Chengdu

Best time to visit

1. Jan
2. Feb
3. Mar
4. Apr
5. May
6. Jun
7. Jul
8. Aug
9. Sep
10. Oct
11. Nov
12. Dec

From the airport or station to the city

Where you land, the ways into the city centre, how long each takes and what it costs.

Getting around

Chengdu is flat and spread out. The metro covers the centre, the Panda Base and both airports. DiDi and taxis are cheap. Most old-city sights (Kuanzhai Alley, People’s Park, Wenshu Monastery) are close enough to walk between or cycle on shared bikes. Leshan and Dujiangyan are easy day trips by high-speed train.

Book these before you fly

These sights need a reservation with your passport. Walk-ups are usually turned away.

• Chengdu Panda BaseOnline, real-name with your passport, up to 14 days ahead, on the official WeChat account or Trip.com. The gate windows only sell leftover tickets to people who cannot pay online, so do not count on them.
• Sichuan MuseumFree timed booking only through the museum’s official WeChat account, with your passport.
• Chengdu MuseumFree booking up to 14 days ahead; new slots released at 19:00. Bring the original passport you booked with.
• Sanxingdui MuseumReal-name booking only through the museum’s official WeChat account, mini-program or website, with your passport. Tickets for the next 5 days are released at 20:00 each night; the museum says it has not authorised third-party sellers.
• Mount EmeiReal-name booking only, on the 峨眉山景区 WeChat account or the official mini-program, at least a day ahead; no tickets on site. The Golden Summit has been capped at about 8,000 visitors a day since May 2026.

Top sights

成都大熊猫繁育研究基地Chengdu Panda BaseThe famous giant panda breeding centre, where pandas are most active in the early morning.Booking required3–4 hours武侯祠Wuhou Shrine and Jinli StreetA temple to the Three Kingdoms heroes, next to a lantern-lit old-style snack street.Booking recommended2 hours宽窄巷子Kuanzhai AlleyThree restored Qing-era lanes of courtyard houses, teahouses and snack shops.1–2 hours人民公园鹤鸣茶社People’s Park and Heming TeahouseChengdu life in one place: an open-air teahouse, dancing, mahjong and the marriage market.1–2 hours文殊院Wenshu MonasteryA peaceful working Buddhist monastery with a famous vegetarian restaurant.1 hour四川博物院Sichuan MuseumThe province’s main museum, strong on bronzes, Tibetan art and Han dynasty figures.Booking required2 hours成都博物馆Chengdu MuseumA modern museum of the city’s history, with an excellent shadow puppet gallery.Booking required2 hours乐山大佛Leshan Giant BuddhaA 71-metre Buddha carved into a riverside cliff in the 8th century.Booking recommendedFull day trip都江堰与青城山Dujiangyan and Mount QingchengA 2,000-year-old irrigation system and a forested Taoist mountain, both UNESCO sites.Booking recommendedFull day trip川剧变脸Sichuan opera and face-changing showAn evening variety show of opera, puppetry and lightning-fast mask changes.Booking recommended1.5 hours杜甫草堂Du Fu Thatched CottageA leafy garden museum on the site where the Tang poet Du Fu lived in exile, with bamboo groves, ponds and a rebuilt thatched hut.Booking recommended2 hours金沙遗址博物馆Jinsha Site MuseumA museum built over a 3,000-year-old Shu kingdom site, with the excavation pits and gold, jade and ivory finds.Booking recommended2–3 hours三星堆博物馆Sanxingdui MuseumA day trip to Guanghan for the startling 3,000-year-old bronze masks, heads and sacred tree found at Sanxingdui.Booking requiredHalf to full day青羊宫Qingyang PalaceChengdu’s oldest and largest Taoist temple, a working temple with incense-filled courtyards and Qing-dynasty halls.1 hour大慈寺与太古里Daci Temple and Taikoo LiA 1,600-year-old Buddhist temple in the middle of Taikoo Li, an open-air shopping district of low-rise Sichuan-style buildings.1–2 hours洛带古镇Luodai Hakka TownAn old town of Hakka migrants east of Chengdu, with grand provincial guild halls on its main street and a round earth building.Half a day成都自然博物馆Chengdu Natural History MuseumA large modern museum at Chengdu University of Technology, known for its Sichuan dinosaurs, minerals and animal halls.Booking recommended2–3 hours安顺廊桥Anshun Covered BridgeA lantern-lit covered bridge over the Jin River, rebuilt in 2003 on the site of an old bridge and Chengdu’s classic night view.30–60 minutes峨眉山Mount EmeiOne of China’s four sacred Buddhist mountains, with forest trails, old temples and the 3,079 m Golden Summit above a sea of clouds.Booking required1–2 days黄龙溪古镇Huanglongxi Ancient TownA riverside old town south of Chengdu with stone bridges, wooden streets and banyan trees several centuries old.Half a day建川博物馆聚落Jianchuan Museum ClusterA private cluster of dozens of museums on China’s 20th-century history, next to the old streets of Anren town west of Chengdu.A full day

Map

Further out, not on this map: Leshan Giant Buddha, Mount Emei

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