Things to do in Chengdu
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Chengdu
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best, joint. 10 to 25C, blossom everywhere, pandas most active, occasional drizzle.
Worst for sightseeing. 28 to 35C plus, humid and rainy, pandas sleep. Best for nightlife and long evenings.
Best, joint. October is peak, skies clearest. Avoid 1 to 7 Oct Golden Week. Ginkgo turns gold late Nov to early Dec.
Quiet and cheap, damp and grey at 5 to 10C. Hotpot and teahouse season, fewest Panda Base crowds, best hotel rates.
What's on
- Longquanyi Peach Blossom Festival March
Peach blossom festival on Longquan Mountain.
- Tianfu Greenway International Cycling Race spring
International cycling race on the Tianfu Greenway, held in spring.
- Chengdu Strawberry Music Festival spring/autumn, dates vary
Music festival season in spring and autumn, dates vary.
- Jiuzhaigou autumn colour mid-late Oct
Famous autumn colour peak, needs 2 to 3 extra days as a multi day extension.
- Ginkgo peak late Nov
Wenshu Monastery, People's Park and Qingyang Palace turn gold, timed mid Nov to early Dec.
- Wuhou Temple Fair Chinese New Year (Jan/Feb, dates vary)
Temple fair at Wuhou Shrine and lantern fairs at Jinli for Chinese New Year.
Best things to do in Chengdu
Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding
See giant and red pandas in a bamboo park, arriving at opening when feeding makes them active until late morning.
People's Park
Chengdu at its slowest: matchmaking corner, dancing, bonsai and Heming Teahouse gaiwan tea and ear cleaning.
Shufeng Yayun
A one hour teahouse Sichuan Opera show with face changing, fire spitting and puppetry inches from the front rows.
Wenshu Monastery
A still active Buddhist monastery with free entry, cypresses, a vegetarian restaurant and a calm teahouse.
Wuhou Shrine
The serious Three Kingdoms memorial for Zhuge Liang, with red walls and bamboo, paired with lantern lit Jinli at dusk.
Jinsha Site Museum
A 3000 year old Shu kingdom excavation kept in place, home to the Sun and Immortal Birds gold foil.
Du Fu Thatched Cottage
Leafy poetic grounds where Tang poet Du Fu lived, with bamboo, ponds and pavilions for a slow morning.
Kuanzhai Alley
Three restored Qing lanes of courtyard teahouses and boutiques, best before 10am or in the evening away from crowds.
Where to stay in Chengdu
Chunxi Road / Taikoo Li (Jinjiang District)
first trip, all-round base
Walk to Daci Temple, IFS and top restaurants, with metro lines 2 and 3 and a 30 minute DiDi to the Panda Base.
Tianfu Square / People's Park / Qingyang
calm and culture
The civic centre with metro lines 1 and 2, walkable to People's Park, Sichuan Museum, Kuanzhai and Wenshu.
Kuanzhai Alley / Qintai Road / Wenshu Monastery
old-Chengdu atmosphere
Boutique and courtyard stays with teahouses on the doorstep and the best morning atmosphere in the city.
Yulin / Tongzilin (Wuhou District)
locals' Chengdu and longer stays
Residential and leafy with cafes, small bars and hotpot institutions, and the best food per block in the city.
Think twice about
- Chengdu North Railway Station / North Gate coach station area
Transient, scruffy and noisy, with pushy black taxi and hotel soliciting. Fine to pass through, poor to sleep by.
- Chengdu East Railway Station area
A transport slab with little to walk to, a common first timer booking mistake when prices look good.
- Tianfu New Area / Financial City
A business district that empties at night and puts you 45 plus minutes from every old city sight.
- Directly on Kuanzhai Alley or Jinli
Not unsafe, just late night bar and crowd noise and inflated prices for rooms you will leave early.
Best restaurants in Chengdu
Huangcheng Laoma Hotpot
The celebration hotpot locals book, with bold Chengdu broth, a drinkable mild side and signature beef and tripe.
Shu Jiu Xiang Hotpot
A no gimmick workhorse hotpot with a nine grid pot, deeply flavoured broth and beef that stays tender.
Chen Mapo Tofu
The 1862 birthplace of mapo tofu, serving silky tofu with beef, doubanjiang and Sichuan pepper in a stone pot.
Yu Zhi Lan
A tiny serene tasting counter by chef Lan Guijun, with hand pulled noodles and refined Sichuan courses.
Ma Wang Zi
Exacting modern classics near Taikoo Li, from gong bao prawns to laziji, in small portions made for ordering more.
Kao Jiang
Grilled fish as a local institution: pick the fish and broth, add tofu pudding, finish with peppercorn ice cream.
Ming Ting Restaurant
The canonical fly restaurant: small, rough and superb, known for pig brain mapo tofu and home style heat.
Long Chao Shou
A snack canon stop for Chengdu wontons since 1941, best grazed alongside Zhong dumplings and dan dan noodles.
Outdoor things to do in Chengdu
Leshan Giant Buddha
A 71 metre Tang cliff Buddha at three rivers, seen by boat for the full figure then by cliff stairway for scale.
Dujiangyan Irrigation System
A 2300 year old still working irrigation system in a gorge, paired with calmer Panda Valley nearby.
Mount Qingcheng
The birthplace of Taoism: front mountain temples by cable car, or back mountain gorges and waterfalls for hikers.
Mount Emei
A sacred Buddhist mountain for Golden Summit sunrise and sea of clouds, best done as an overnight not a rush.
Tianfu Greenway
A car free 100km green ring of lakes and bamboo around Chengdu, ideal for a flat 20 to 40km rental bike ride.
Luxehills International Country Club
Chengdu's championship parkland golf course south of the city, with caddies, academy and clubhouse dining.
Bifengxia Panda Base
Pandas in a forested gorge reserve with hiking and waterfalls, the nature alternative to the city panda base.
Longquan Mountain
Chengdu's countryside Sunday of peach orchards, farmhouse lunches, mahjong under trees and fruit picking in season.
Best hotels in Chengdu
Niccolo Chengdu
Luxury in IFS Tower 3 above Taikoo Li, the polished first timer base in the modern core.
The Temple House Chengdu
A design hotel by Daci Temple whose Mi Xun teahouse courtyard is a destination in itself.
Grand Hyatt Chengdu
A smart mid range tower hotel four minutes from Chunxi Road metro with a large garden.
Pagoda Hotel Taikoo Li
A design led mid range option by Taikoo Li for value without leaving the modern core.
voco Chengdu Chunxi Road
A design led mid range stay by Chunxi Road, handy for Taikoo Li restaurants and metro lines 2 and 3.
POSHPACKER Chengdu Flipflop Hostel
Budget dorms and private rooms near Chunxi Road with a rooftop and English speaking staff.
The Ritz-Carlton, Chengdu
Luxury overlooking Tianfu Square in the quieter civic centre, with metro lines 1 and 2 at hand.
The St. Regis Chengdu
Luxury in the civic centre, eight minutes from Taikoo Li and quieter at night than Chunxi Road.
Is Chengdu expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | CN¥280 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | CN¥575 a person |
| Splurge | CN¥1,725 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding: weeks ahead
- Luxehills International Country Club: a few days ahead
- Huangcheng Laoma Hotpot: a few days ahead
- Yu Zhi Lan: weeks ahead
- The Bridge: a few days ahead
- Panda Base tickets are real name via official WeChat or Trip.com and sell out in holidays. Book on release day, earliest slot.
- Yu Zhi Lan, Temple House restaurants and Shufeng Yayun VIP seats need advance action. Ma Wang Zi is queue only.
- High speed trains to Leshan, Emei and Dujiangyan sell out on weekends and Golden Weeks. Buy as soon as plans firm.
Is Chengdu safe?
- Chengdu is very safe for violent crime and comfortable for solo and female travellers.
- Real risks are pickpocketing in Chunxi and station crowds, e-scooters on pavements, and summer heat and humidity.
- Drink bottled or boiled water. Check AQI in winter if you are sensitive to air quality.
- Link a foreign card to Alipay and WeChat Pay before landing, download a VPN, and use AMap or Baidu Maps.
- Check your government's current travel advice before you go.
Chengdu travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Do not eat a full meal inside Jinli or Kuanzhai. Browse and snack there, dine in surrounding streets.
- Avoid afternoon panda visits, the Hua Hua queue and any panda holding offer from a tout. Holding is not legally offered.
- Use official taxi ranks or DiDi, not black taxis quoting a fixed cheap fare at airports and stations.
- Skip teahouse touts steering you to pricey tea ceremonies. Heming in People's Park is the benchmark price.
Getting around Chengdu: public transport and more
- Metro is king: 10 plus lines, cheap and clean with English signage. Lines 1 and 2 cross at Tianfu Square.
- Line 3 goes toward the Panda Base at Xiongmao Dadao, then bus 198 or a short DiDi.
- DiDi in Alipay fills every gap cheaply. Avoid road travel 7:30 to 9:00 and 17:30 to 19:00.
- Shared bikes via Alipay suit 1 to 3km hops. Chengdu has two airports, Shuangliu close in and Tianfu about 50km south east.
Who Chengdu suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Good |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make Chengdu your trip
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