6 Days Chongqing & Chengdu

After breakfast, your private guide and the driver will wait for you at the hotel and start today’s excursion to Wulong Karst Geological Park, about a 2.5-hour drive away. After arriving, hop on the scenic area’s shuttle bus, and you’ll be greeted by the atmospheric sprawl of karst rock formations. The first highlight is the Three Natural Bridges, namely Tianlong Bridge, Qinglong Bridge, and Heilong Bridge, which are also the largest group of natural bridges in Asia, spanning over the Yangshui River. You may be familiar with some scenes, as it was once one of the filming locations for "Transformers 4", and the famous director Michael Bay praised it as “one of the most beautiful places on earth”. Follow your guide to marvel at the karst wonders closely on foot, which have gone through the geological evolution over hundreds of millions of years. Among them. Tianlong Bridge, with a height of 235 meters (771 ft.), has the largest span of the three and features an ancient style architecture with gray walls and black tiles in the valley, which creates a striking visual contrast against the deep gorge. 

Stroll along the meandering streams in the lush valley and get to the exit. Here, let’s take a shuttle bus to Longshui Gorge. If the Three Natural Bridges’ marvels require visitors to look up, then the gorge’s highlights need you to discover by looking down. The typical landform was shaped by the orogenic movement, stretching 5 kilometers (3.1 mi) long and 200-500 meters (660-1,640 ft.) deep, and boasting almost vertical cliffs on both sides with rugged rocks and gushing waterfalls. Gaze wistfully down at the deep underground cave, and an elevator will lower you down to 80 meters dramatically, where you’ll enjoy a close-up view of the magnificent waterfall immediately once out of the elevator. This is definitely an ideal place to escape Chongqing’s summer heat. However, it is suggested that you bring a coat on cool days. The elderly and children should pay special attention when walking by some slippery sections. Finish the visit, and your guide and the driver will escort you back to the hotel in Chongqing.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast

Today, your guide will accompany you to absorb the charming city’s cultural highlights while fitting in with the local lifestyle. Have you ever hankered to ride a train through a building? That’s not a daydream but a part of the Chongqing people’s daily lives. Today’s first stop is the Liziba Light Rail Station, where winding trains operate through a 19-story residential building constantly every day, and you have to see it to believe it. Depart early, or you’ll miss the advantageous spot at the observation deck to capture the light rail’s passing moment, when a wide-angle lens and shooting from a low angle will make the picture more impactful. You might want to get your creative photo of “swallowing a train”! Walk through the underground passage to the opposite Beibin Road, where travelers are queuing to wait for a photo opportunity; don’t worry, the train runs every 7 minutes and just strike a creative pose to open your mouth when the train passes. 

★ Marvel at China’s 8D City: Witness the Tower Situated on both 1st & 22nd Floors 

Next, another iconic city landmark is waiting for you, Kuixing Tower, the most representative place of Chongqing’s complex terrain and layered architectural layout. When standing on the vast square and seeing the typical Taoist Chinese tower, surrounded by high-rises, you might think you are on the first floor; however, when strolling to the edge of the square to overlook, you’ll find that you are actually located on the rooftop of a 22nd-story building. Hard to believe, but that’s true. What makes it more thrilling are two sky corridors hanging over about 70 meters (230 ft.), walking through which may bring a slight swaying, and that's the game for adventurers.

After the heart-racing journey, let’s continue to experience the unique transportation method of Chongqing locals, the Yangtze River Cableway, which has served the city for approximately 40 years. Once a necessary “air bus” for local people to commute and travel across the river, the 1,166-meter-long (3,825-foot) cableway has now become a popular tourist attraction, which takes about 6 minutes for a single trip. Grab the front or rear to enjoy the breathtaking river scenes with epic views of Chongqing’s modern skyline. Cap off your Chongqing tour with Longmenhao Old Street, strategically located right beside the Yangtze River. It is the best-preserved and largest historical and cultural old street in the Chongqing urban area, encompassing 18 outstanding old buildings, such as the former residence of the military attache of the US Embassy. It also offers a stunning view of the peninsula tip in the middle of the river, featuring a cyberpunk landscape with densely packed buildings of different heights.

At the end of the day, your guide and the driver will escort you to the railway station for a 1-hour train journey to Chengdu. Upon arrival, a local guide and a driver will accompany you for hotel check-in.  

Meals: Western buffet breakfast

★ Explore Giant Panda’s Kingdom in Their Hometown!

Welcome to Chengdu, the hometown of the ‘national treasure’ of China, pandas! Here you’ll surely be greeted by these cute black-and-white giant bears. After breakfast, your private guide and the driver will accompany you to Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, home to over 260 pandas! You can never find so many such creatures on the planet’s other places. The base opens at 7:30 am, and you are advised to arrive early, as most pandas will be most active before 10:00, during which they’ll climb the trees, play with each other, and enjoy bamboo and fruits outdoors. If you happen to visit in summer, from June to September, you might also see the newborn panda cubs enjoy sunshine with their antics on the lawn, generally lasting for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Waving goodbye to pandas, let’s continue to Wide and Narrow Alleys, similar to the Hutong alleys in Beijing during its early periods. They are composed of over 70 traditional courtyards connected with three narrow old alleys, also combining some Western architectural elements in the following years. Today, the historical neighborhood comes to life with tea houses, specialty restaurants, creative boutiques, and cultural exhibition halls, which is an ideal place to feel the locals’ slow pace and experience old traditions and taste snacks like corn cakes, Chinese baked egg cakes, and sweet rice glutinous balls. What’s more, a lot of panda toys and souvenirs at good prices are available nearby.

The next stop is Jinsha Site Museum, where you can discover the ancient Shu civilization in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, existing from the 12th century BC to the 7th century BC, about 3,200-2,600 years ago. More than 5,000 precious cultural relics, such as gold, bronze, jade, stone, ivory, lacquerware, as well as tons of elephant tusks and deer horns have been unearthed at the excavation site. The most exquisite and iconic piece, a thin golden foil carved out of four birds with three toes flying around the central sun radiating 12 rays of sunlight, is exhibited in the fourth hall. An amazing truth is that its golden content reached as high as 94.2% in that era, which means it will almost never fade away.

Conclude your trip at People’s Park, frequented by locals to enjoy a blissfully slow pace of life. Join the locals to soak up the laid-back air, and sip a cup of unique Gaiwan tea we’ve prepared for you. If interested, you might also experience other local pastimes, like playing cards, enjoying face-changing performance, and trying the ear cleaning ritual at your own expense. Last but not least, you’ll have a chance to witness the Chinese traditional matchmaking culture at the park’s corner, where parents are enthusiastic to recommend their own children to find suitable marriage partners. The resumes of ladies are red and those of gentlemen are blue, including private information like ages, jobs, interests, educational and financial backgrounds, and the family’s basic conditions. At last, the guide and the driver will escort you back to the hotel.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast

★ Two Ways to Witness the World’s Largest Stone Buddha: Cruise & Hike! 

Today, your guide and the driver will wait for you at the hotel lobby and escort you to marvel at the Leshan Giant Buddha, where the mountain is a Buddha and the Buddha is a mountain, taking about 2 hours on the way. After arrival, you’ll be accompanied to the pier and board a 30-minute cruise for the giant Buddha’s panoramic view. Generally, the cruise will stop in front of the Buddha for about 10 minutes, allowing you to fully capture the photo opportunity. As three rivers converge at a narrow junction at the foot of the mountain, the Buddha was first built to control the floods and bless the passing boats. The 71-meter-tall (233-foot) Buddha was carved out of the ochre-red cliff over 1,200 years ago, with the work completed by three generations in 90 years. After disembarking, follow the guide to hike from the Buddha’s feet to the head, and observe more details about it. You may notice the Buddha’s 1,051 spiral chignons, which are inlaid one by one with stone blocks, while the key keeps the Buddha intact despite its proximity to water and heavy rain hides behind its head, ears, chignons, along with the collar, folds, and wrinkles of his clothing, where the invisible drainage systems are installed. 

Finish the visit, and your guide and the driver will escort you back to the hotel in Chengdu. 

Meals: Western buffet breakfast

Your Chongqing to Chengdu 6 days trip comes to an end today! Your guide and the driver will escort you to the airport or train station based on your schedule. Wish you a nice journey!

If you have enough time before departure, consider scheduling a half-day trip to Jinli Old Street and the adjacent Wuhou Temple on your own, both of which are highly involved with the culture of the Three Kingdoms (220-280 AD). The former one, filled with local snacks, old customs, and various handicraft stores, is free to enter, while the latter one is dedicated to the Shu Kingdom’s prime minister, Zhu Geliang, costing CNY 50 (USD 7) per person.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast