Chengdu and Jiuzhaigou,
pandas and turquoise lakes

Day-by-day itinerary

1. Arrival in Chengdu

   500 m

   Transfer to your hotel and a free evening. Chengdu is the most relaxed big city in China and the easiest place to start gently: a teahouse in People's Park and a first Sichuan dinner, with the chilli dialled to your taste.

2. The giant panda research base

   500 m

   Arrive at opening time, when the pandas are fed and active; by midday they sleep. The afternoon is for the People's Park teahouse and the restored lanes of Kuanzhai Xiangzi.

3. Wenshu Monastery and Jinli

   500 m

   Morning at Wenshu Monastery, a working temple with an antiques market and the best street food in the city around it. Afternoon in Jinli and the lanes of the old town.

4. Transfer to Jiuzhaigou

   2,000 m

   Fly or drive north into the mountains of northern Sichuan. The afternoon is free to rest and acclimatise in the valley, at just over two thousand metres.

5. Rize Valley

   3,000 m

   A full day in the upper valley: Primeval Forest, the Five Flower Lake and the Panda Lake waterfalls, linked by park shuttle buses and wooden boardwalks.

6. Shuzheng and Zechawa valleys

   3,100 m

   The lower valley of Shuzheng, with its terraced lakes, and Zechawa climbing to the Long Lake. This is the clearest blue water you will see anywhere in China.

7. Huanglong

   3,500 m

   Drive to Huanglong and its travertine terraces, a UNESCO site at 3,500 metres and reached by cable car. The pools cascade down the valley in shades of gold and green.

8. Back to Chengdu

   500 m

   Return to Chengdu by air or road. The afternoon is free for shopping, a Sichuan cooking class or the face-changing show of the local opera.

9. Departure

   500 m

   Transfer to the airport according to your flight, or continue to Chongqing, an hour and a half away by train, to begin a Three Gorges cruise on the Yangtze.