5 Best Things To Do in Chengdu, China

Whenever we imagine of a trip to China, the first thing that comes to mind is the Great Wall or Beijing or Shanghai. Yes, these are magnificent places and cities worth visiting, but China has much more than that. Do you think about Chengdu tour? Surely you have looked at tourist offers for China where Chengdu tour is, but you never discovered more about this city.

From the past to present china has a lot of unique practices, traditions, cultures and mythical creatures! Their practices are one of the most unique which cannot be seen elsewhere! Add that with the economically well developed cities! You will get the best of both the worlds!

Chengdu is the capital city of Sichuan Province in China with a population of 14 million people. Chengdu becomes tourist attraction these last years, not just because of the cutest pandas, but also there are so many attractions to be seen. Chengdu has the tallest building in China. The New Century Global Centre is 100 meters tall and is 500 by 400 meters in size, and it is the main attraction among the tourists.

Chengdu is the first place where the paper money was in use, over 1000 years ago. While you are on your Chengdu tour, do not miss to taste some of the most famous Sichuan cuisines. Here are a few places to visit during your Chengdu tour.

If you are next on your next vacation to spend unforgettable moments, visit breathtaking landscapes, see pandas from close, visit places that seem to be out of this planet, then the trip to Chengdu in China can be the perfect destination for you.

Well, here are some facts and things to do in Chengdu.

1. Visit the Giant Pandas

In 2019 we can say that Chengdu is home of White Giant Pandas, and visiting these cute little bears on a Chengdu Panda tour is an amazing experience and attraction. It even gets better if you volunteer to one of the panda bear centre's, where you can feed and maybe hug them. Near the city there three centre's and research bases where you can be near the pandas.

Chengdu Panda Base is located 25 km from Chengdu city center, and it is only half an hour driving. Bifengxia Panda Base is located around 150 km from Chengdu, and it is 2 hours driving with a car. From 2015 taking photos with the pandas and volunteering is stopped, there is no information when will restart with this activity.

Dujiangyan (Wolong) Panda Base is 55 km away from Chengdu. This is the only park where tourists can be volunteers for a couple of days.

2. Sichuan Opera

Visiting Sichuan Opera during your Chengdu tour is one of the memorable moments that you will experience on this trip. If you have been opera by now, you know that you need to be dressed well, but this is not the case, but quite the opposite. The whole atmosphere is relaxed, sitting on bamboo chairs and while you watch the opera, you can snack sunflower seeds and drink tea.

The Sichuan Opera has several acts: people dressed in traditional clothes where they play and sing, then playing instruments, there is a theater. The performance consists of changing masks, even a fire splitting. The play takes about 2 hours, but believe that in the end, you will have the feeling that it lasted only a few minutes.

3. Jiuzhaigou Valley

Have you ever imagined what the land of the fairies looks like? With turquoise and crystal clear lakes, surrounded by mountains, deep virgin forests, waterfalls and a sense of tranquility. You do not have to imagine anymore, it's enough to visit Jiuzhaigou Valley, there you will see everything you ever imagined for the land of the fairies of the stories.

During your Chengdu tour, spend at least two days to visit this wonderful piece of land, located 450 km north of Chengdu. Don't miss to visit this spectacular valley during your Chengdu tour, it is a bit far from Chengdu city, but every hour spending in driving it's worth it.

4. Mount Emei

Mount Emei is 169 km from Chengdu, 7 km southwest of Emeishan City. It is one of the four sacred Buddhist mountains in China and the ashram for Samantabhadra Bodhisattva. During your Chengdu tour, you can visit the Mt.Emei with its 28 temples. The most important and famous temples are Baoguo Temple, Fuhu Temple, Qingyin Pavilion, Wannian Temple, Hong Chunping, Xianfeng Temple, Xixiangchi and Huazang Temple.

There are four scenic areas: Baoguo Temple, Wannian Temple, Qingyin Pavilion, and Golden Summit. Golden Summit is the second highest peak with 3079.3 meters above the sea level if you are prepared to hike, go to the top and you can enjoy the stunning views over the snowy mountains, Chengdu Plain, Ming River, Qingyi River, and Dadu River.

In the Golden Summit, you can also see the four wonders of Mt. Emei: Sunrise, Cloud Sea, Broken Spectre, and Holy Light.

5. Leshan Giant Buddha

The Leshan Giant Buddha, also known as Dafo, is located to the east of Leshan City, Sichuan Province, at the confluence of three rivers, namely, Qingyi River, Min River, and Dadu River. In 1996 together with Mount Emei was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

It is believed that the statue is Maitreya, Buddha and disciple of Sakyamuni, who is thought to have been the founder of Buddhism, symbolizing brightness and happiness. And it is the tallest Buddha statue in the world with its 71 meters tall. During your Chengdu tour, you will need a day to see this miracle built between 713 and 803 during the Tang dynasty.

At the end of the day, you'll be one of the many who wished to stay in Chengdu, after visiting The Leshan Giant Buddha and Mt. Emei.

What to Eat & Recommended Food in Chengdu

The Sichuan region is isolated, a land circled by mountains. Foggy, muggy and damp climate. Sichuan cooking is the only one that fully embraces the anesthetic qualities of the province’s famous red peppercorns, known as hua jiao. But once chilli peppers made it to Sichuan cuisine, it replaced all other stimulants.

Sichuan’s signature red chilli oil is the fiery red cauldron of oil used to cook raw ingredients (Chengdu hot pot) that goes beyond its moisture-dispelling heat. The oil also provides aroma and stimulate appetite with its colour and surface sheen. This red chilli oil is generously used in many Sichuan dishes.

Best Time to Visit Chengdu

Summers in Chengdu can be extremely hot and rainy, and for the opposite, the winters are freezing. If you want a nice weather during the Chengdu tour, you should consider going in spring (March to June) and autumn (September to November).

Traveling to Chengdu is really a lifetime experience. Apart from these 5 top places to visit, Chengdu tour can consist of offers that include visiting many more sites, of course, depending on how many days you want the trip to last. If this year you decided to travel to Chengdu, look for offers from Chinese travel agencies because another travel agency can not make a better Chengdu tour than the domestic ones, right?