Giant pandas, Sichuan hotpot and a city that has perfected the art of doing less.
Chengdu is the city Chinese people go to when they want to relax. Pandas in the morning, teahouses in the afternoon, hotpot at night — and Leshan’s giant Buddha or Mount Qingcheng if you want a day out.
Arrive at opening (7:30am) — that is when the cubs are active and the crowds are still in bed.
Bamboo chairs, jasmine tea and a ear-cleaning service that has to be experienced once.
We book the places locals go, and we will order for you if the menu is intimidating.
71 metres tall, carved into a cliff at the confluence of three rivers in the 8th century.
13 daysBeijing · Xi’an · Zhangjiajie · Chengdu
Six cities, two weeks, and enough time in each to stop taking photographs and start noticing things. Pandas, pillars, palaces and the Yangtze.
17 daysBeijing · Xi’an · Chengdu · Shanghai
The full sweep: Beijing, Xi’an, Lhasa, Chengdu, a Yangtze cruise through the Three Gorges, and Shanghai. Two and a half weeks that covers the country’s range.