Chengdu Travel Forum

Have not decided whether to include Chengdu in my 21 day itinerary.. apart from the cuddly Pandas I have not found much else to see there. Can anyone convince me it is worth including? So far I have BJ-Xian-Lijiang-Kunming-Yangshuo-Shanghai and I think that is enough.Does anyone agree?thank you

Yes, I agree with you. I hate to travel in a rush, so I don't recommend you add Chengdu in your iterate. If you have extra time, you may also visit Hangzhou, Suzhou and other water towns close to Shanghai.

For 21 days, I too think that Chengdu should be off your itineary this time. You already have a lot to do, and you probably need at least 2 days in Chengdu and much more for the surrounding area such as Leshan, Emeishan and Jiuzaigou.

The panda farm is a must in Chengdu !

You can see more on my pages.

All the best and merry xmas

L

If you decide to spend more time in Chengdu it's worth visiting the Green Ram Monastery which is one of the most famous Taoist temples in China. Also within ten moiniutes of the monastery is "Du Fu's thatched cottage". Du Fu is one of China's best known poets, his cottage has been reconstructed and is housed in a very pleasant park.

http://www.travelsinasia.com/China/Chengdu.html

With only 21 days i'd skip Chengdu. True the panda's are adorable and there is much to see and do in and around Chengdu but the same can be said for many other parts of China. Don't overdo your itinerary, you'll get more then enough impressions.... And since you've already included Lijiang and Kunming you might want to visit e.g. the tiger leaping gorge (1 or 2 day trek) and Dali which are in that neighbourhood.

All depends on when you visit China. Sichuan Province in which Chengdu is located is a quite nice place with a long history that can be traced back to at least 5000 years ago.

Sichuan is also the provice with the most World Natural & Cultural sites in China, beautiful snow mountains, pasture, waterfalls, Tibetan villages, Qiang Villages, Taoism, Buddism, hot springs, and much more.

I don't think it's worth visiting Kunming, although it is a beautiful city and you have to go to Lijiang via kunming usually.

My suggestion is that you may arrange your itinerary according to your interests and the season when you visit.

I would exchange Kunming for Chengdu.

Both Kunming and Chengdu are nice. And both have lots do see and do in and around the city itself. Maybe you should read up on some of the pages here to see which one you think you'll like more. Then again, given half the chance, most of us could easily rearrange your itinerary to include places we liked a lot and which you haven't mentioned yet ;-)

I totally disagree with all of the comments to drop Chengdu. I just rode my bike from Lanzou (about 1000 kilometers north) to Chengdu. The opportunity to spend two days at jiu zhai gou will be well worth the 8 hour bus ride from Chengdu. The park will take two days to see. Stay at small hotel at one of the villages in the park and save the $50 entrace fee the second day. You may not be able to get on the bus going to the other end of the park the second day because you will not have a valid bus ticket but it is a pleasant walk and later in the day they don't check tickets anyway. for some sample of the area seem my blog at http://robert-china-2007.blogspot.com/ (see the Songpan entries)
or this site;http://www.pbase.com/eckoo/jiu_zhai_gou

That's why I said I'd rather skip Kunming and go to Chengdu. Leave Kunming for another trip when you can see Yunnan province in more detail.

hmm...I'm not too sure about cutting off a place just for Chengdu. You can certainly do that, but then you won't have enough time to see all the nearby attractions. Personally, I'll save Sichuan province for another trip.

Considering the itinerary dropping Chengdu isn't the worst of things. There are many many places worth visiting in Sichuan province (like in many parts of China). But since Lijang is already included as well, Kunming (and Dali and the Tiger Leaping Gorge and maybe even Zongdian) aren't the worst options. With only 21 days there just isn't a lot of time. And Sichuan province should be done with some time on ones hands. There are many places worth visiting there but most of them are outside Chengdu and less easy to travel to then in Yunnan. That's all.

But to get to Lijiang and then on to Guilin I have to go thru Kunming anyway. I am not interested in the panda reserve. That's why I originally put Kunming in. I was going to skip both and just spend a lot of time in Lijiang and Yangshuo but I have to pass thru Kunming to get there...
I prefer a slower pace and not to rush through the places so fast..

Oh no! There're also flights from Lijiang to Chengdu, that's why I said you could replace Kunming with Chengdu!

thanks I will check that out too. Of course most of the websites tell me it's too early to check now for May..
thanks again, Ellyse you are a mine of information as usual!

Thanks for the compliments, you're welcome. :)

Besides Giant Panda Breeding Center, u may see Sanxindui Museum, Jinsha Ruin Museum, Musum for Sanxingdui Jade Art, Dujiangyan Irrigation System-Mt. Qingcheng, Leshan Big Buddha, etc..

Yes, u can transfer airplane from Lijiang to guilin in Chengdu.