7 Days Sichuan Cultural Tour with Chengdu Panda
Chengdu / Leshan / E'mei / Chengdu / Huanglong / Jiuzhaigou
Highlights
- Visit:
- Huanglong National Park
- Jiuzhaigou National Park
- Chengdu Panda Base
- Wenshu Monastery
- Leshan Giant Buddha
- Emei Mountain
- Jinli Old Street
- Renmin Park
- Experience:
- Explore the daily life of the Giant Pandas and photograph with them;
- Enjoy the fresh air and splendid natural beauty of Mt. Emei;
- Immerse yourself in the extraodinary landscapes in Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong Valley.
Sampling Itinerary Day by Day
Day 1 Chengdu Arrival
Ni Hao! Welcome to Chengdu, the Hometown of Giant Pandas! You’ll be met by our local guide at the arrival hall of Chengdu airport / train station and escorted to your hotel in downtown area by a private, comfortable and non-smoking vehicle. The rest of today is on your own to explore this leisure city.
Optional activity: Enjoy the typical Sichuan cuisine (like Hot Pot) for dinner in a local restaurant.
Day 2 Chengdu (B, L)
After breakfast, your guide and driver will pick you up at your hotel. First, drive about 15km to Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding (simply Chengdu Panda Base). This base is not only the most important panda scientific research center in the world, but also the home for more than 100 Giant Pandas. Walk through the verdant bamboo-framed path, gain fascinating insight into the progression of baby pandas to young adult pandas to adult pandas, and admire the delicate newborns in a special infant panda area. Continue to enrich your memory to observe the adolescent pandas between the age of one and five eating bamboos, playing with each other, tumbling and climbing trees. Listen to the importance of this vital maturity period and capture photographs of these enchanting and endangered creatures as they relax in their natural environment.
After the memorable panda visit, get to the largest and best-preserved Buddhist monastery - Wenshu Monastery located in bustling downtown Chengdu. Walking in the quiet spiritual temple, you’ll marvel at the exquisite Buddhist architectures and precious Buddhist statues, scriptures and relics.
Later, pay a visit to Renmin Park to truly feel the essence of leisurely pace and lifestyle of Chengdu. Sit down, order a pot of fragrant Chinese tea, have a casual chat with your friends in a-hundred-year-old teahouse, watch local indulging themselves in different kinds of folk activities, like napping, enjoy special ear cleaning, playing Mahjong, dancing and doing water calligraphy! Next will be an impressive trip to the famous Jinli Old Street, a lively paradise full of delicious local snacks, delicate artifacts, interesting folk shows and other activities. Time will steal away as you explore along the old streets!
Optional activity: In this evening, watch Sichuan Opera and be entertained by Sichuan performing arts using stick puppets, face masks, fire spitting, rolling lights, folk music, acrobatic and dance in Shufeng Yayun Teahouse (usually performs during 20:00~21:30).
Day 3 Chengdu - Leshan - Mt. Emei (B)
In the morning, drive about 148km (about 2 hours) to Leshan Giant Buddha, the largest stone Buddha statue in the world. Sitting at the confluence of Minjiang River, Dadu River and Qingyi River, the Giant Buddha was carved on the cliff of Lingyun Mountain, used to suppress the flood. Enjoy spectacular view of the huge statue as you walking down through the narrow staircases to the foot of the Buddha.
After visiting the Giant Buddha, move on to Mt. Emei. Located 30 minutes away from Leshan by road, Baoguo Temple is the biggest temple of the mountain, which is also the final site for today’s tour.
Stay overnight at the foot of Mt. Emei.
Day 4 Mt. Emei - Chengdu (B)
Today is your Mt. Emei Tour. First, take an eco-car in the Scenic Area to Leidongping and hiking to Jieyin Hall, and take a cable car up to the Golden Summit (altitude: 3077 m). At the highest peak of the mountain, you will be amazed by the awe-inspiring view of Huazhang Temple and witness the breathtaking sea of clouds if it’s sunny.
Next, go down to Wannian Temple parking lot by car. Take a cable car up to Wannian Temple at the middle of the mountain. Appreciate the most beautiful landscape of Mt. Emei in Qingyin Pavilion as you hike from Wannian Temple to Wuxiangang parking lot.
Then return to Chengdu by road from Mt. Emei.
Day 5 Chengdu & Flight to Jiuzhaigou (B)
On this day, you’ll be escorted to Chengdu Shuangliu Airport for your flight to Jiuzhaigou (about 1hr). Upon arrival, the local guide and driver will pick you up at Jiuzhai Huanglong Airport and drive about 55km to Huanglong National Park for today’s sightseeing. Huanglong National Park is famous for colorful travertine lakes and ponds, sinuous deep mountain valleys, magnificent snow mountains and mysterious peaceful wild forests, which has made the park known as “Wonder on the World” and “Heaven on the Earth”. You’ll take the cable car to the upper station of Huanglong Valley and enjoy the gorgeous scenery of Five-Color Ponds and Huanglong Ancient Temple. Then, walk down the valley and visit the stunning attractions one by one including Rhododendron Pool, Zhengyan Pool, Bonsai Pool, Lotus Waterfall, Flying Waterfall and Welcome Pool, etc.
After the tour, drive about 2 hours to Jiuzhaigou and stay overnight there.
High altitude tips: Since the attractions of Huanglong Naitonal Park are located more than 3,000 meters above the sea level, travelers should prepared well for the high altitude sickness. Keep a good healthy condition before your tour and rest well especially the first night of arrival. When walking in the valley, don’t go too rush. If you feel hart breathe, you can stop in the tourist service center to rest and get oxygen supply.
Day 6 Jiuzhaigou (B)
After breakfast, start your beautiful day by visiting the “Fairyland on Earth” - Jiuzhaigou Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage Site featured the peculiar waterscape of calcified lakes, waterfalls and travertine beach lands. You’ll take sightseeing bus from the gate to Nuorilang Waterfalls to view the symbols of Jiuzhaigou. Then transfer to Zechawa Valley to visit the Long Lake, Five-Color Pond and Seasonal Lakes. Later, go to the Rize Valley to visit the Panda Lake, Five Flower Lake, Pearl Shoal and Mirror Lake. Finally, you’ll transfer back to gate from Nuorilang, during the way, you can view the Shuzheng Lakes including Tiger Lake and Rhinoceros Lake. Free your mind and throw yourself into the wondrous world.
Stay overnight in Jiuzhaigou.
Day 7 Jiuzhaigou Departure (B)
After breakfast, your local guide will escort you to Jiuhuang Airport to for your flight to next destination.
Recommended Add-on Options
+ 3~4 more days to step into the World Geological Park - Zhangjiajie
Reputed as “a miniature fairyland” and “a maze of nature”, Zhangjiajie is a surreal world with hundreds of grotesque peaks, beautiful waters, towering trees, deep valley, marvelous caves and exuberant forest. In Zhangjiajie, you’ll fully explore Zhangjiajie National Forest Park to catch the outstanding landscape and experience the world’s longest and highest glass bridge in Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon.
![Zhangjiajie Tianzi Mountain Zhangjiajie Tianzi Mountain](assets/images/destinations/zhangjiajie/tianzi-mountain-200.jpg)
+ 4~5 more days to cruise on the magnificent Yangtze River
Taking a relaxing cruise sailing on the Yangtze River is a popular way to get a short break during your China tour. You’ll not only enjoy many colorful cultural activities and entertainment programs onboard, but also enjoy three to four shore excursions to deeply know the authentic life along Three Gorges and witness the world-famous Three Gorges Dam.
You can take: 1) 4 Days & 3 Night Downstream Cruise from Chongqing to Yichang; 2) 5 Days & 4 Nights Upstream Cruise from Yichang to Chongqing.
![Magnificent Qutang Gorge Magnificent Qutang Gorge](assets/images/china-yangtze-cruise/yangtze-cruise/qutang-gorge-200.jpg)
1. This price is for one person, based on a group of 2 adults sharing one standard double-bed room in a comfortable-class hotel and traveling with our private tour package in low seasons. The price will be much lower if your group has 4 or more members.
2. This price is subject to change according to your traveling season, month, and date. There may be huge price increasing during the public Chinese holidays, school summer holidays (usually 2 months, July ~ August), peak tourist seasons or some special dates.
(In 2024: Labor Day Holiday during May 1 ~ 5; National Day Holiday during October 1 ~ 7; Chinese Spring Festival during January 28 ~ February 3, 2025)
3. Other factors that may change the final tour price include your group size, hotel class, tour activities, real-time exchange rate, and so on.
4. This price is based on the exchange rate USD 1= RMB 7.00. The final price will be based on the exchange rate in effect at the time of agreement with our quotation.
5. This price is only valid from now to March 31, 2025.
6. This price is not the final price until the Confirmation Letter is sent.
7. The items included and excluded in this price are for reference only. The final services included, please refer to the Confirmation Letter sent to you by the travel consultant.
Price Includes:
- English-speaking guide with the professional license as listed in the itinerary.
- Entrance fees and other fees of the scenic spots as listed in the itinerary.
- Yangtze River Cruise ticket as listed in the itinerary.
- Accommodation (comfortable-class) based on two persons sharing one room with twin beds or a double bed.
- Meals as specified with “B” (for breakfast), “L” (for lunch) or “D” (for dinner) in the itinerary.
- Private Transfers between airports, hotels and scenic spots while sightseeing in each city or area by private air-conditioned vehicle with a licensed driver as listed in the itinerary.
- Transportation: Domestic flights (economy class) or trains (second-class seat) as listed in the itinerary.
- Airport / train station pick-up and drop-off service as listed in the itinerary.
- Luggage Transfers between airports, train station and hotels.
- Travel Service Charge of our travel consultant, including the planning, handling, operational and communication charges, etc.
Price Excludes:
- China Visa (We do not offer any visa service or charge any visa-related fee.)
- Scenic spots not listed in the itinerary.
- Optional activities or other sightseeing.
- Accommodation not as listed in the itinerary.
- Meals not listed in the itinerary.
- Flights or trains not as listed in the itinerary.
- Excess Baggage Charges.
- Personal expenses of a purely personal nature such as room service, laundry, drink, Internet charge, WI-FI, fax, telephone call, etc.
- Gratuities or optional tips to guides, drivers, bellboys, etc.
Read what other travelers think about this China trip / Yangtze cruise trip. We only accept reviews from actual, confirmed travelers who purchased the tour / activity from us, so you can be sure the reviews are unbiased and authentic.
Hi April
My husband and I completed our most wonderful experience and memorable time on the Century Glory Cruise.
We wish to thank you very much for all the pre-cruise arrangements and prompt replies to all our enquiries.
Kind regards,
Tan
- Tan - August 17, 2024‚ ,
Dear Vivien,
Now our vacation is over again. It was a very nice three weeks in China, but it was also very tiring because of the heat. The trip with the Victoria Jenna was excellent. Everything was well organized, the care from the staff and tour guides, the cabin and the food were impeccable.
We are very positively impressed by China and its development.
We wish you and your child the best of health.
Kind regards
Ursula and Dieter
- Ursula and Dieter - August 12, 2024‚ ,
Hi Wonder,
It has been a most enjoyable experience! Thank you!
Best regards,
Bart
- Bart - July 28, 2024‚ ,
Hi Wonder,
We very much enjoyed the cruise thank you. Especially made welcome by Austin on the boat who looked after us English speakers extremely well. The room was comfortable and all the activities very appropriate and well organised. We also used the swimming pool on the boat twice or more times.
The documentary about the three gorges shown in the cinema the night before our visit there was excellent in helping us to understand what happened with the dam. It could have been better publicized but we managed to get there and really enjoyed. However the visitor site of the dam needs to have more English captions for us to really appreciate. We were surprised how little English translation there was at the biggest dam in the world.
The place where you embark on the boat in Chong Qing was more difficult than I had imagined - there was nowhere really to park. Not sure what you could do as a solution for that?!
Thank you for arranging for us,
Denise.
- Denise - July 19, 2024‚ ,
Here are recent candid photos of this China trip / Yangtze cruise trip. If you want to share your own tour photos, simply email your photos to info@yangtze-river-cruises.com with your Booking ID Number. Thanks in advance for sharing!
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