3 Days Chengdu Group Tour to See Giant Pandas & Ancient Shu Civilization

Nihao! Welcome to Chengdu, the panda hometown in southwestern China! Upon your arrival at the airport/train station in Chengdu, the driver will meet you at the exit, and then escort you to the well-selected hotel in downtown Chengdu. The rest of the day is free on your own so that you can have a good rest for the jet lag or explore by yourselves around your hotel.

Arrival Ideas:

Chengdu is well connected by air and high-speed rail. There are two airports – Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport and Chengdu Tianfu International Airport operating many international and domestic airlines. Travelers can go to Chengdu by air from most cities in China, like Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xian, Guilin, Hangzhou, Kunming, Lhasa, Lanzhou, Wuhan, Xiamen, Guiyang, Chongqing… In addition, travelers can take high speed train to Chengdu from Xian (3-4 hours), Chongqing (1.5-2hours), Guiyang (3.5-4.5 hours), Kunming (6-6.5hours), Shanghai (12.5-14.5 hours), etc.

Free Time Ideas: The Sichuan hotpot and Sichuan Opera are highly recommended evening activities. 

In the morning, you will meet your guide early at the appointed time in the Chengdu hotel lobby. Today you are going to fulfill your panda dream with a 17-kilometers drive to Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding (Xiongmao Jidi), or simply Chengdu Panda Base.

Chengdu Panda Base, the closest to the city proper, accommodated over 100 pandas which is the base with the largest population of captive giant pandas in the world. You will see giant pandas of different ages there. It’s great fun to watch them playing, eating, climbing, sleeping… If you come in autumn, you will have the chance to see the pink newborn giant panda cubs in the Sunshine Nursery House and the Moonlight Nursery House. Besides giant pandas, you can also meet the cute red pandas walking by your side in the Red Panda Playgrounds. Then follow your guide to discover more about panda’s secrets through the Panda Museum. (Note: Pandas like cool weather, so we advise you to arrive there early as pandas are more active in the morning. During the day of high temperatures, pandas would prefer to stay inside and sleep.)

In the afternoon, drive to visit the mysterious Sanxingdui Site Museum (about 1 hour’s drive, 50km). Unearthed in 1929, Sanxingdui keeps making archaeologists excited by its brilliant relics unearthed from the ancient capital 3,000-5,000 years ago. As one of the 50 Places in China that are worthiest for foreign travelers to visit, you will be amazed by the ancient people who created the outstanding relics. Sleep for thousands of years, wake up, and shock the world. In the Bronze Pavilion, you can have close contact with the Bronze Sacred Tree (3.96m, a treasure of the museum, archaeologists took 10 years to recover it), the Bronze Standing Figure (2.6m, the only complete figure of its size and kind), Vertical-eyed Bronze Mask (the protruding eyes are considered as the symbol of ‘Can Cong’, the first leader of Ancient Shu), Sun-shaped Bronze (looks like a car steering wheel)… Walking into the mysterious Comprehensive Pavilion, marvel at The Gold Scepter (the gold stick of the King of Ancient Shu Kingdom), Ceramic Utensil with Three Legs (Three-legged Cooking Pottery, local people called it hotpot), Jade Zhang, Gold Mask… With the Bronze, jade, and gold products shown from the Sanxingdui Site, you can imagine the brilliant Sanxingdui Civilization and the existence of the ancient Shu Kingdom that pushes the history of the Sichuan region back for over 2,000 years. After Sanxingdui visiting, drive back to Chengdu downtown. (Note: during the peak season, the ticket for the Sanxingdui is hard to reserve. You may adjusted to Jinsha Site Museum instead. )

After that, return to Chengdu downtown for an relaxing stroll at Jinli Old Street. With a history over 1,800 years, it showcases the profound cultures of Ancient Shu Kingdom. Take a nice walk on the traditional stone-paved street full of delicious local snacks, delicate artifacts, interesting folk shows, etc.

It is time to end your 3-day Chengdu group trip. You will have some free time in Chengdu and explore more on your own till be escorted you to airport/train station for your flight or high speed train to your next destination.

Trip Extension Ideas: If you want to explore China and other Asia destinations rather than return home right away, we would be glad to assist you with an extension trip. Feel free to tell us your ideas!

Thank you for choosing HelloChinaTrip for your China tour, and we are always here working for you and hope to see you again for your next trip to China/Asia. Safe journey!