China: Sichuan's Pandas, Jiuzhaigou and Emeishan

1. Jour 1 : Arrive in Chengdu

   Chengdu Tianfu (TFU) or Shuangliu (CTU) airport to central Chengdu, then the Kuanzhai Alleys

   • Environ 1 h de route
   • Welcome dinner
   • Nuit : Chengdu
   Détail du jour 1

   We meet you at Chengdu Tianfu International Airport (TFU), about an hour from the centre, or Shuangliu (CTU), about forty minutes, and drive you to a central hotel near Tianfu Square or the Kuanzhai Alleys. The afternoon is free to rest after the flight. In the early evening the group meets for a briefing on the week ahead: the early start for the pandas, the train up to Jiuzhaigou, what altitude feels like, how to pay with your phone in China and why you carry your passport each day. Then your guide walks you through the Kuanzhai Alleys, three restored Qing-era lanes of grey-brick courtyard houses, lit up after dark, to a local restaurant for a welcome dinner of Sichuan dishes shared around one table: mapo tofu, twice-cooked pork, dan dan noodles, and milder plates for anyone still getting used to the chili and the numbing Sichuan pepper. If your flight lands late, we meet you at breakfast instead.

   Compris

   • Pick-up at Chengdu Tianfu (TFU) or Shuangliu (CTU) airport
   • Evening briefing with your guide
   • Walk through the Kuanzhai Alleys
   • Welcome dinner of Sichuan dishes

   Temps libre : Afternoon free to rest

   Activité : Land by about 4 pm to join the briefing and dinner.

   

2. Jour 2 : Pandas at opening, a cooking class and Sichuan opera

   Chengdu to the giant panda base and back, a cooking class, People's Park, then Sichuan opera

   • Environ 1 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Chengdu
   Détail du jour 2

   Giant pandas are most active in the cool of the morning, when keepers bring fresh bamboo, so we leave at 7 am for the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, about half an hour north of the centre, and walk in as it opens at 7:30. Tickets are booked ahead in your name. Paths wind through bamboo groves past outdoor enclosures, where adults feed, climb and doze, and the nursery houses, where young pandas are often on view. Red pandas have their own wooded area. By late morning the pandas settle down to sleep, and we drive back into the city to a neighbourhood market with a local cooking school, buying chilies, Sichuan pepper and greens from the stalls, then cook kung pao chicken and mapo tofu, which become lunch. In the afternoon we sit with locals in a People's Park teahouse over jasmine tea, mahjong clattering around us. After a free hour, the evening is Sichuan opera, with fire-breathing and the masks of face-changing switching in a blink.

   Compris

   • The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding at opening, with your guide
   • Market visit and Sichuan cooking class, with lunch
   • Tea in a People's Park teahouse
   • Sichuan opera with face-changing

   Option plus facile : The panda base has shuttle carts between the main areas, so you can ride instead of walking the hills.

   Temps libre : Late afternoon free before the opera; dinner your choice

   Activité : About 2 to 3 hours on foot at the base on paved, gently sloping paths.

   

3. Jour 3 : High-speed train to Jiuzhaigou

   Chengdu to Huanglong Jiuzhai station by high-speed train, then by road to Jiuzhaigou

   • Environ 2.5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Jiuzhaigou
   Détail du jour 3

   After breakfast our vehicle takes the group and the luggage to the station, and your guide steers everyone through the ticket and security checks. The high-speed line to Jiuzhaigou opened in 2024 and cut a ten-hour mountain drive to a train ride of about two hours, depending on the train, climbing out of the Sichuan Basin through long tunnels into the valleys of the Min River and onto the high plateau. At Huanglong Jiuzhai station, at roughly 3,000 m, our vehicle meets us for the drive of about an hour and three quarters, down through Tibetan and Qiang villages with prayer flags strung over the river, to Zhangzha, the small town at the gate of Jiuzhaigou, at about 2,000 m. Lunch is your choice when we arrive. The afternoon is deliberately free, to rest and let your body adjust to the height before tomorrow's long day. In the evening we eat together at a local restaurant: yak meat, highland barley bread and butter tea beside Sichuan dishes.

   Compris

   • Transfer to the Chengdu station with your guide
   • Reserved seats on the high-speed train to Huanglong Jiuzhai
   • Transfer from the station to Jiuzhaigou
   • Dinner of local Tibetan and Sichuan dishes

   Temps libre : Afternoon free to rest and adjust to the altitude

   Activité : The station sits higher than Jiuzhaigou town; take the steps slowly and drink water.

4. Jour 4 : A full day in the Jiuzhaigou valley

   Jiuzhaigou park gate by park bus to the head of the Rize valley, down to Nuorilang, Long Lake, then down the Shuzheng valley

   • Environ 30 min de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Jiuzhaigou
   Détail du jour 4

   Jiuzhaigou, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a Y-shaped set of valleys of turquoise lakes, travertine shoals and waterfalls under forested peaks. We are at the gate as it opens, with tickets booked ahead in your name, and ride the park bus straight to the top of the Rize valley while most visitors start at the bottom. From there we walk the boardwalks downhill: Arrow Bamboo Lake, Panda Lake, Five Flower Lake with its fallen trees visible through the clear water, then Pearl Shoal, where water spills in a wide sheet over a tilted travertine bed. Lunch is at Nuorilang, the hub where the valleys meet. In the afternoon the bus takes us up the Zechawa valley to Long Lake, the highest at about 3,060 m, and the Five-Coloured Pool, then we finish on foot down the Shuzheng valley past Nuorilang Falls and the lakes below. Back at the hotel by late afternoon; the evening is free.

   Compris

   • Jiuzhaigou entry and the park bus, at opening, with your guide
   • The Rize valley: Arrow Bamboo Lake, Panda Lake, Five Flower Lake and Pearl Shoal
   • The Zechawa valley: Long Lake and the Five-Coloured Pool
   • The Shuzheng valley and Nuorilang Falls
   • Lunch at Nuorilang

   Option plus facile : Ride the park bus between each group of lakes and walk only the short boardwalks at each stop.

   Option plus active : Walk the whole Shuzheng valley boardwalk from Nuorilang down to the lower lakes, about 2 to 3 hours.

   Temps libre : Evening free

   Activité : About 5 to 6 hours on foot, mostly level or downhill boardwalk, at 2,000 to about 3,060 m. Some areas have been closed for repairs since the 2017 earthquake; we follow whatever is open on the day.

   

5. Jour 5 : Back down the mountains to Leshan

   Jiuzhaigou to Huanglong Jiuzhai station, the high-speed train to Chengdu, then by road to Leshan

   • Environ 4 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Leshan
   Détail du jour 5

   A slower morning with a late breakfast, then our vehicle takes us back up to Huanglong Jiuzhai station, about an hour and three quarters, for the high-speed train down to Chengdu, about two hours. The ride and the road are split by the train, so no one sits in a vehicle for long. In Chengdu we sit down to lunch near the station, a bowl of noodles or a plate of Sichuan dumplings, while our vehicle loads the luggage, then drive about two hours south across the Sichuan Basin to Leshan, where three rivers meet: the Min, the Dadu and the Qingyi. We check in at a hotel near the river front in the late afternoon, and at dusk your guide walks the group along the embankment and into the lanes for a dinner of Leshan snacks: bobo chicken, skewers dipped from a pot of cold chili oil, sweet-skin duck and qiaojiao beef soup. The night is short; the Buddha opens early.

   Compris

   • Transfer to Huanglong Jiuzhai station
   • Reserved seats on the high-speed train to Chengdu
   • Lunch in Chengdu
   • Transfer from Chengdu to Leshan
   • River-front walk and a dinner of Leshan snacks

   Temps libre : Late evening free

   Activité : The longest transit day, about 3.75 hours by road in two parts with the train and lunch between. The train and Chengdu legs can be swapped for a Chengdu to Leshan high-speed train if timetables suit.

6. Jour 6 : The Leshan Giant Buddha, then up Emeishan

   Leshan Giant Buddha and a river boat, Baoguo Temple, then by scenic-area bus and the Jinding cableway, or the route open on the day, to the Golden Summit

   • Environ 2.5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Emeishan Golden Summit
   Détail du jour 6

   We are at the Leshan Giant Buddha as it opens, before the queue on the Nine-Turn Plank Road builds. Carved into the red sandstone cliff over about ninety years from 713, the seated Buddha is 71 m tall, its toes taller than a person. We stand by its head beside Lingyun Temple, then take the stair cut into the cliff down to its feet. Afterwards a river boat swings out in front of the cliff for the full face-on view. We drive about 45 minutes to Baoguo, the town at the foot of Emeishan, one of China's four sacred Buddhist mountains, for a vegetarian lunch and a walk round Baoguo Temple. In the afternoon the scenic-area bus climbs to the upper bus station, and a stepped path of about 1.5 km and the Jinding cableway, or whichever route is open on the day, take us to the Golden Summit at 3,079 m for sunset. Dinner and the night are at a guesthouse on top, confirmed once the summit route is.

   Compris

   • The Leshan Giant Buddha at opening, with your guide, and the Nine-Turn Plank Road
   • River boat past the Buddha
   • Vegetarian lunch and Baoguo Temple
   • Emeishan scenic-area entry and bus
   • The Jinding cableway, or the route open on the day, to the Golden Summit
   • Sunset at the Golden Summit
   • Dinner at the summit

   Option plus facile : Skip the cliff stair and see the Buddha from the head and the boat; take a sedan chair on the stepped path below the cableway.

   Option plus active : Walk the stone path to the summit instead of the cableway, about an hour of steady steps, where it is open.

   Activité : The plank road is steep and narrow, several hundred steps. The summit is cold even in summer: bring a warm layer, or rent a padded coat at the top. Emeishan's summit cableway and upper bus station are being rebuilt; we confirm the route before your dates.

   

7. Jour 7 : Dawn on the Golden Summit, down past Wannian Temple

   Golden Summit at dawn, down by cableway (or the route open) and scenic-area bus to Wannian, Wannian Temple by cable car, the walk to Qingyin Pavilion, then Baoguo

   • Environ 1.5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Emeishan
   Détail du jour 7

   Your guide knocks before dawn, and we walk a few minutes to the terrace below the gilded statue of Samantabhadra, the bodhisattva of this mountain, to watch the sun come up over the sea of clouds. On clear mornings the snow peaks of the Gongga range stand on the western skyline; on cloudy ones the clouds below are the show. Breakfast warms everyone up, then the cableway, or the route open on the day, and the scenic-area bus take us down to Wannian. A second cable car climbs to Wannian Temple, whose domed brick hall shelters a bronze Samantabhadra on a white elephant cast in 980. Lunch is on the mountain, then the cable car takes us back down and a forest path of about forty minutes from the Wannian car park, past streams and the Tibetan macaques of the lower slopes, leads to Qingyin Pavilion, where two streams meet. The bus takes us down to a hotel in Baoguo for a rest, and the group meets for a farewell dinner.

   Compris

   • Sunrise at the Golden Summit
   • Cableway, or the route open on the day, and scenic-area bus down to Wannian
   • The Wannian cable car up to Wannian Temple and back
   • Wannian Temple with your guide
   • Lunch on the mountain
   • The forest walk to Qingyin Pavilion
   • Farewell dinner

   Option plus facile : Skip the walk to Qingyin Pavilion and take the bus straight down to Baoguo for a longer rest.

   Option plus active : Climb the stone steps between the Wannian car park and Wannian Temple instead of the cable car, where your guide confirms the path is open and the day allows.

   Temps libre : Late afternoon free

   Activité : Keep food and plastic bags out of sight on the lower paths: the macaques grab them.

   

8. Jour 8 : Depart from Chengdu

   A free morning in Baoguo, then by road to Chengdu Tianfu (TFU) or Shuangliu (CTU) airport

   • Environ 3 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner
   Détail du jour 8

   The last morning is yours, with no early start after the summit dawn. Breakfast at the hotel, then time for a last walk to Baoguo Temple, a cup of Emei's own green tea, or a soak at one of the hot-spring hotels at the foot of the mountain. Late in the morning, or at the time your flight needs, our vehicle drives you back to Chengdu: about two and a quarter hours to Shuangliu (CTU) and about two and three quarters to Tianfu (TFU), on the expressway across the flat farmland of the basin. If you would rather spend an extra night in Chengdu, for the Wenshu Monastery, a hotpot supper or another morning with the pandas, we can add a night at the trip hotel and drop you in the city instead. For international flights, book a departure after about 4:30 pm, which lets us leave Baoguo around 10 am and gives you three hours at the airport.

   Compris

   • Drop-off at Chengdu Tianfu (TFU) or Shuangliu (CTU) airport, or at a hotel in central Chengdu

   Temps libre : Morning free

   Activité : Book a flight leaving after about 4:30 pm; for an earlier flight we leave earlier and give up part of the free morning.

Faune et météo : April to June brings green valleys and full waterfalls in Jiuzhaigou and mild days in Chengdu; September and October bring clearer air, and in about mid to late October the forests around Jiuzhaigou's lakes turn red and gold. July and August are hot and humid in the Sichuan Basin and wet in the mountains, with a risk of landslides closing roads. Winter is cold on Emeishan, often icy at the summit, and some Jiuzhaigou waterfalls freeze. The summit is near freezing at dawn in any month, and cloud can hide the sunrise; the sea of clouds below often makes up for it. Pandas are most active in the cool of the morning. Emeishan's Tibetan macaques live along the lower paths: keep food out of sight. We avoid the holiday weeks in early May and early October, when Jiuzhaigou reaches its daily cap.

• Chengdu2 nuits
• Jiuzhaigou2 nuits
• Leshan1 nuit
• Emeishan Golden Summit1 nuit
• Emeishan1 nuit