3 Days in Chengdu: A Day-by-Day Itinerary from Pandas to Leshan

Three days in Chengdu works best as two days in the city and one day out of it. Day 1 is the giant pandas at opening time, then an afternoon in a teahouse, Kuanzhai Alley at dusk, then hotpot or a Sichuan opera show. Day 2 is Wuhou Shrine and Jinli Ancient Street, Du Fu Thatched Cottage and the Chunxi Road shopping area, with the riverside at Jiuyan Bridge in the evening. Day 3 is a train trip to either the Leshan Giant Buddha or Dujiangyan and Mount Qingcheng. The one thing you must sort out before you fly is the panda base: every ticket is sold online in advance, in the visitor's own name, and a day can sell out. Everything else can be arranged around that booking.

How the plan works, and what to book before you go

The route follows three simple rules. First, the pandas go first thing on Day 1. They are much livelier in the cool early hours, and in hot weather the base moves them into shade or back indoors. If you arrive at lunchtime, you will mostly see sleeping pandas. Second, each day stays in one part of town. The panda base is in the north-east on Metro Line 3. The Day 1 old town sights (Wenshu Monastery, People's Park, Kuanzhai Alley) are one or two metro stops apart, north-west of the centre. Day 2 starts in the south-west at Wuhou Shrine and Du Fu's cottage, then moves east to Chunxi Road for the evening. Third, Day 3 is one trip, not two. Leshan and Dujiangyan are in different directions and leave from different stations, and each takes a full day. If you want both, add a fourth day.

For a three-day stay, the easiest base is along Metro Line 2 between People's Park and Chunxi Road. From there, Line 2 runs east to Chengdu East station (trains to Leshan) and west to Xipu (trains to Dujiangyan and Qingcheng), so both Day 3 options start with one metro ride. Six stations on Line 2's eastern section are closed for construction and expected to reopen around October 2026 (check Chengdu Metro notices), but Chengdu East itself is on the part of the line that is still running. You can compare hotels in the People's Park and Chunxi Road area on Booking.com. Pick one that clearly says it accepts foreign passports; our guide to hotel booking and registration rules explains why this matters.

Here is what to book and when, counting back from your arrival:

• As soon as you have dates: a 12306 railway account. Day 3 needs train tickets, and 12306 (China Railway's booking site) only lets you buy once your identity check shows "passed". Foreign passport holders can pass it by uploading a photo of the passport, or by going to a station ticket window in person. The English version of 12306 accepts foreign passports. Our guide on how to book train tickets walks through the account setup.
• 15 days before Day 3: train tickets go on sale. Tickets are sold up to 15 days ahead, counting the travel day. Each station sets its own release time, so there is no single national moment to wait for. Both day-trip routes have many trains a day, so outside holidays you rarely need to book at the 15-day mark. During national holidays, book as soon as sales open.
• 14 days before Day 1: the panda base. The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding sells all tickets online, in the visitor's real name, up to 14 days ahead, with a cap of 85,000 visitors a day. The official channels are the base's WeChat account and mini-program, plus authorised platforms: Trip.com, Meituan, Douyin, Tongcheng and the "Chengdu Scenic Area Express" (成都景区直通车) WeChat account. The base's English ticket page links to Trip.com, which is the easiest route if you do not use WeChat. You can book it through Trip.com. Choose the morning slot. On the day, passport holders use the separate lane marked "Lane for Passport & Other Documents".
• 14 days before Day 2: Wuhou Shrine and Du Fu Thatched Cottage. Wuhou Shrine Museum sells tickets 14 days ahead on its official website or WeChat account; foreign visitors book with their passport, and one passport gets one ticket per visiting day. Du Fu Thatched Cottage Museum also takes real-name bookings 14 days ahead on its WeChat account, and its official website has a "foreign visitor tickets" link that goes to Trip.com. If you booked with a passport, go to the ticket window with it to collect a paper ticket.
• A few days before, or on the day: your Day 3 sight. Leshan Giant Buddha tickets are sold in the "大佛旅游" (Dàfó Lǚyóu) mini-program on WeChat or Alipay and at the ticket halls and gate windows on site; it is not clear whether passports work online, so check first or plan to buy at a window. For Dujiangyan and Mount Qingcheng, on ordinary days you can usually buy tickets on the day; on holidays, buy ahead in the scenic area's WeChat account "青城山都江堰" or on a travel platform.
• No booking needed: Wenshu Monastery (free, no booking needed), People's Park, Jinli Ancient Street outside the Spring Festival fair, Kuanzhai Alley and Chunxi Road.

For every sight's ticket price, hours and closing day in one table, see our Chengdu travel guide. The days below follow that table in route order.

Day 1: Pandas at opening, a teahouse afternoon, Kuanzhai Alley at dusk

Morning: Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding

Be at the gate when it opens. From March to October, morning tickets allow entry from 7:30 to 12:00; from November to February, from 8:00 to 12:00. An adult ticket costs 55 yuan, students pay 27 yuan, and children under 6 or under 1.3 m get in free without booking. The ticket is good for one entry in the half-day slot you booked.

Getting there: take Metro Line 3 north to Panda Avenue (熊猫大道, Xióngmāo Dàdào), leave by exit A and take the 408 shuttle bus to the South Gate. The other option is one stop further, Chengdu Junqu General Hospital (军区总医院), exit B, where the 409 shuttle reaches the West Gate in about 10 minutes. Most Chengdu metro lines start between about 6:00 and 6:20 at their first station, so an opening-time arrival is realistic from a central hotel. A taxi from Chunxi Road takes 25–35 minutes and costs around 40 yuan, according to the base's own guide. There are also direct "scenic area express" tourist buses from Chunxi Road and Kuanzhai Alley.

Inside: the base is large and hilly. The sightseeing cart costs 30 yuan, works all day from any stop, and is free for children under 6 or under 1.3 m (they do not get a seat). It is worth it with children, older travellers, or on a hot day. Walk the adult enclosures and the nursery houses first, while the pandas are still eating and moving. Two things to know:

• As a trial, the busy Villa No. 6 area closes every Monday, except on public holidays; the rest of the base stays open.
• On hot days, look for the villas with indoor viewing: Villas 1, 2, 3 and 7, the Sun, Moon and Star nursery houses and the Panda Living Room.

The Panda Tower inside the base is open 9:00–17:00 and is free, but you still need an online reservation for it. Three to four hours is enough for most people. Leave in the late morning, when the pandas settle down to sleep and the paths get crowded.

Early afternoon: Wenshu Monastery or People's Park

Pick one teahouse stop. Both are good; they suit different moods.

Wenshu Monastery (文殊院, Wénshū Yuàn) is a working Buddhist temple with courtyards, incense and monks, and there are small noodle shops in the lanes around it for lunch. It is open 8:00–17:00. From the panda base, take Line 3 south to Chunxi Road, change to Line 2 for one stop west to Tianfu Square, then take Line 1 two stops north to Wenshu Monastery.

People's Park (人民公园, Rénmín Gōngyuán) has been free since 2004. It is the classic picture of Chengdu life: retirees playing cards, dancing and singing, and the open-air Heming Teahouse (鹤鸣茶社) by the lake, where you sit in a bamboo chair with a lidded cup of tea for as long as you like. The cheapest time is early morning: from 6:30 to 8:30 a cup costs 3 yuan. Later in the day the price is higher, so check the price board at the counter. The stage shows at the teahouse (face-changing, storytelling and the long-spout teapot pour) are free for anyone having tea, except the 20:00 evening show. From the panda base, take Line 3 south to Chunxi Road and change to Line 2 west for two stops to People's Park.

Late afternoon and evening: Kuanzhai Alley, then hotpot or opera

Kuanzhai Alley (宽窄巷子, Kuānzhǎi Xiàngzi) is three parallel lanes of restored courtyard houses: Wide Alley, Narrow Alley and Well Alley. They are full of snack stalls, teahouses and shops. It is touristy, but the lanes look their best when the lanterns come on, so late afternoon into dusk is the right time. From Wenshu Monastery, take Line 1 one stop south to Luomashi, then change to Line 4 for one stop west to Kuanzhaixiangzi Alleys station. From People's Park it is a short walk north.

Walk the lanes at dusk rather than filling up on snacks there, then choose one of two evenings:

• Hotpot (火锅, huǒguō). If you are unsure about the spice, order a split pot (鸳鸯锅, yuānyāng guō) with a mild broth on one side. Our Chengdu food guide covers where to go and how to order.
• Sichuan opera with face-changing (变脸, biànliǎn). Shufeng Yayun (蜀风雅韵), in the Culture Park (文化公园) on Qintai Road, is a short DiDi ride from Kuanzhai Alley, which is why the opera fits best on this evening. There is a show every night at 20:00; you go in 30 minutes early, extra shows are added on holidays, and the ticket includes a cup of lidded tea. Ticket prices and package options (some include ear cleaning or costume dress-up) are on the theatre's booking page, so check them when you book. Eat an early dinner first, and show the driver the Chinese name. Do not confuse the Culture Park with the Cultural Palace (文化宫) metro station; they are different places. If you already watched the free stage shows at Heming Teahouse in the afternoon, pick hotpot instead.

Day 2: Wuhou Shrine and Jinli, Du Fu Thatched Cottage, Chunxi Road

Morning: Wuhou Shrine Museum and Jinli Ancient Street

Wuhou Shrine (武侯祠, Wǔhóu Cí) honours Zhuge Liang, the strategist of the Three Kingdoms period. You do not need to know the history: the red walls, old cypress trees and statues of generals are enjoyable on their own. It is open 9:00–18:00, with last entry at 17:00, and the hours are longer in the summer holidays; check the museum's notice for the current summer times. A full ticket costs 50 yuan; half price is 25 yuan for visitors aged 7 to 18 (foreign minors included) and eligible full-time students. The museum's ticket page has the booking link. Allow one to one and a half hours.

Getting there: take Metro Line 10 to Wuhouci (Jinli) station, exit A2, a three-minute walk; or take Line 3 or Line 5 to Gaoshengqiao, exit A, about ten minutes on foot.

Jinli Ancient Street (锦里, Jǐnlǐ) is right next to the shrine. It is free on normal days and open 8:00–22:30, with most shops trading 9:00–22:00. Late morning, straight after the shrine, is its quietest time, and it is the easiest place to graze on snacks for lunch. The exception is the Spring Festival temple fair, when Jinli becomes part of a single ticketed area with the shrine.

Afternoon: Du Fu Thatched Cottage Museum

Du Fu Thatched Cottage (杜甫草堂, Dù Fǔ Cǎotáng) is a garden park built around the home of the Tang-dynasty poet Du Fu. It has bamboo paths, ponds and a rebuilt thatched cottage, and it is calmer than Wuhou Shrine. The simplest way there from Jinli is a short DiDi ride (see our DiDi guide to set it up in English). The museum is open 9:00–18:00, ticket sales stop at 17:00, and it has no regular closing day. A full ticket is 50 yuan and a half-price ticket is 25 yuan. Plan on an hour and a half.

Many older itineraries send you to the Jinsha Site Museum at this point instead. It is closed for a full renovation from 5 December 2025 to 30 April 2027, so leave it out.

Evening: Chunxi Road and Taikoo Li, then Jiuyan Bridge

From Du Fu Thatched Cottage station, ride Metro Line 13 east to Xinnanmen and change to Line 3 for one stop north to Chunxi Road. Chunxi Road (春熙路, Chūnxī Lù) is the main shopping street. The low-rise Taikoo Li (太古里) complex next to it is built around the old Daci Temple, and the IFS mall on the corner has the big panda sculpture climbing its outer wall. Walk around at dusk and have dinner here; if you went to the opera on Day 1, tonight is a good night for hotpot.

Jiuyan Bridge (九眼桥, Jiǔyǎn Qiáo). After dinner, head to Jiuyan Bridge, the riverside bar area, lit up at night and relaxed. It is one stop past Xinnanmen on Line 13, or a short taxi ride from Chunxi Road.

If you skipped the opera on Day 1 and still want it, you can go tonight; the theatre is back on the west side of the centre, so take a DiDi straight from dinner.

Day 3: Leshan Giant Buddha, or Dujiangyan and Mount Qingcheng

Choose one. Leshan is one huge sight: a Buddha carved into a riverside cliff, seen on foot or from a boat. Dujiangyan and Qingcheng give you two smaller things: an ancient irrigation system that still works, and a forested Taoist mountain with stone steps. Leave on an early train either way. For more detail on both, and on Panda Valley and Mount Emei, read our Chengdu day trips guide. Mount Emei needs more planning than it used to: the bus up to Leidongping (for the Golden Summit) now takes timed, real-name bookings up to 15 days ahead, passports accepted, and Golden Summit tickets are capped at 8,000 a day while the cable car and bus station are rebuilt.

Option A: Leshan Giant Buddha

Train: trains to Leshan leave mainly from Chengdu East (成都东, Chéngdū Dōng), with some from Chengdu South. Take Metro Line 2 to Chengdu East Railway station. There are about 78 direct trains a day, and most take 46–60 minutes; the first leaves around 05:55, and the last train back from Leshan is around 23:07. Second-class seats cost about 26–63 yuan depending on the train, because fares float; check the day's price on 12306. At the station, passport holders go through the staffed lane, not the automatic gates.

From Leshan station: buses K1 and 3 start at the high-speed rail station and run to the Giant Buddha scenic area; confirm the stop and fare on arrival. A taxi or DiDi is the easy alternative.

Tickets and hours: the daytime climbing ticket for the Leshan Giant Buddha costs 80 yuan and covers the walking route to the Buddha; children under 1.2 m or under 6 go free. The scenic area is open 7:30–18:30 from 1 April to 7 October and 8:00–17:30 the rest of the year, with no fixed closing day. An electric shuttle links the south and north visitor centres, at 10 yuan a ride or 15 yuan for the day.

On foot or by boat: this is the main decision. The Nine-Turn Plank Road, the famous cliff staircase beside the Buddha, is closed for maintenance. Walkers now go down to the Buddha's feet by the Lingyun Plank Road instead. On foot you see the head up close from the top and the feet from the bottom, but never the whole figure at once, and the paths down can be slow on busy days. The boat shows you the entire Buddha from the river. It costs 70 yuan and sails on a rolling schedule (boarding 08:30–17:30 in the winter season, 8 October to 31 March; summer times are announced each spring), and changes with water levels and weather. Our advice: if you have the whole day, do both, with the walk first and the boat after. If the queues are long or you are short on time, the boat alone still gives you the view people come for.

Option B: Dujiangyan Irrigation System and Mount Qingcheng

Train: the Chengdu–Dujiangyan line (成灌铁路) leaves mainly from Xipu (犀浦), the western end of Metro Line 2, with a few trains from Chengdu East, Chengdu West or Chengdu South. From Xipu it is about 20–30 minutes to Dujiangyan (around 40 trains a day) and 23–35 minutes to Qingchengshan (around 48 a day), with second-class fares from 10 yuan. The last trains back leave Qingchengshan around 23:08 and Dujiangyan around 23:18, both to Xipu. The few trains from Chengdu East take over an hour, so Xipu is the better start. From either station, take a taxi or DiDi to the scenic area gate.

Order: do Mount Qingcheng in the morning, while it is cool, and Dujiangyan in the afternoon, because it stays open later. The Front Mountain of Qingcheng opens 8:30–17:30 from May to September (last tickets 17:00) and 8:30–17:00 the rest of the year; Dujiangyan is open 8:00–18:00 in summer and 8:00–17:30 in winter, with ticket sales stopping 30 minutes before closing. Qingcheng's Front Mountain and Dujiangyan are 80 yuan each (the cable car is extra); the official account shows the current price. To get from Mount Qingcheng to Dujiangyan at midday, take a taxi or DiDi between the two gates. The scenic area's service line is +86 28 96526.

For tickets, opening hours and how to get there, see Leshan Giant Buddha.

Getting around: metro lines, stations and last trains

Paying: since 28 July 2025 you can tap a foreign Visa, Mastercard or American Express card, or a UnionPay card, directly on Chengdu metro gates, as long as it is a contactless chip card; the ticket machines also accept these cards for single tickets and day passes. This is the easiest option for visitors. The QR ride codes in the Chengdu Metro, Tianfu Tong and Tianfu Citizen Cloud apps give a small discount, but registering them with a foreign phone number or card is not straightforward. Fares go by distance, from 2 yuan. A 1-day pass costs 20 yuan and a 3-day pass 50 yuan; on this plan, with Day 3 spent mostly on trains, paying per ride with your card usually works out about the same, so a pass is only worth it if you ride a lot.

Lines by day:

• Day 1: Line 3 to Panda Avenue; Line 3 back to Chunxi Road, Line 2 one stop to Tianfu Square, then Line 1 two stops to Wenshu Monastery (or stay on Line 2 two stops to People's Park); Line 1 to Luomashi, then Line 4 to Kuanzhaixiangzi Alleys.
• Day 2: Line 10 to Wuhouci (Jinli), or Line 3/5 to Gaoshengqiao; DiDi to Du Fu Thatched Cottage; Line 13 to Xinnanmen, then Line 3 to Chunxi Road.
• Day 3: Line 2 east to Chengdu East Railway for Leshan, or Line 2 west to Xipu for Dujiangyan and Qingcheng. Chengdu West station (Lines 4 and 9) is mostly for slow trains to Emei, with only a few Dujiangyan trains, so do not go there by mistake.

You can plan any of these trips with our Chengdu metro route planner. the WaysChina app

Last trains: most lines run their last train from the first station between 22:30 and 23:30. On Line 3 at Panda Avenue, the last train toward Shuangliu West is at 23:13 and toward Chengdu Medical College at 23:49. Service often runs later on holidays; check the official notice on the day. If you take one of the last trains back from Leshan or Qingchengshan, you may reach Chengdu after the metro has stopped, so plan on a DiDi from the station. Check the time for your station on our Chengdu last-train table.

Airport: from Tianfu International Airport, Metro Line 18 runs to Chengdu South Railway (火车南站) for 10 yuan, and Line 19 to Jinxing for 12 yuan; both leave from level L1 of the Ground Transportation Centre. Only some Line 18 trains run non-stop, taking about 33 minutes to South Railway, while express trains take about 40, so look at the platform display to see which kind is next. The first Line 18 train from the airport toward the city is at 06:03 and the last at 23:34. If you land early and go straight to the pandas, a taxi from Tianfu Airport takes 60–70 minutes and costs about 200 yuan. Both Chengdu Shuangliu and Chengdu Tianfu airports are entry points for China's 240-hour visa-free transit, so a three-day Chengdu stop fits in a transit trip if your passport qualifies; check our visa-free transit guide for the conditions.

For how Chinese metro systems work in general, see our metro systems guide.

Variations: 48 hours, kids, rain, no spice, and crowd timing

Only 48 hours

Keep Day 1 as it is, with the opera or hotpot in the evening. On Day 2, do Wuhou Shrine and Jinli in the morning and go straight to Chunxi Road and Taikoo Li in the afternoon, skipping Du Fu Thatched Cottage. There is no room for a day trip as well. If Leshan or Dujiangyan matters more to you than the city's history sites, swap Day 2 for one of the Day 3 options instead; you can fit one out-of-town trip in 48 hours, not two.

With children

The panda base is free for children under 6 or under 1.3 m, and they need no booking. Pay for the sightseeing cart for the adults; small children ride free. For a second panda day, make Day 3 Dujiangyan Panda Valley (熊猫谷), a quieter branch of the same base near Dujiangyan. Tickets are 55 yuan (children under 6 or under 1.3 m free) and can only be booked online through the "熊猫谷" WeChat account, with passports checked by hand at the gate. From May to October it opens 7:30–18:00 (last entry 17:00), and from November to April 8:00–17:30 (last entry 16:30). The usual way there is the train to Dujiangyan and then a taxi or DiDi; confirm the route on the base's website before you go. You can pair it with the Dujiangyan irrigation site. Do not confuse it with the China Panda Garden (中华大熊猫苑), the Dujiangyan base of a different organisation, which closed on 23 April 2026 for renovation. More ideas are in our guide to traveling with kids in China.

If it rains

A covered teahouse is a perfectly good way to spend a wet afternoon in Chengdu, so rain costs you less here than in most cities. At the panda base, head for the villas and nursery houses with indoor viewing. For a museum, the Chengdu Museum on Tianfu Square is open Tuesday to Sunday, with late hours until 20:30 on Fridays and Saturdays, and it closes on Mondays. Overseas visitors can book with just an email address on its English booking page, then swap the booking for a ticket at the counter using their passport. The Sichuan Museum, near Du Fu Thatched Cottage, is open 9:00–17:00 (last entry 16:00) and closes on Mondays; check its official channels for booking rules before you go. Keep Day 3 flexible: if heavy rain is forecast, Leshan is the safer choice over the mountain.

If you can't eat spicy food

You can still eat very well. For hotpot, order a split pot with a clear or mushroom broth on one side. In restaurants, say "不辣" (bù là, not spicy) or "微辣" (wēi là, a little spicy), and point to dishes on picture menus that are not covered in red chilli oil. Jinli and Kuanzhai have plenty of sweet and mild snacks too. Our Chengdu food guide lists mild Sichuan dishes by name.

Crowd timing

Weekends and public holidays are the busiest days everywhere on this route. At the panda base, arriving at opening time beats the crowds and the heat. Kuanzhai Alley and Jinli are quiet in the morning and packed in the evening; the evening is when they look best, so go at dusk anyway, walk the lanes, and eat your proper dinner somewhere else afterwards. If you visit the Chengdu Museum, its peak hours are 10:00–12:00 and 14:00–16:00. Avoid the first week of October if you can. During that national holiday, trains and sights across Sichuan are at their fullest; our Golden Week survival guide explains how to cope if you cannot move your dates.

In short: Book the panda base first, 14 days out, and pick the morning slot; then book Wuhou Shrine and Du Fu Thatched Cottage, and set up and verify your 12306 account so Day 3's train is one tap away. Day 1 runs north-east to north-west: pandas at opening, a teahouse at Wenshu Monastery or People's Park, Kuanzhai Alley at dusk, then hotpot or opera. Day 2 runs south-west to the centre: Wuhou Shrine and Jinli, Du Fu's cottage, Chunxi Road, then the river at Jiuyan Bridge. Day 3 is Leshan from Chengdu East or Dujiangyan and Qingcheng from Xipu, never both. Stay on Line 2, tap your bank card at the gates, and keep DiDi for late returns.

Last updated: October 2026