Chengdu, City of Pandas and Food

Chengdu is known for its giant panda base and Sichuan cooking. The city is flat and easy to cross by metro, and it serves as the gateway to Jiuzhaigou and Mount Emei. This guide covers the sights, the food, and nearby connections.

Go to the panda base in the morning to catch the pandas active, and give Dujiangyan and Qingcheng Mountain a full day to the west. Here is a route and a 4-day outline.

The bottom line: pandas in the morning, a day for the west

Visit the Panda Base early in the morning to catch the pandas moving around. Dujiangyan and Qingcheng Mountain take a full day to the west.

Key sights: the Panda Base and Dujiangyan

The Panda Base sits in Chenghua District in the north of the city. The usual loop goes through the cub and adult enclosures in order.

• The early morning hours are the most active.
• Dujiangyan is a Qin-era irrigation system and a UNESCO site.
• Qingcheng Mountain has Daoist temples and a cable car.

In the city: Kuanzhai Alley, Jinli, People's Park

Kuanzhai Alley preserves Qing-era lanes filled with teahouses and restaurants. Jinli adjoins the Wuhou Shrine as a traditional street.

At People's Park you can sit in a Sichuan teahouse over a cup of tea and take in local life.

Getting there: air and rail

Chengdu has two airports, Shuangliu International and Tianfu International. High-speed trains leave from Chengdu East Station.

Getting around: metro

Chengdu's metro is expanding quickly, and the metro covers most of the city's sightseeing.

• Lines 1 and 2: central districts
• Line 3: toward the Panda Base
• Line 4: near Kuanzhai Alley

Suggested 4-day itinerary

Food and practical notes

Chengdu's staples include hotpot, skewer hotpot (chuachuanxiang), dandan noodles, mapo tofu, and rabbit head. You can adjust the spice level, so just say so when ordering.

• Decide your hotpot spice level in advance.
• Summers are hot, humid, and often overcast.
• Mornings are best for the Panda Base.