Chengdu itinerary: 1 to 3 days
Plans for one to three days in Chengdu, day by day: the Giant Panda base, Wenshu Monastery, People's Park, Chunxi Road and Anshun Bridge first, then Du Fu Thatched Cottage, and Dujiangyan and Mount Qingcheng as you add days. Every stop has a typical visit length.
How long do you have?
Map: 3 days
Chengdu in 1 day
Day 1
Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding
Research centre and breeding park north of the city where giant and red pandas live in large enclosures; best in the morning.
Wenshu Monastery
Active Buddhist monastery in the city centre, with old halls and incense, and a tea house and vegetarian restaurant in its grounds.
People's Park
Central city park with a lake, flower beds and busy tea houses where locals play mahjong and have their ears cleaned.
Chunxi Road
Pedestrian shopping street in central Chengdu, lined with shops, restaurants and street food, busy in the evening.
Anshun Bridge
Covered bridge over the Jin River, lit up at night, with riverside bars and restaurants close to the old city.
Chengdu in 2 days
Day 1
Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding
Research centre and breeding park north of the city where giant and red pandas live in large enclosures; best in the morning.
Wenshu Monastery
Active Buddhist monastery in the city centre, with old halls and incense, and a tea house and vegetarian restaurant in its grounds.
People's Park
Central city park with a lake, flower beds and busy tea houses where locals play mahjong and have their ears cleaned.
Du Fu Thatched Cottage
Museum park around the home of the Tang-dynasty poet Du Fu, with gardens, bamboo groves and recreated buildings.
Anshun Bridge
Covered bridge over the Jin River, lit up at night, with riverside bars and restaurants close to the old city.
Day 2
Dujiangyan
Irrigation system built around 256 BC that still controls the Min River, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a day trip from Chengdu.
Mount Qingcheng
Taoist mountain with temples and forest paths, listed by UNESCO with Dujiangyan, about an hour from Chengdu.
Chengdu in 3 days
Day 1
Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding
Research centre and breeding park north of the city where giant and red pandas live in large enclosures; best in the morning.
Wenshu Monastery
Active Buddhist monastery in the city centre, with old halls and incense, and a tea house and vegetarian restaurant in its grounds.
People's Park
Central city park with a lake, flower beds and busy tea houses where locals play mahjong and have their ears cleaned.
Day 2
Dujiangyan
Irrigation system built around 256 BC that still controls the Min River, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a day trip from Chengdu.
Mount Qingcheng
Taoist mountain with temples and forest paths, listed by UNESCO with Dujiangyan, about an hour from Chengdu.
Day 3
Du Fu Thatched Cottage
Museum park around the home of the Tang-dynasty poet Du Fu, with gardens, bamboo groves and recreated buildings.
Chunxi Road
Pedestrian shopping street in central Chengdu, lined with shops, restaurants and street food, busy in the evening.
Anshun Bridge
Covered bridge over the Jin River, lit up at night, with riverside bars and restaurants close to the old city.
Watch: Chengdu
A one-minute look at the plan: every stop, day by day, with the map.
When to go to Chengdu
Spring (March to May) and autumn (September to November) are the best seasons, with mild weather, though the city is often overcast and hazy. Summers are hot, humid and rainy, and winters are cool and damp. Pandas are most active in the cooler months, and Chinese national holidays in early October and around Lunar New Year bring very large crowds.
Plan the rest of your trip
- Where to stay: hotels in Chengdu on Booking.com or Trip.com
- Skip-the-line tickets: museums and sights in Chengdu on Tiqets
- Tours and day trips: things to do in Chengdu on GetYourGuide
- From the airport: a private transfer in Chengdu with Kiwitaxi
- Data on arrival: an eSIM for China from Airalo
Some of these are affiliate links: we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Tips for Chengdu
- Visit the Giant Panda base early in the morning, when the pandas are feeding and most active; arrive well before midday.
- Dujiangyan and Mount Qingcheng are a day trip from the city by high-speed train or bus; do not squeeze them into a day with other stops.
- Tea houses in People's Park are a good place to rest and watch local life; order tea and sit as long as you like.
- Chengdu is large and traffic is heavy, so group stops by area and use the metro, which is clean and easy to follow.
- Bring your passport for ticket offices and hotels, and carry a mobile payment option or cash, as many places prefer mobile payment.
Make it your own
Open the guide in Andiamo Places to see every stop on a map with walking directions, move places between days, check opening hours for your dates, and add your own finds. After the trip, your photos become a journal and, if you like, a printed photo book.
Guides are made with the help of AI and public sources such as Wikipedia, and may contain errors. Opening hours and prices change, so check before you go. Spotted a wrong photo, a pin in the wrong place, a missing stop or a better one? Write to andiamotravelapp@gmail.com: the e-mail opens with this guide filled in.
Photo credits
- Anshun Bridge: Limesave, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding: Kreisverkehrsampel, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Chunxi Road: BenBen, CC BY 1.0
- Du Fu Thatched Cottage: User:唐戈, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Dujiangyan: 星星, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Mount Qingcheng: unknown author, Public domain
- People's Park: Daderot, CC0
- Wenshu Monastery: Daderot, CC0
Opening hours change; check before you go. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
