5 Days | Chengdu: Surprising Panda Tour

Tour Overview

"The aroma of morning tea wafts through ancient alleys as panda cubs tumble in bamboo shadows - your Chengdu story begins quietly in these moments. This spicy-scented laid-back metropolis beats with modern rhythms under Taikoo Li's neon lights and also preserves old memories on Wide & Narrow Alley's cobblestones. Here, time stretches lazily in hotpot steam, and the dialect "Bashi" becomes your golden key to the Land of Abundance.

"This five-day Chengdu journey will take you to Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, where you’ll capture the charm of China’s national treasure. A visit to the Sanxingdui Museum will unveil the brilliance of ancient Chinese bronze casting techniques and the unique artistic value woven into its enigmatic religious and mythological mystique. Liu's Manor perfectly displays the architectural craftsmanship and rural folk traditions of western Sichuan, while Meishan Water Street’s culinary delights combined with the majestic grandeur of the Leshan Giant Buddha promise boundless surprises for your trip. All of these experiences will add a vivid highlight to your life’s journey.

 

Highlights of this tour:

1. Visit Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding to learn about giant pandas' living habits.

2. Explore Sanxingdui Museum to discover world-renowned artifacts: the Bronze Sacred Tree, Gold Scepter, and Bronze Standing Figure.

3. Experience Gang-affiliated Tea Culture (Páo Gē Chá Wénhuà), a distinctive Chengdu tradition.

4. Enjoy the Tour in Three Sus Memorial to appreciate the brilliant legacy of ancient Chinese literati.

5. Visit Leshan Giant Buddha, a UNESCO World Heritage site, to immerse in monumental Buddhist culture.

6. Discover Famous Three Kingdoms culture along Jinli Ancient Street.

 

Day-by-day Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival in Chengdu

Upon arrival in Chengdu, a dedicated driver will meet you at the station and transfer you to the hotel. The first day is free for independent activities before the official tour begins in the following day.

Important notes: Staff will call you before 21:00 to confirm the next day's assembly /departure time and you can provide your mobile number during registration for SMS contact with drivers, so please keep your phone on after 21:00 for schedule notifications.

Free Day Itinerary are as below

Chunxi Road (Open all day | Free): You can appreciate IFS Panda sculpture and enjoy abundant local snacks.

Taikoo Li (Open all day | Free): Premier shopping complex and it features immersive naked-eye 3D screens.

Kuanzhai Alley (Open all day | Free): Historic buildings are blended with snack streets, which will provide you relaxing old-world ambiance.

Jiuyanqiao Bridge: It is the place with bar street and bustling nightlife, suitable for Jinjiang River night cruise.

East Suburb Memory (Open all day | Free): There are a variety of Industrial-style buildings, perfect for photography.

Meal: N/A

Hotel: Chengdu Hotel

 

Day 2: Explore Entertaining Panda Base and Unveil Mysterious Sanxingdui Museum

Chengdu → Panda Base → Sanxingdui Museum/Jinsha Site Museum

In the morning, gather at the appointed time and set off for the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. This panda base is of world-class standard, located at Futou Mountain in the northern suburb of Chengdu, 10 kilometers away from the urban area and a broad Panda Avenue connects it with the city. The Giant Panda Museum in the base boasts precious materials and rich exhibits that are unparalleled in the world, making it an excellent place for you to get to know giant pandas about their living habits, including how they gnaw bamboo, rest and play. At the Chengdu Giant Panda Base, visitors can participate in activities such as making giant panda toys and food, and watching the 3D movie Panda Panda. These experiences may enhance their awareness of protecting the rare species.

After lunch with Western Sichuan Cuisine, visit the Sanxingdui Museum/Jinsha Site Museum. Sanxingdui gets its name after three earth mounds rising from Chengdu’s plains, it is China’s premier modern thematic archaeological museum. Cultural relics such as the Bronze Sacred Tree, Gold Sceptre, and Bronze Standing Figure are all world-class treasures. Standing on the ruins of Sanxingdui, you can almost hear the clanging of ancient craftsmen hammering bronze and see their hardworking figures. Each cultural relic is a crystallization of the wisdom and sweat of the ancients, quietly telling the glory of that era. Here, you can closely feel the shock and awe that span thousands of years, as if having a dialogue through time with the ancients. In addition to historical value, Sanxingdui is also a feast of culture and art. Those exquisite bronze wares not only showcase the superb casting skills of the ancients but also contain rich cultural connotations and artistic values. Whether in shape, decoration, or production technology, the cultural relics of Sanxingdui are second to none.

After ending the journey at Sanxingdui, you will head to Anren Ancient Town, a historic town with rich historical and cultural heritage together with unique cultural landscapes. It is home to the Liu Family Manor and the largest folk museum cluster in China.

During the journey, exquisite gifts will be presented - Paoge refined hand fans, which are easy to carry and suitable for putting in sleeves, they are delicately engraved with calligraphy and paintings, and also finely carved fan bones. After arriving at the destination, check in to an inn with the characteristics of Anren area or a hotel in Chengdu.

Meal: Breakfast + Lunch

Hotel: Anren/Chengdu Hotel

 

Day 3: Liu Family Manor Exploration and Tea Culture Experience

Chengdu/Anren → Liu's Manor → Sansu Temple → Meishan Water Street

After breakfast, visit the Liu Family Manor, Dayi Liu Family Manor Museum features a typical architectural style of the Chuanxi Plain, completely preserving the architectural pattern of the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China. It has witnessed social and historical changes, presents the architectural craftsmanship and rural folk traditional culture in western Sichuan in modern times, and also serves as a cross-section of the developmental history of Chinese modern society.

It is said that "Chengdu is incomplete without tea" — Chengdu is a city steeped in covered-bowl tea. As a saying goes, half of Chengdu's people enter hotpot restaurants, and the remaining part head to tea houses. Chengdu teahouses are like a social kaleidoscope, exuding a strong street-smart vibe of atmosphere, you will enjoy the unique Paoge tea culture.

After lunch, take a vehicle to the San Su Ci (Temple of the Three Sus), it is the hometown that Su Shi (Dongpo) gazed at throughout his life and a warm old dream in his wandering life. What's more, it was the filming location for four important scenes in the TV series "A Dream of Red Mansions":"Jia Mu Watching a Play," "Daiyu Burying Flowers," "Daiyu Admiring the Moon," and "Jia Mu's Birthday Celebration." CCTV News Channel broadcast a live landscape coverage of San Su Ci on the Mid-Autumn Night on September 24, 2018. Known as "the place where the moon rises", it is the former residence where Su Dongpo was born and grew up, all of these historical sites will surely make you linger.

Meishan Water Street is filled with delicious foods, where you can taste literary-themed dishes like Dongpo Cake, Dongpo Elbow, and Dongpo Pork, you're not just eating food but the Dongpo culture itself. It will make you marvel at the profoundness of Chinese regional culture. After savoring the delicacies, you will be arranged to check in at a Meishan hotel.

Meal: Breakfast + Lunch

Hotel: Meishan Hotel

 

Day 4: Explore the World-famous Leshan Giant Buddha and Idyllic Huanglongxi Ancient Town

Meishan → Leshan Giant Buddha → Huanglongxi Ancient Town → Chengdu

After breakfast, go to visit the Leshan Giant Buddha, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it has its head level with the mountain, its feet treading the great river and hands resting on the knees, it is also with a well-proportioned body and a solemn expression carved into the mountain,sitting perilously by the river. It is known as "the Buddha is a mountain, and the mountain is a Buddha". Carved in the early years of the Kaiyuan era of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, it took 90 years to complete. The Buddha is 71 meters high, 18 meters taller than the so-called world's largest Bamiyan Buddha in Afghanistan (53 meters high), making it a veritable world's top.

After visiting the Leshan Giant Buddha, you will enjoy the local characteristic Qiaojiao Beef for lunch, it is a traditional famous dish in Leshan, belonging to the Sichuan cuisine. Its raw materials include beef, ox tongue, ox liver, ox spinal cord, beef tendons, etc. It tastes very delicious. In addition, this dish also serves the medicinal function of dispelling cold and relieving cough, following the traditional Chinese medical principle of "nourishing the viscera with similar viscera", so it has become a famous medicinal diet.

After lunch, take a car to the scenic spot Huanglongxi Ancient Town, which is adjacent to the Fu River in the east and Muma Mountain in the north, surrounded by mountains and water. The core attraction is a 5 square kilometres' area centered on the ancient town, which is famous for its "ten antiques": ancient streets, ancient trees, ancient temples, ancient dikes, ancient weirs, ancient dwellings, ancient docks, ancient battlefields, ancient cliff tombs and ancient yamen.

When visiting the scenery of this ancient town, you will be arranged a characteristic costume experience of travel photography to enjoy the wonderful journey.

Warm reminder: Our travel photography includes one set of traditional costume makeup with professional photographer shooting, and 15 retouched electronic original photo. After that, we will end one day's interesting journey and return to Chengdu to check in at the hotel, and you can have free activities in the evening.

Meal: Breakfast + Lunch

Hotel: Chengdu Hotel

 

Day 5: Departure

After breakfast, we will arrange a visit to Jinli Ancient Street, known as the "Three Kingdoms Brotherhood Building", the history of Jinli Ancient Street can be traced back to the Three Kingdoms period, and its name is related to Chengdu's alias "Jin Guan Cheng" (Brocade Official City), derived from the prosperous brocade weaving industry in ancient Shu. With Three Kingdoms culture as its core, the block preserves historical relics such as the ancient opera stage, Zhuge Well, and Adou Well, and it also displays traditional Sichuan craftsmanship through facilities like the folk memory wall and stone carving corridor in Song Dynasty. Tourists who are interested in ancient Chinese history and culture can carefully explore and savor these relics.

Subsequently, you will be escorted to the airport/train station at the appointed time for your onward journey. If you have ample time, you can visit Chengdu's cultural landmarks during free activities (such as Wuhou Shrine, Du Fu Thatched Cottage, Kuanzhai Alleys, Chunxi Road, Taikoo Li, etc.).

Meal: Breakfast

 

Tour Price ($=USD)

From $648 P.P, which is based on a private tour for 2-6 people.

The price varies depending on the activity, number of people, travel date, and selected hotel.

Price Includes 

√ Round-trip flights from Guangzhou/Zhuhai to Chengdu/Mianyang;

√ Meals: Meals listed in the itinerary;

√ Tickets: Entrance tickets to Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, Sanxingdui  Museum, Liu Family Manor, San Su Ci, and Leshan Giant Buddha included.

√ Transportation: Private air-conditioned vehicle with licensed drivers; 

√ Insurance: Travel agency liability insurance.

 

Price Excludes

√ Single Room Supplement, or the travel agency will coordinate to arrange an extra bed or room sharing;

√ Personal consumption not included in the itinerary;

√ All additional expenses incurred due to force majeure factors;

√ Self-paid activities such as shopping and entertainment during the itinerary;

√ Other expenses not specified in the "Expenses Included".