from World Bank open data (PPP conversion factor for private consumption and official exchange rate), CC BY 4.0. Time zones from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0); clock offsets computed from the IANA time zone database. Daylight hours computed from each destination's latitude using the NOAA solar position algorithm.

Category scores are our editorial verdict under rubric v3, each placed against the same fixed benchmark cities; the climate figures are measured. How the scores are set. Snapshot generated 2026-11-01. Daily budgets are estimates from country price levels.