Short answer
Day one is built around the pandas, and it starts early because that is the only way to see them awake. Day two stays inside the city for the Three Kingdoms sites, a teahouse afternoon and an evening of Sichuan opera. Day three leaves Chengdu for either the Dujiangyan irrigation system and Qingcheng Mountain, or the Leshan Giant Buddha.
The plan assumes you are staying in the centre, around Chunxi Road or Tianfu Square, where two or three metro lines meet. Everything on days one and two is reachable by metro for a few yuan, and the day trips both use the rail network rather than a tour bus.
One thing has to be arranged before you fly: the panda base entry. Tickets are issued by real-name reservation in timed slots, cost around ¥55 for adults, and open for booking up to 14 days ahead. Everything else in this itinerary can be decided on the day.
Before you go: book these
| Item | How far ahead | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Panda base ticket and time slot | As soon as the booking window opens, up to 14 days before | Entry is by reservation only and the quota closes when it sells out. Morning slots go first. |
| Intercity or high-speed train for day 3 | Two to five days before | The Dujiangyan and Leshan lines sell out on weekends and holidays. |
| Sichuan opera show | Two to three days before | Front rows sell first, and face-changing performances are the popular ones. |
| Alipay or WeChat Pay with your card | Before you travel | Passport verification takes a day or two and most small venues do not take foreign cards. |
Day 1: pandas, the old lanes and a teahouse
The day starts uncomfortably early and it is worth it. Pandas eat through the morning and sleep from late morning onwards, so the difference between a 07:30 arrival and a 10:30 arrival is the difference between a dozen active animals and a dozen sleeping ones.
| Time | What | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 06:45 | Leave the hotel | Metro Line 3 northbound towards Panda Avenue. From Chunxi Road the ride is around 25 to 30 minutes. |
| 07:30 | Panda base opens | Morning entry from 07:30 between March and October, from 08:00 between November and February. Confirm the current hours. |
| 07:45-10:00 | The panda enclosures | The active window. Walk the adult enclosures first, then the cub and nursery areas. The grounds are large and hilly. |
| 10:00-11:30 | Red pandas, bamboo groves, snack break | By now the giant pandas are settling down to sleep. This is the slow half of the visit. |
| 12:00 | Lunch back in the city | Noodles or a couple of small dishes near your hotel, or something on the way to the old lanes. |
| 14:30-16:00 | Kuanzhai Alley | Three restored Qing lanes. Busiest at weekends. The narrow middle lane has the better snack stalls. |
| 16:00-18:00 | People's Park and a teahouse | Ten minutes on foot from Kuanzhai Alley. Covered-bowl tea on the terrace, refills included, no rush to leave. |
| 19:00 | Hotpot | Book or queue, expect a wait after 19:00. A split pot with a plain half keeps everyone happy. |
| 21:00 | Walk it off along the river or in Taikoo Li | The centre is safe and lively late into the evening. |
Practical details on the base, including the passport lane at the gate and the Monday closure of one panda villa, are in the panda base guide linked below.
Day 2: the old city and Sichuan opera
A lighter day, deliberately. Chengdu rewards a slower pace, and after the early start on day one a 09:00 breakfast is fair.
| Time | What | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 09:00-11:00 | Wuhou Shrine | The Three Kingdoms memorial to Zhuge Liang, in a walled garden. Allow 90 minutes at an unhurried pace. |
| 11:00-12:30 | Jinli | Attached to the shrine. Snack-heavy and good for a grazing lunch. Crowds peak around noon. |
| 13:30-15:30 | Du Fu's Thatched Cottage | Metro Line 4 towards the western edge of the city. A large, shaded park around the Tang poet's reconstructed home. |
| 16:00-17:30 | Break at the hotel | Worth building in. Two full days of walking add up, and the evening runs late. |
| 18:00-19:30 | Dinner, non-hotpot | Mapo tofu, dan dan noodles, twice-cooked pork. Ask for 微辣 for mild or 不辣 for no chilli. |
| 20:00-21:30 | Sichuan opera and face-changing | The face-changing (bian lian) act is the closer and the reason to go. Book ahead for a front row. |
| 21:45 | Home by metro | Last trains run until around 22:30 to 23:00 on most lines. Confirm on the day. |
Day 3: out of the city
Two options, both full days. The travel time is similar, so choose on what you want from the day.
| Option | Journey | What you get | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dujiangyan and Qingcheng Mountain | Intercity rail from Xipu station, around 30 to 40 minutes to either station on the line | A 2,200-year-old irrigation system that still works, plus a forested Taoist mountain with a cable car | Anyone who wants scenery and engineering rather than crowds |
| Leshan Giant Buddha | High-speed train from Chengdu to Leshan, around an hour, then a short bus or taxi to the riverfront | A 71-metre Buddha carved into a river cliff, seen from a boat or from the stairway beside it | Anyone who wants the single most impressive monument within reach of the city |
Option A: Dujiangyan and Qingcheng Mountain
| Time | What | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 07:00 | Metro to Xipu station | The intercity line leaves from Xipu rather than the main rail terminals. Check your ticket for the departure station. |
| 08:00 | Intercity train | Around 30 to 40 minutes to Dujiangyan. Buy on the official rail app with your passport. |
| 08:45-11:30 | Dujiangyan irrigation system | Walk the site from the main gate across the suspension bridge and along the channels. Two to three hours. |
| 12:00 | Lunch | Or a later start on the mountain to keep the day shorter. |
| 13:30 | Train to Qingcheng Mountain | One stop on the same line, then a short bus or taxi to the entrance. |
| 14:00-17:00 | Qingcheng Mountain, front slope | Cable car and paths through Taoist temples in forest. Doing both slopes in one afternoon is not realistic. |
| 18:00 | Train back to Chengdu | Confirm the last departure time when you arrive in the morning rather than assuming it. |
Option B: Leshan Giant Buddha
| Time | What | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 07:30 | Depart from Chengdu East or Chengdu South | High-speed services leave from both. The journey is around an hour. |
| 09:00 | Leshan station to the scenic area | A bus or taxi ride of roughly 30 minutes from the station to the riverfront. |
| 09:45-11:00 | Boat trip past the Buddha | Around half an hour on the water and the only way to see the whole figure at once. |
| 11:15-13:30 | Optional stairway descent | The path down beside the statue gives the close view. Queues of an hour or more are normal in peak season. |
| 14:00 | Lunch in Leshan town | The town is known for its own snack dishes, including sweet-skinned duck and cold noodles. |
| 15:30 | Train back to Chengdu | An afternoon departure gets you into the city for dinner. |
Frequently asked questions
What time should I get to the panda base?
For the opening: 07:30 between March and October, 08:00 from November to February. The active window is roughly 08:00 to 10:00, when keepers put out food and the pandas are awake. After about 10:30 they sleep for most of the day.
Can I do the panda base and the city in one day?
Yes, and that is what day one does. Leave the base around 11:30, eat lunch in the centre, then spend the afternoon on Kuanzhai Alley and the People's Park teahouses before an early hotpot dinner. Nothing after lunch is far from the centre.
Do I need to book the panda base in advance?
Yes. Entry is by online real-name reservation, not at the gate. Tickets open up to 14 days ahead and close when the daily quota is sold out. Adults pay around ¥55 and students around ¥27, and visitors aged 60 and over enter free without a reservation.
Dujiangyan or Leshan, if I only have one day?
Leshan if you want a single spectacle, since the Giant Buddha is one of the largest carved figures in the world and the boat trip makes it easy. Dujiangyan and Qingcheng Mountain if you prefer walking, forest and a working piece of ancient engineering to a monument. Leshan is the more crowded of the two in peak season.
Which station do the day-trip trains leave from?
It depends on the line. The Dujiangyan and Qingcheng Mountain intercity service leaves from Xipu station rather than a main terminal. Leshan is served by high-speed trains from Chengdu East and Chengdu South. Check the station on your ticket before setting out.
Is three days too long for Chengdu?
Not with a day trip built in. Two days covers the city and feels full. The third day is what makes the trip feel unhurried, and there is enough around Chengdu that a fourth day has somewhere to go rather than being filler.
What should I book ahead for this itinerary?
The panda base slot and the day-3 train tickets are the two that matter most, plus the Sichuan opera show if you want a good seat. The panda base quota closes when it sells out, and both day-trip lines fill up at weekends and during national holidays, so book the return leg at the same time as the outbound one.
How do I get around between the sites?
Mostly by metro. Line 3 reaches the panda base, Line 4 covers the Du Fu's Thatched Cottage side of town, and Wuhou Shrine and Jinli are on the network in the south. Fares start at ¥2, and taxis are cheap for the last stretch, usually under ¥25 in the centre.
Related reading
Panda base opening hours and reservation rules follow the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding's published visitor information and change with the season, so confirm the current hours before your visit. Rail journey times and departure stations are approximate and should be checked in the official rail app for your date. Restaurant, ticket and fare figures are indicative rather than fixed prices.