Chengdu Panda Tour

When you arrive at Chengdu, your local guide will pick you up at the airport immediately and then send you to your hotel. You are free today. So you can have a good rest in your hotel. If you are an outgoing person, you can try to make some friends in the hotel.

This morning, you will go to visit the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. Your China visa free tour will start from this place. The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding is built by the local government in the last century to protect giant pandas. In the beginning, only a few giant pandas were sent there and these giant pandas almost starved to death at that time. Later, the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding helps more and more giant pandas and becomes well-experienced to raise them. Nowadays, the professional staff in the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding have made lots of scientific researches on giant pandas. They research how to get giant pandas’ DNA, how to diagnose whether giant pandas are pregnant or not, how to raise twins, etc. If you go to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, you will see many healthy giant pandas because they are raised well by the professional staff there.

After lunch, we will take you to visit the Wuhou Shrine Museum. It covers an area of 37,000 square meters. Local people built it in memory of Zhuge Liang who is an excellent politician, military expert, writer, and inventor in the Kingdom of Shu Han (221-263). In Chinese, Wuhou is the title of Zhuge Liang. He is a very kind person. According to historical records, one day, Zhuge Liang and his army wanted to cross a big river. However, the river was so fast-flowing that it blocked their way. A person told Zhuge Liang that there was a ghost who made the river fast-flowing, and they would cross the river if they offered human heads and animals to the ghost. But Zhuge Liang thought it was so cruel. So he formed the dough into the shape of a human head and put meat in it. Then he offered the dough to the ghost. Finally, the river became calm and they crossed the river. That is why people thought that Zhuge Liang is a kind person and built a shrine museum in memory of him.

Then you will go to Jinli Street, which is a part of the Wuhou Shrine Museum. It is 550 meters long and covers an area of more than 30,000 square meters. This ancient street was built in the Three Kingdoms (220-265). You may see many ancient Chinese activities in this street. The Dragon Boat Festival is on the 5th day of the 5th Chinese lunar month. On that day, people in Jinli Street will hold a game of eating zongzi, a kind of traditional Chinese rice-pudding. The person who eats the most zongzi will win the game. Besides, to celebrate the Mid-autumn Festival that is on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, local people will hold an activity to enjoy the glorious full moon at night and share moon cakes with other people on that day.

After visiting Jinli Street, we will take you to People’s Park. It was built in 1911. There are many tea houses in People’s Park. Heli Tea House, for example, is the oldest one in People’s Park. It is also the oldest tea house in Chengdu. You will see many people enjoying their free time in this old tea house. Yongju Tea House is another famous tea house in People’s Park. It is located on Golden Fish Island that has various golden fishes. Visitors can have tea in the Yongju Tea House and enjoy the beautiful golden fishes in the Golden Fish Island. You may feed them if you like. In People’s Park, you will also see a wonderful tea house that is called Zhenliu Tea House. You may hear birdsongs, see green trees, and smell the fragrance of the flowers in this tea house.

Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding

Wuhou Shrine Museum

After breakfast, we will drive you to the northeast. About 2 hours later, you will arrive at the Leshan Giant Buddha that is 147 kilometers away from Chengdu. It is not only a symbol of Buddhism, but also an important project that benefits local people. The Leshan Giant Buddha started to be built in 713 in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). At that time, the river in this place is so fast-flowing and many boats had accidents here. So a monk called Haitong called for local people to build a giant buddha next to the river to slow down the flow of the water. However, Haitong died soon and no one continued to build the giant buddha after he died. About forty years later, the local government started to build it again. Finally, the Leshan Giant Buddha was finished in 803. After it was built, the river is not fast-flowing anymore and few boats capsize in this place.

After lunch, you will go to the Huanglongxi Ancient Town. It lies about 152 kilometers to the northwest and you will spend about 2 hours and 6 minutes going there. The Huanglongxi Ancient Town has a history of more than 1700 years and covers an area of 50.4 square kilometers. There are many ancient attractions in this town. You will see 7 ancient streets that were first built about 2100 years ago. They are about 3.44 meters wide and the roads are paved with stone slabs. You will see many ancient graves, too. These graves were put in cliffs about thousands of years ago. You will also see 3 ancient temples, including Gulong Temple, Zhenjiang Temple, and Chaoyin Temple. Besides, you will see 6 ancient banyan trees and all of them are more than 800 years old.

Then we will drive you back to Chengdu which is in the northeast of the Huanglongxi Ancient Town. The distance between them is about 34 kilometers, so it will take you about 48 minutes to get there.

Leshan Giant Buddha

 Huanglongxi Ancient Town

In the morning, we will take you to the Kuan Zhai Alley. It was built in 1718 in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). There are some special attractions in the Kuanzhai Alley. On an ancient wall, you will find a special stone that is used to tie up a horse. In ancient times, rich people always rode a horse when they got out. When they got down from a horse, they needed a stone to tie up it. That is why local people put a special stone on the wall. In the Kuanzhai Alley, there is also a special wall that is full of sculptures. The wall is about 400 meters long. The sculptures on it are made of ancient bricks and show different architecture in different periods. You can realize the history of Chengdu from the sculptures on this wall.

Next, you will visit the Chengdu Du Fu Thatched Cottage Museum. Du Fu is a famous Chinese poet. He has lived in this place for 4 years and wrote about 140 poems during this time. In 759 in the Tang Dynasty, Du Fu moved to Chengdu with his family to avoid the war. Then he built a thatched cottage with the help of his friend, Yan Wu, in the spring of 761. When he lived here, Yan Wu helped him a lot. However, about 4 years later, Yan Wu passed away and couldn’t help Du Fu anymore. So Du Fu could only leave here and move to another place. About 5 years later, Du Fu also passed away. The thatched cottage is the last place that made Du Fu relaxed and comfortable. Although it is not a luxurious house, it is next to a clear stream and the scenery around it is so beautiful. That’s why Du Fu liked to live here.

After you visit the Chengdu Du Fu Thatched Cottage Museum, we will take you to the airport. Then you will go home by plane. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you want to travel to China again!

Kuan Zhai Alley

kuan zhai i Alley

Author: Zhang Xinli