When people talk about Chengdu, pandas are always on the agenda! That's only right, as the nearly-extinct pandas should thank Chengdu for offering them the best living conditions on earth, and for its massive efforts to help pandas with breeding and with training to live in the wild.
But we Chengdu people should also thank those cute pandas, as pandas have brought great renown to the city, attracting tens of thousands of visitors from all over the world!
Chengdu, however, has more than just pandas! You'll find that the city also has an amazing food culture, over 3,000 years of history, and a unique local lifestyle! If you only have one day and want to experience the best that Chengdu can offer, then this trip is just for you.
Tour Highlights
- Visit white-and-black cute pandas in Panda Breeding and Research Center.
- Experience the famous food most popular among Chengdu locals – Hot pot!
- Tea houses, earwax cleaning, playing mahjong… idle your time away in a local park like a native of Chengdu.
- Visit the backstage of Sichuan Opera tea house to explore the authentic local leisure activities.
The Design of the Day Trip
- No shopping, no tricks, no queuing… mini-groups of 6 participants make full use of your day with this well-designed itinerary to discover the city.
- Free hotel pick-up and drop-off. No more worries about the complicated traffic system in Chengdu.
- A local English-speaking guide will show you around, professional and passionate about making sure you have a wonderful day!
Trip Video Preview
Detailed Itinerary
You'll receive a welcome call from your guide via hotel, he/she will tell you the exact pick-up time for the next day's trip. If you are not available at that moment, the tour guide will leave a message for you.
Just in case that if you don't receive our emails or phone calls, please call our 24-hour hotline at +86-18807734970 or add WeChat ID: trippest666 and we will put things right.
The guide will be waiting in your hotel lobby (or at the appointed location) at the appointed time (usually between 7am and 8am) with a Trippest banner so that you can recognize him or her immediately. You'll join a group with no more than 10 members, a good size for a better tour experience.
Professional tour guide and our vehicle / Photo by: David Deng
Good to Know:
- In order to escape the crowds, the tour guide might inform you an earlier pickup time in the morning (at about 7am – 7:30am), you will be told by the tour guide in the welcome call.
- We offer free hotel pick-up and drop-off services if your hotel/airbnb/accommodation is within the 3rd ring road of Chengdu City. For further distances, there might be an extra cost for the transfer. Please provide your hotel information on the booking form.
- Our drivers are licensed and experienced with at least 5 years of driving experience to make sure you have a safe trip, while our vehicles are comfortable and spacious, equipped with a safety belt on every seat, air conditioners and unlimited bottled water.
After picking up all the group members we will head to our first destination – Chengdu Panda Base. As you know, Chengdu is a paradise for pandas. Now at least 5 places are opened to the public for seeing pandas in the city and its environs. In order to save your precious time and visit with a best possible experience, we choose Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding and Research Base (Chengdu Panda Base) as the first choice. You may also have a chance to see cute newborn panda babies here.
Chengdu Panda Base
Baby pandas
To make sure you have a better experience, we have designed the best possible routes to avoid crowds and queues, and save your time, so you have more time to see pandas and take photos!
Pandas are more than good-looking and cute, they are special! Join us to find out a full story of how do they live and why do they live in Sichuan. You might not know, the giant panda has been downgraded from endangered to vulnerable species. Follow your tour guide to learn more about what we have done and how human being to protect these cute nature treasures.
The Giant Panda
At the panda base
Good to Know:
- The best time to visit pandas is in the morning, as they are more active in the morning and they usually rest in the afternoon.
- Some panda houses are a little away from fencing. We suggest you bring a telephoto lens if possible, so you can capture panda details.
- Please DO NOT use flashlight. Particularly baby pandas, their eyes are very sensitive to light. Flashlight may well hurt them.
- Please DO NOT feed them with your own food. Your food is not good for them. They have their own daily diet.
- Please DO NOT shout loudly at them, just still looking and respect their living habits, they don't like being disturbed.
It's about 40-minute driving back to Chengdu downtown. We'll drive to a local restaurant to have a Chengdu Hot pot lunch. Lunch fee is not included in the pricing.
While in Chengdu you should not miss hot-pot! It is not only a meal but also a local cultural phenomenon. Because of the hot and humid weather in summer and cold and wet weather in winter, Chengdu locals love to eat hot-pot, especially spicy hot-pot, as hot-pot helps to remove the moisture in your body to keep you healthy.
Nowadays there are hot-pot restaurants in almost every street in Chengdu, more than 30,000 in the city, and now hot-pot is famous the world over. You may have seen hot-pot restaurants in your own country, right?
Today we'll head to one of the most famous hot-pot restaurants in Chengdu, highly recommended by local people, to experience the original Chengdu hot-pot.
Hot-pot in Chengdu
Good to Know:
- Don't like spicy food? Don't know how to use chopsticks? Don't know how to order hotpot or understand table manners while having hot-pot? Don't worry, we have considered all these questions. We can order two-flavor hot-pot, allowing you to taste both spicy and non-spicy flavors. Your guide will help you order food and help you eat hot-pot like a local.
- Locals in Chengdu like to eat hot-pot in the evening. That's why you'll see long lines of people queuing for food. But we'll have hot-pot at midday so we don't have to wait, and we'll enjoy it in a more comfortable environment.
In the grass-root style opera house, lots of old fans gather round here everyday, meet up friends and enjoy the show. You can be one of them, watching the performance and drinking tea. But the most interesting part of this place, you have a chance to go into their backstage to see how the actors and actresses make up and rehearse.
Good to Know:
- What do they sing? Just some stories from ancient times down to now. Performers tell audiences about these stories in exaggerated and theatrical ways. The tour guide will make a brief introduction to you when the show is on.
- We usually call these venerable performers “Masters”. They are respected. And they're happy to teach Sichuan Opera if you have great interest. You can also pay 128 yuan per person to try on opera costumes and do a little opera makeup (This part is optional and the fee is on your own expense.).
- You won't see the celebrated artistic performances like changing faces, rolling light, etc, because Chengdu locals don't watch these perfomances in every day life.
Local opera troupers in Chengdu
Actors and actresses are making up at the backstage
Rehearsal before the show
After the opera show, we'll head to Chengdu People's Park and you'll see how Chengdu locals spend their free time and observe their unique culture and leisurely lifestyle.
You'll see people gathering in tea houses, drinking tea, and playing mahjong. You'll see earwax-cleaning services, old ladies singing and dancing, and parents putting advertisements in the marriage market for their adult children.
Slow down, and put down your burdens. Let's have a cup of tea and enjoy life just as these Chengdu locals do!
Tea house in the People's Park
Playing mahjong and drinking tea in Chengdu People's Park
Ear-wax cleaning in Chengdu
Marriage market in Chengdu
After visiting Chengdu People's Park our trip comes to an end. You will be dropped off at your hotel (or other appointed place).
Night Activity Recommendation: (This is not included in the itinerary)
Chengdu people have a colorful nightlife. In addition to all kinds of modern pubs and bars, you can see there are many theaters in Chengdu. Sichuan Opera is very popular in the city.
We recommend that you watch Sichuan Opera in Shu Feng Ya Yun. You'll have a chance to experience the celebrated changing faces, hand concepts, suona horns and all kinds of distinctive local arts performed by local Chengdu artists. Amazing and funny!
Sichuan Opera
Good to Know:
- This play starts at about 8 pm and lasts about 1.5 hours.
- In order have a better experience we suggest you book VIP ticket, which cost 320 yuan.
- If you would like to watch this opera please feel free to ask your guide to help you book tickets. Your guide will escort you for the whole show and finally send you back to your hotel in Chengdu. If you choose to watch the show, your guide can also recommend a restaurant for dinner nearby (this isn't included in the price).
- Please note that if you decide to watch the show it means you agree to give up taking our vehicle back to your hotel. You'll need to pay the taxi fee back to your hotel, which usually costs around 30–50 yuan.
Share Your Experiences
- We encourage you to share your happy experiences of the day with friends on Facebook or via TripAdvisor. This gives more people the chance to see the beautiful scenery of Chengdu. Follow us on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/trippest/ for updates and our trip photos. We hope to see you again soon.
Price Include:
- Admission to Panda bases and local opera tea house.
- Transport between attractions, including pickup and return to your hotel.
- English-speaking local guide service.
- Tea and snacks at Chengdu People's park.
Price Exclude:
- Lunch.
- Ticket to watch the Sichuan Opera (Shu Feng Ya Yun) at night.
- Personal expenses.
- Gratuities to your tour guide & driver (usually CNY 50 - 100 per person). It is not compulsory but would be a great encouragement for them.
FAQs About This Tour
The hotel collection and drop-off areas will be within the 3rd Ring Road of Chengdu.
For further distances, you need to hire a taxi to the appointed hotel which your tour guide will tell you the day before the trip.
Hotel Pick-up and Drop-off Area Map of Chengdu City
- If we are not able to implement the contract due to war, flood, typhoon, fire, strikes, storm, earthquake, or any other condition we are not able to foresee and avoid, we will inform customers at the first possible opportunity and offer the best possible solutions, and the final bill shall be settled based on the service we actually provide.
- Up to 7 days before departure: 100% refund of all money paid, excluding penalties charged by hotels, railways, airlines, and PayPal, if applicable. All penalties will be itemized.
- From 3 to 7 days before departure: 90% refund, excluding penalties charged by hotels, railways, airlines, and PayPal, if applicable. All penalties will be itemized.
- Within 3 days before departure: no refund.
- After the trip has commenced, we are unable to refund any amount for canceled services due to non-participation, early departure, late arrival, or missed days on tours.
- For groups of more than 10 people: The terms of cancellation may vary from case to case. Please ask your travel advisor regarding the cancellation policy for your group.
In order to making sure we have enough time to arrange your trip and make sure the availability we usually require customer make their booking at least 24 hours in advance and that's why you can not book directly on-line for a 24-hour last-minute booking.
But that does not mean you have no chance to book a last-minute trip within 24 hours. For urgent booking, please make a phone call to us at: +86-18807734970 to check the availability (usually it is available ) or send an email (not recommended as you may not get the response immediately) at: inquiry@trippest.com
Due to state control of internet security in China, many popular websites and APPs are blocked, such as Google, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, WhatsApp etc. It is very possible that you may not be able to receive your emails and other important information. For this reason, we highly recommend you to sign up for a VPN service(for example, ExpressVPN) before your trip, to make sure you can connect to the global internet.
Mobile: +86 18807734970
WeChat: trippest666
Email: niko@trippest.com