Southwest

Sichuan Province travel guide

四川省 · 3 cities · 86 places

Dujiangyan, Chengdu · AI illustration for China Trip

Cities and areas in Sichuan

Chengdu

At the “Talking About the Fourth City” forum, hosted by New Weekly magazine and others, Chengdu beat Shenzhen to become the fourth city after Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. The city has a full range of industries and a distinctive Sichuan cultural tradition, along with famous food, drink and beautiful women. In recent years, more and more outsiders have come to love Chengdu. Descriptions such as “the city you won't want to leave” and “the Eastern Garden of Eden” keep multiplying, and their content boils down to “laid-back, content with small comforts, mahjong and hotpot.” In reality, local housing prices have pushed most people beyond the Third Ring Road. Chengdu is no longer just a pastoral idyll, and the typical Chengdu comfort and ease seem to be losing some of their footing, inevitably tinged with Chinese-style anxiety. Yet no matter which direction you head from Chengdu, within 100 kilometres you will still find traditional, remote mountain villages, where tens of millions of Sichuan farmers work hard all year round and form the famous army of migrant labourers. Chengdu, which accounts for nearly a third of Sichuan's economic output, has every advantage of location and resources, drawing on the best of the province's resources, and it is the whole province that has nurtured it.

Overview

Sichuan Province

Self-Guided Tours:

Historical and Cultural Tour

Chengdu Corridor: Chengdu→Sanxingdui Museum→Dujiangyan→Qingcheng Mountain→Xiling Snow Mountain→Siguniang Mountain→Huanglongxi→Yunding Village

Leshan–Mount Emei Route: Leshan Giant Buddha→Mount Emei→Yixiantian→Lugu Lake→Luoji Mountain

Folk Culture and Ecology Tour

Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture Route: Jiuzhaigou→Huanglong→Hongyuan and Zoige Grassland→Songpan Ancient Town

Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture Route: Hailuogou→Daocheng Shenmulei→Kangding→Muge Lake→Tagong→Danba

Self-Drive Tours:

Chasing the Vanishing Horizon: Chengdu→Ya'an→Luding→Kangding→Yajiang→Litang→Daocheng→Chitu→Riwa Village→Yading Village→Tagong→Danba→Balang Mountain→Wolong→Dujiangyan→Chengdu

Essence of Sichuan—Jiuzhai and Huanglong Tour: Chengdu→Jiuzhaigou→Huanglong→Hongyuan→Miyaluo→Chengdu

Experiencing the Beauty of Mount Emei: Chengdu→Leshan→Mount Emei→Chengdu

Places in Sichuan

Dujiangyan

Chengdu · 3–5 hours

A great ancient water conservancy project. Thanks to Dujiangyan, the thousands of miles of flat land on the Chengdu Plain and the reputation of the “Land of Abundance” were made possible. It is known as the brilliant pearl of ancient hydraulic engineering.

Jiuzhaigou

Jiuzhaigou and Aba Prefecture · 1 day

No river is more colourful or pure than Jiuzhaigou's, and no mountain's foliage is more brilliant and varied. Here nature is never monochrome: in spring new buds turn green, in summer orioles and swallows dart about, in autumn the mountains blaze with red leaves, and in winter the ice gleams like jade. Water is the soul of Jiuzhaigou, which is why it is said that “once you have seen Jiuzhaigou's water, you need not see any other.” The Shuzhenggou section is the main valley, about 14 km long, with more than 40 lakes (haizi), roughly 40% of all the lakes in the scenic area. It is the entrance to Jiuzhaigou: every visitor passes through Shuzheng Valley. Key sights include Penjing Beach, Reed Sea, Huohua Lake, Shuzheng Waterfall, Rhinoceros Lake and Nuorilang Waterfall. The Rizegou section is the highlight of the Jiuzhaigou scenic line, with stunningly beautiful and ever-changing scenery. Sights include the Nuorilang Lake Group, Mirror Lake, Pearl Shoals Waterfall, Peacock Channel, Five-Flower Lake, Panda Lake Waterfall, Arrow Bamboo Lake, Eagle Claw Cave, Swan Lake, Fangcao Lake, Jianyan Hanging Spring and the primeval forest. The Zharugou valley is the longest valley developed so far in Jiuzhaigou, at 18 km. It passes Jiwan Lake and Five-Colour Pond before reaching Changhai (Long Lake) at an altitude of 3,100 metres.

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