Chengdu Travel Guide: Pandas, Teahouses, Sichuan Food
Updated
Chengdu’s panda base opens at 7:30 most of the year, and by noon most pandas are asleep. Go early and save the afternoon for a teahouse.
A short story about Chengdu in Mandarin, with English alongside. The beginner version needs no Chinese. Jump to the storyA short history of Chengdu
Chengdu has kept its name and site for 2,300 years. It was the Shu capital in the Three Kingdoms period (220–280); the Dujiangyan irrigation works of 256 BC still water the plain.
Sichuan pepper, grown here for 2,000 years, is the má (numbing) in málà. Chilli, the là (hot), came from the Americas in the late 1500s.
The Chengdu Panda Base
成都大熊猫繁育研究基地 Chéngdū Dàxióngmāo Fányù Yánjiū Jīdì
Opened in 1987 with six rescued wild pandas, the base now holds more than 200 in bamboo parkland 10 km north of the centre, plus that year’s cubs from late summer.
Pandas eat for up to 14 hours a day, mostly in the morning. By noon in summer they are asleep in a tree.
How to visit the Chengdu Panda Base
- 1
Book a named ticket
On the base’s WeChat mini-program (in Chinese) or Trip.com, with your passport number, up to 14 days ahead; a few days out in summer. Bring the passport.
- 2
Be there when it opens
Metro Line 3 to Panda Avenue, then bus 408 or a taxi to the south gate. Gates open at 7:30 from March to October, 8 in winter.
- 3
Do the loop on foot
The hilly loop takes about three hours and passes every enclosure; shuttles exist. End at the nursery.
- 4
Don’t pay to hold one
Nobody holds pandas here any more; anyone selling that is selling something else.
Cubs are born July to September and reach the nursery around October.
Things to do in Chengdu beyond the pandas
People’s Park and the Kuanzhai Alleys 人民公园 · 宽窄巷子
Rénmín Gōngyuán · Kuānzhǎi Xiàngzi
Heming teahouse (1923) sits under trees by a pond: order jasmine tea and watch retirees play mahjong. North of it, the Kuanzhai Alleys are three lanes of Qing courtyard houses, now teahouses and bars.
Wuhou Shrine and Jinli 武侯祠 · 锦里
Wǔhóu Cí · Jǐnlǐ
Halls and gardens for Zhuge Liang, Shu’s chief minister. Next door is Jinli, a rebuilt old street of snack stalls, best after dark.
The Leshan Giant Buddha 乐山大佛
Lèshān Dàfó
The world’s tallest stone Buddha, 71 metres, carved into a river cliff between 713 and 803. An hour by fast train from Chengdu East or South, then 30 minutes by bus or taxi. Walk down to its feet or take the boat.
What to eat in Chengdu
Hotpot 火锅
huǒguō
Chilli-and-pepper broth boiling at the table; you cook the meat and vegetables. First time, order a half-clear yuanyang pot (鸳鸯锅), 微辣 (wēilà, mild). It won’t be.
Mapo tofu 麻婆豆腐
mápó dòufu
Soft tofu in fermented beans, chilli and ground Sichuan pepper.
Dan dan noodles 担担面
dàndàn miàn
Minced pork, preserved vegetable, chilli oil and sesame paste, named after the sellers’ carrying pole.
Plan your trip to Chengdu
Best time to visit Chengdu
- JanMixed
- FebMixed
- MarBest
- AprBest
- MayBest
- JunBest
- JulMixed
- AugMixed
- SepBest
- OctBest
- NovBest
- DecMixed
July is hot and muggy (about 31°C) and gets most of the rain; winter is mild but grey. Golden Week and Chinese New Year bring the longest panda and Leshan queues.
Getting to Chengdu
- Shuangliu Airport by train30 min
- Tianfu Airport by train50 min
- Dali by air1½ h
- Lhasa by air2½ h
- Xi’an by train3 h
International flights land at Tianfu, 50 km out; Metro Line 18 reaches Chengdu South in 35–50 minutes. Domestic Shuangliu is 30 minutes from Wuhou Shrine on Line 10. Most fast trains use Chengdu East; Chongqing is just over an hour.
Getting around Chengdu
The metro is cheap, signed in English and beats a car at rush hour. Didi has English and takes foreign cards.
Pay with Alipay or WeChat Pay. Noodle shops rarely have English menus: point at the next table.
Where to stay in Chengdu
Chunxi Road and Taikoo Li (Lines 2 and 3) for dinner on foot; People’s Park and the Kuanzhai Alleys for calm. Wuhou Shrine is on Line 10 to Shuangliu.
Chengdu in three days
- Day 1. The panda base at opening, tea in People’s Park, the Kuanzhai Alleys at dusk.
- Day 2. Wuhou Shrine in the morning, Jinli after dark, and hotpot for dinner.
- Day 3. An early train to Leshan, down to the Buddha’s feet before the midday queue.
Questions about visiting Chengdu
What time should you go to the panda base?
At opening: 7:30 from March to October, 8 in winter. They sleep from late morning.
Is Chengdu food too spicy for visitors?
It can be. Ask for 微辣 (wēilà, mild), 不辣 (bù là, not spicy) or a half-clear hotpot.
Can you see the Leshan Buddha in a day from Chengdu?
Yes: an hour by fast train, then a bus or taxi. Leave early; the stairs queue by midday.
Chengdu panda base or Panda Valley at Dujiangyan?
The Chengdu base is 10 km out and has the nursery. Panda Valley is quieter but 1½ hours away by car.
Can you fly from Chengdu to Lhasa?
Yes, several flights a day (2–2½ hours). You need a Tibet permit, arranged by your agency, to board.
Chinese you’ll see in Chengdu
On signs, menus and the metro.
- 成都Chéngdū
- Chengdu
- 熊猫xióngmāo
- panda, literally "bear-cat"
- 茶馆cháguǎn
- teahouse
- 火锅huǒguō
- hotpot
- 鸳鸯锅yuānyang guō
- half-and-half hotpot, spicy and clear
- 麻辣málà
- numbing and spicy
- 微辣wēilà
- mildly spicy, the word to say
- 不辣bù là
- not spicy
- 地铁dìtiě
- metro
- 大佛dàfó
- giant Buddha
Want more? Browse Chinese vocabulary by level.
Hear Chengdu in Mandarin
Pandas and hotpot: what a broken gene and a numbing berry have in common.
The story is Chengdu: 17 Per Cent, and Fifty Times a Second. Every level has a transcript, pinyin and English.
