The Best of Chengdu
One Day Chengdu Panda and Sichuan Cuisine Tour
This tour is recommended for a first-time visitor who seeks a day tour containing the most important features of Chengdu: pandas and Sichuan cuisine.
Highlights
- Meet pandas with a smart route
- See baby pandas in late summer before October
- Take up a food challenge at the city's last farmers' market
- Step into an experienced chef's kitchen and cook real Sichuan cuisine together
- Get a taste of local life and have fun playing mahjong
Discover real reviews of Highlights Travel Family's best-rated service across trusted platforms.
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Captivating Pandas! Thank you Michael and Carol!
Our China Highlight guide. Michael, was attentive, thoughtful and knowledgeable. He narrated many interesting historical events about Chengdu while touring around the city and having afternoon tea with us. He was thoughtful to provide us with snacks during long hikes at Leshan or walks around the city. more
Mar 2024,
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Chengdu Pandas
Our tour guide Helen, was excellent, she was very kind, professional and passionate for her work and she also loves Pandas! She will take you to take the best panda photos and to know more about Chengdu city. Our tour was great, she took us to all our destinations always with the best spots: Temples, pagodas, famous streets, theaters, pandas...you name it! Everything was great. more
Mar 2024, Megan
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Visit to Panda Reasearch Base
The tour included taking up the role as panda keeper as well as just observing these amazing animals. Our guide Jayson organised everything perfectly, so we had really great time during our visit. more
Mar 2024, Art O
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Helen is the best tour guide
Our tour guide Helen was amazing! I learned so much about the city, the care of the pandas in the Dujiangyan Panda Park, the local market and Sichuan food (we had a cooking lesson from a professional chef), and the local tea house culture! Helen is very knowledgeable and willing to share what she knows. She accommodated all our needs and looked after us very well. She’s the best! Ask for Helen for your tour! And her English is superb! more
Mar 2024, Michelle
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Best experience in chengdu
We got a very professional and helpful tour guide name Helen.SShe is very friendly caring. We very happy with the service more
Mar 2024, Ric
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The Chengdu trip.
Helen our guide explained that there was much more to Chengdu than just pandas and she was right. Her knowledge was excellent and made our trips to the museum and Buddhist temple real learning experiences. Her outgoing personality and determination for us to have a good time ensured that we were never bored. more
Mar 2024, Brian
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Taste of Chengdu
Helen told us on arrival, there’s more to Chengdu than Pandas, and she was absolutely right. We did enjoy the Pandas , and I have to say especially the red Pandas , also the museum was a great insight into Chinas long and rich past. more
Mar 2024, Martin
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We had a great time in Chengdo our…
We had a great time in Chengdo our guide Helen was excellent with explaining everything and ensuring we enjoyed our visit. more
Mar 2024, Julie
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Exploring Jiuzhaigou Nature Reserve with Mary
We really enjoyed our tour with Mary around Jiuzhaigou Nature Reserve, she was very informative, kind and helpful! more
Mar 2024, Caris
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Wonderful experience with Jason at panda bases and more!
Jason and Mr. Wu, our driver, ensured a terrific 3 day packed itinerary, with flexibility, where necessary, and ability to resolve any issue that arose, due to Jason's extensive knowledge and relationships with the panda bases. Jason was a fantastic guide at Wolong, Bifengxia (including our panda volunteer experience) and Chengdu bases, sharing his knowledge about pandas, and also insights about the operation of the conservation efforts. more
Feb 2024, VOyaeur 1111
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Chengdu at it`s best
We made a private tour through South China in January 2024. Altogether Chengdu was the highlight. We had an incredible day at Emeishan. In Chengdu our guidewas Helen. She was the diamond of all. Speaking fluently English, full of interesting stories, laughing and talking all the time. We missed her the rest of our tour. We highly recommend to go to Chengdu for 3 days when visiting China, especially with Helen. more
Feb 2024, peter
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Chengdu and Volunteer program Panda base
Our day volunteering at the Panda Base was truly unforgettable. Helen, our guide, provided us with invaluable insights about Chengdu and the pandas, enriching our tour with her knowledge and expertise. We're grateful to Helen for accompanying us throughout the day and showcasing the highlights of China. more
Feb 2024, Eliaquim
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Chengdu at it`s best
We had a booking with China Highlights through Silvia Ye who guarenteed a perfect organisation. In Chengdu our guide was Helen. She was the diamond of all. Speaking fluently English, full of interesting stories, laughing and talking all the time. We missed her the rest of our tour. We highly recommend to go to Chengdu for 3 days when visiting China, especially with Helen. more
Feb 2024, Peter
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Chengdu with friends
Bella, our tour guide in Chengdu, was excellent and very thoughtful. She picked us up from the train station (despite it being a free and easy day we wanted). She shared options for afternoon tea, places of interest around our hotel and helped us make dinner reservation at a local premium szechuan hotpot restaurant. During our stay in Chengdu, she took us to see the adorable pandas at the Panda Breeding Base, the beautiful Renmin Park (Chengdu People’s Park), the lively Jinli Old Street (pedestrian mall) and the Chengdu Opera (a must see - world famous face changing show). Bella is very attentive to our needs and preferences, and always made sure we were well taken care, comfortable and happy. We had so much fun together, laughing, joking and sharing stories. Food was excellent (best left the ordering to her). She is one of the best guide we had in China. more
Jan 2024, DLiew
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Excellent
Helen is the best! She is super knowledgeable and helpful with everything. Will definitely be using China Highlights and Helen when I bring my family back to Chengdu. more
Jan 2024, Riley
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Chengdu a great city
We had a great time visiting the Pandas, Michael was punctual, organized. He showed us around the great city of Chengdu,its museum,the Old Town, The Tea House,and while we were in the city park we saw a Chinese old lady in a wheelchair singing an Chinese Peking Opera Tune loudly and clearly.She said she is 90 years old and she comes to the park often just to sing and we asked her if she knows any song in English,she said yes and belted out a classic (you raised me up over the mountain) in perfect English. Absolutely amazing.She lived through the Civil War,Japanese Invasion, the Cultural Revolution,You can't plan an experience like this. more
Jan 2024, Peter W
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We went on a tour guided by Helen…
We went on a tour guided by Helen around Chengdu to see many cultural highlights. We were excited with the extensive knowledge. She speaks English very well. She was also always in a good mood and make us comfortable and we could see she is very passionate about her job. She gave us some gifts on Xmas day. Overall we are very grateful to have had Helen as our guide. Not to mention the great day we spent with the pandas. She took very good pictures for us and it's just a memorable day. more
Jan 2024, Monica
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Our tour led by Helen from Chengdu was amazing
Helen guided my family and I around Chengdu to see many cultural highlights. Her extensive knowledge and proficient English speaking skills enhanced our experience greatly. The historical facts that she shared with us made us even more excited to see the landmarks and left us in awe at every visit. She was also always smiling and her kind attitude during the tour made us feel that she was very passionate about her job and valued our experience a lot. She was very thoughtful, even giving us presents on Xmas day. She also recommended the best dishes in interesting restaurants that catered to my family’s taste. Overall we are very grateful to have had Helen as our guide because we know our holiday was so so much better due to her thoughtful pre-planning and positive demeanour! more
Jan 2024, Nicole
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Awesome trip in Chengdu guided by Helen
Our tour guide, Helen is superb and amazing. She is very knowledged and detailed with all the details and history of the destination. She is able to navigate through the attraction places easily, making the whole experience less tiring and easy to access.She is also very caring and detailed with taking care of us, making the trip very comfortable and enjoying. more
Jan 2024, 文文
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Fun Experience!
We had a lot of fun in ChengDu. The trip was nicely planned and organised. We had Helen as our guide in ChengDu. She was very friendly and knowledgeable, explained everything well. It was a great experience and would definitely recommend to anyone who is interested in travelling to China. more
Jan 2024, AdLee
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Suggested Itinerary
Visiting the city's panda base can be a challenge as it is easily accessible and has various animals. We've designed a smart route to beat the crowds while matching the pandas' active period as much as possible for you.
If you travel in late summer, you will have a chance to see baby pandas.
Chengdu was named as the first city of gastronomy in Asia by UNESCO, and the local delicacies are rooted in close-to-life market.
Try some local snacks, such as pickled dishes, century eggs, Chinese rice wine, and so on.
Intergrating yourself with the locals: how to bargain like a local and how to wrap Chengdu dumplings - learn this from the shopkeepers who can easily make 100 perfect dumplings in minutes.
It is very hard to travel like an insider when you are surrounded by thousands of tourists in incredibly crowded tourist areas. Instead, a visit to a local chef's home will be one of the best ways to get a taste of local life.
Unearth the secrets of Sichuan cuisine as you cook three typical Sichuan dishes with the chef and invent your own recipe. Try to play mahjong in the living room as well if you want to.
Trip Notes
The weather of Chengdu is mild and humid, and it's suitable for travel all year round.
March to June is pleasant to visit with refreshing spring colors.
September to November is the coolest time to enjoy an autumn tour.
March to May is the "falling in love period" for pandas. If you visit Chengdu between late August and December, you will have a greater chance of seeing tiny newborns and cuddle babies in the Panda Breeding and Research Center.
Please avoid peak times for Chinese tour groups. Most schools start their vacation period in the middle of July.
Price includes: