Things to Do in Chengdu

Beloved by the entire world, these adorable Giant Pandas are China’s treasure. Only found in Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces, just 1000 live today. 80% of the existing Pandas are distributed within the Sichuan province and Chengdu is the right place to meet these lovely creatures.

The Panda Breeding and Research centre thrives to create and imitate the natural habitat of Panda’s to make them feel at home and accelerate their rearing and breeding. Taking care of Pandas and other endangered wild creatures is the prime objective of the centre. Giant Pandas, Lesser Pandas, Black-necked cranes, white strokes and 20 other species of rare animals roam freely and call this centre a home. Lush green Bamboo forests, bright flowers, natural hill and fresh air make it an alluring sight.

The Giant Panda museum which operates since 1993 is one of its kind Museum and it establishes to improve public awareness about protection of wild animals and their natural habitat. Claimed as world’s only thematic museum for rare and endangered animal species, the museum is spread over three halls and the exhibits include precious pictures and around 800 materials showing more than 2140 samples of animals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and insects as well as fossils and models.

Visit this centre and experience the bio-diversity of China in a unique way!

Considered as a landmark, Jinli Street dates back to Qin dynasty (221-263 BC). Then famous for Baldachin- a rice ornate cloth, today, it proudly flaunts the Wuhou memorial temple and the cultural panorama it presents before the world.

The imposing archway at one end of the street depicts architectural form of Qing Dynasty. The entire street is lined up with stores selling Shu Embroidery, lacquer products, folk handicrafts, curios, or calligraphies and paintings.

There are shadow puppetry shows, artisans putting up exhibits of traditional skills like paper and clay arts, bunch of cafes to chill, local food stalls serving scrumptious Chinese delicacies. There is also an exclusive wooden stage where you can catch up a live Sichuan opera, open air-movies or even a local wedding ceremony. On traditional festivals, there are plenty of theme activities and competitions that add pep to the lively street.

Visit Jenli Street, hog on the San Da Pao and live it up Chengdu style!

Soaked in oriental charm, the Jinli Pedestrian Street is Chengdu’s most beautiful street. While there are no Jinli Pedestrian Street Tickets, you can check out our tours comprising this popular attraction with some irresistible Deals on Tickets for Jinli Pedestrian Street. If you don’t want to miss out the early booking discounts, buy tickets for Jinli Pedestrian Street at the earliest. Jinli Pedestrian Street ticket prices and prices for adjoining attractions are however subject to change.

One of the most famous Taoist mountains in China, Mount Qingcheng is an alluring natural spot to spend your day. Surrounded by surreal mountain peaks, lush green trees, this mountain is dubbed as ‘the most peaceful ad secluded mountain under heaven’.

The mountain can be roughly divided into two parts- the anterior part and the posterior part. The anterior part has attractions like Jianfu Palace, Shangqing palace and the Tianshi Cave. Cultural relics and natural beauty make it a pleasant site to visit. Several Buddhist temples adorn the mountain and the natural backdrop adds to the allure.

Hop on a cable car to get here! Ideal for day-out and picnics!

Amalgamation of modern construction style and old architecture is represented in the Kuan-zhai Street. It is part of one of the three key preservation areas in Chengdu which comprise of Kuan Lane, Zhai Lane and Jing Lane. Depicting characteristic features of Qing dynasty, Kuan-zhai lane is opened to public and has great open-sir tea-houses, Chinese style courtyard with gardens and modern cafes.

A great hang-out in Chengdu!

Chengdu is China’s very own natural storehouse and Dujiangyan Irrigation system seconds the statement. The construction of this enormous water system dates back to 2200 years. Yes, that’s right! The city was threatened by frequent floods of the Minjiang River which is a tributary of Yangtze River. Li Bing- a local official of Sichuan province conceptualised this irrigation system to prevent flooding. This project is a successful attempt and the people living today still benefit from it.

Today, it is fondly called “treasure of Sichuan” as it helps preventing floods and maintains flood water drainage and serves as a major resource of water for more than 50 cities.

The oldest and only surviving no-dam irrigation system in the world, Dujiangyan is the oldest and only surviving no-dam irrigation system in the world and a wonder in development of Chinese science in ancient times. There are three main parts of the project namely Yuzui, Feishayan and Baopingkou.

Attractions within the project include: Analan Cable Bridge, Fulong temple and Erwang temple. Visit this place to admire the Ancient engineering of China. Of visiting in June, you can also experience the temple fair!

A home of a very famous Chinese poet belonging to the Tang Dynasty, this place dates back to a thousand years and is also known as Thatched cottage of Du Fu.

Located on the western outskirts of Chengdu, this cottage was built beside the flower bathing brook. During the poet’s stay here, he composed over 240 poems that are today considered as a national treasure.

The thatched cottage structure has 5 main and 4 attached rooms with thatched roofs and is surrounded by bamboo fences, vegetable gardens and herb plots. Covering an area of 24 hectares, the cottage also includes the Fa’an temple and the plum garden. The entire area is uniquely designed in the Chinese style and has flower gardens, streams, bridges, pavilions, bamboo and plum trees.

Hundreds of years later the poet’s departure, a temple was built on the original site in his memory. It is considered as a shrine to Chinese literature. The grand bronze statue on the memorial hall and the earthen figure of Du fu in Gong Bu temple is worth admiring.

Attractions within the area include: Museum, the Screen Wall, the Gate, the Lobby, and the History in Verse Hall, the Faggot Gate, tablet pavilion and the Gong Bu Temple.

A Chinese style cottage of one of the most prominent poets of his era, Du Fu stands as a sound reminder of the rich Chinese heritage and a very frequented destination in Chengdu. If you wish to visit the place, avail Du Fu Cottage Tickets as early as possible. The Tickets for Du Fu Cottage will be available at the ticket counter. Du Fu Cottage Ticket Prices are very affordable with no different Du Fu Cottage Ticket Costs for children. The ticket counters close half an hour before the closing time so you can Buy Tickets for Du Fu Cottage before that and have a nice time here.

This is a memorial temple dedicated to Zhue Liang- the Martial Marquis of Shu in the three kingdoms period. This temple covers an area of 37000 square meters and the date of its establishment is unknown.  The current temple was rebuilt in 1672 and is surrounded by old cypresses and classical red walls.

The temple is subdivided into five sections: the Gate, the second Gate, the Hall of Liu Bei, the corridor, and the Hall of Zhuge Liang, all of which run south to north. The clay sculptures of Shu Emperor and ministers are a special feature. The most valuable cultural relic is a huge stele which is 367 centimetres in height and 95 centimetres wide. It is called as Triple success Stele.

Visit this place to witness the love of Chinese people for their warrior.

A home to Buddhist association of Sichuan province and a well-preserved Buddhist temple in Chengdu, this monastery was built during the rule of Tang dynasty and was also called as Xinxiang temple.

According to the legend, a Buddhist monk Cidu stayed at this site for several years and when he was being cremated after his death, the statue of Wenshu (Manjusri) appeared in the flames and since then, Cidu was considered as a reincarnation of Bodhisattava Manjusri. Since then, Xinxiang temple is known as Wenshu monastery. 

The Monastery boasts a collection of around 500 paintings and calligraphy belonging to Tang and Song dynasties. There are also 300 Buddha statues in different materials like iron, bronze, stone, wood, and jade. The garden surrounding the Monastery is pretty and you can slurp Chinese tea in the tea house while enjoying the music by folk artists.

If you are looking for a place to relax and rejuvenate, Chengdu Renmin Park also known as People’s park is where you should be. Play cards, be a part of impromptu dance session, relish the Chinese tea while relaxing in a bamboo chair or have your ears cleaned in Chinese style ( yes, they do it and it is claimed to be great!); possibilities are endless!

There is also a children’s play park, a bonsai garden, Martyr’s monument to visit inside the park.

Drop in here for a peaceful day i n Chengdu!

This museum is spread over 38000 square metres area and is dedicated to archaeological finds of Jinsha Site. Dating back to about 3,000 years ago, the time from the late Shang Dynasty (17th-11th century BC) to the early Spring and Autumn Period (770 BC-476 BC). It is the core of Shang and Zhou Dynasty (17th century BC-221 BC) and the second ancient city of Shu State was discovered after the Three-Star Piles Museum. There are around 63 sacrificial spots, 6,000 pieces of precious relics, over 70 building spots and 3 centralized cemeteries were discovered in excavation.

It has four main parts: Relics Hall, Exhibition Hall, Cultural Heritage Protection Centre and Ecological Garden.

This ancient town has a history of 1800 years and dates back to the three kingdoms period. The neighbourhood is just an-hour away from Chengdu city and exhibits the culture of Hakka community. You can explore the local culture, indulge on the famous Hakka cuisine and get a glimpse of a different community altogether. There is also a museum dedicated to the community and a park which is great to relax. The water dragon festival sees the entire town in a vibrant pomp and people go splashing water on each other spreading a happy fever!

Visit this backyard of Chengdu and experience the warm hospitality of the Hakka community!

Spread over an area of 4000 square meters, this archaeological museum displays cultural relics found in the excavation of the Three-star Piles site. This site is one of the prime archaeological sites in China and stretched over 12 square kilometres.

This relic was discovered by chance. In spring of 1929, a peasant found a piece of bright-coloured jade while digging his farm. This acted as a catalyst in discover and later around 400 jade items were found in the excavation.

The excavation shows a development from late Neolithic Age (7000 BC-5000 BC) through to the late Shang (16th - 11th century BC) and early Zhou Period (11th century BC - 711 BC). The relic site dating back to 3000 years might have been the capital of ancient Shu.

The museum is divided into four sections and displays around 1000 relics and the two sacrificial pits of Shang Period, including gold plate, bronze ware, jade articles, pottery and ivory. The four sections have their own theme of display.

Section 1: Splendour of Ancient Shu Culture, Section 2: Mystery of the Primitive Faith, Section 3: Exquisite Cultural Artefacts and Section 4: Three-Star Piles Excavation and Study.

The new exhibition hall of 7000 square metres area was added recently to display of jade articles, gold plate and pottery, with the old Exhibition Hall specializing in bronze wares.

A must-visit for History buffs!