2 Days Ancient Shu & Chengdu Discovery

Date: All Year Round Except Mondays

Price: From 430USD/PAX

Trip Focus: Panda + Museums

Status: Open to Booking

Route: Chengdu Panda Base-Sanxingdui Museum-Jinli Street-Jinsha Site Museum-Chengdu Museum-People's Park-Kuanzhai Alley

Trip Code: P007

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Overview

As one of the most livable cities and top tour destinations in China, Chengdu has lots of places of interest for visitors to explore, the world's largest panda base, the bustling streets of Jinli, the Taoist mountain of Qingcheng, Jinsha Site Museum, Kuanzhai Alley just name a few. Serving as the capital of Shu State since ancient times, Chengdu is proud of being the starting place of the Southern Silk Road, the birth place of printed paper money called Jiaozi about 1,000 years ago and founding the first public school in China more than 2,000 years ago. The excavations made in Sanxingdui about 40 kilometers to the north of Chengdu city proper and the discoveries found in Jinsha in western Chengdu have opened the door to an ancient culture dating back between 3,000 and 5,000 years ago and proved the multiple origin of Chinese civilization.

This trip is designed to show you the very best sides of Chengdu, the cute pandas, the food and the long and colorful history of Chengdu. In a short period of two days we will take you to the largest panda base in the world to come face to face with the cutest pandas, enjoy famous Sichuan food and walk through those well-displayed museums to unveil the connotation of those mysterious exhibits to help you gain a panoramic picture of Chengdu from its very beginning of history all the way to nowadays.

Highlights:

• Come to face to face with pandas of different ages at Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding.

• Visit some of the best museums in China such as Sanxingdui Museum and Jinsha Site Museum.

• Walk through some of the most iconic streets in Chengdu like Jinli Street and Kuanzhai Alley.

• Enjoy world-famous Sichuan food in some of the most popular local restaurants.

Introduction to Trip Destinations:

Sanxingdui Museum
Situated only 55 kilometers to the north of Chengdu, Sanxingdui Museum was built near the excavation site of Ancient Shu capital which was one of the largest cities in China more than 4,000 years ago. The cultural relics collected at the archaeological site shows the splendid civilization created by the people living in this area. The exhibitions in this marvellous museum, containing various relics including some best bronze, jade, gold and pottery articles which represent the highest achievements of ancient China are among the "Ten Best Exhibitions" of this country. Sanxingdui is said to be one of the greatest archaeological discoveries in 20th century, most recommended destinations for foreign travelers and the "Origins of Yangtze River civilization".

Jinsha Site Museum (Closed on Mondays)
Dating back to 12th to 7th century B.C., the Jinsha site was once the capital of the Ancient Shu. Massive gold, bronze, jade, stone, ivory, and lacquered wood were unearthed. Jinsha has probably the richest gold and jade wares and the most centralized elephant tusks in the world. Jinsha is of great significance for studying Ancient Shu, including its origin, development, decline, and provides evidence for an explanation of the abrupt disappearance of Sanxingdui Culture. As China's first big archeological finding in the 21th century, it has proved that the Chengdu Plain was the center of ancient civilization in the upper reaches of the Yangtze, while provided crucial evidence to the theory that the origins of ancient Chinese civilization came from multiple sources.

Chengdu Museum (Closed on Mondays)
Officially opened to the public on Sept. 15, 2016, the new building of Chengdu Museum is immense, showcasing nearly 200,000 collections including bronze wares, golds and silvers, bricks, stone carvings, ceramics, calligraphy, paintings, traditional furniture, shadow puppets, etc., giving a full historical picture of this part of China and is a perfect place to study Chinese folklore. The museum itself is a large and striking cultural symbol of Chengdu and is located on the west side of Tianfu Square in the central downtown, and very convenient to reach. The Shadow Puppetry Hall on the fifth floor is a highly recommend.

Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding (Chengdu Panda Base)

Holding the distinction as one of the world’s largest panda bases, Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding (Chengdu Panda Base) attracts tourists and wildlife enthusiasts worldwide. Conveniently located a short drive away from downtown, this state of the art research facility comfortably houses more pandas than anywhere else at home and abroad. During your visit, you will see pandas ranging from young cubs to lumbering adults as well as the elusive and adorable Red Panda. Additionally, the scenic, garden-like atmosphere of the panda base is especially ideal for urban birding like Red-billed Leiothrix, Ruddy Shelduck, Chinese Blackbird, Spotted Dove and so on.

Jinli Street
Ranked as the top of the 21 world’s most beautiful Streets by CNN Travel in 2019, Jinli has a long history tied to the foundation of Chengdu. For more than 2,000 years, Jinli has gained reputation across China as one of the oldest commercial streets. Featuring traditional architectures of Qing and Ming dynasties (1644-1911), and modeled after the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", the atmosphere of Jinli street has something for everyone including delicious street food, handcrafted souvenirs, and live entertainment.

How Can We Make This Trip Special？

• Many times of running this itinerary for western panda funs, nature and culture lovers enables us to ensure your trip is enjoyable and comfortable in the hidden area.

•  A team of passionate guides specializing in panda and wildlife with rich experiences of guiding and solid knowledge about local cultures and places.

•  This trip can be customized to better meet your travel style by centering on a different focus.

•  20-plus years of working in the travel industry and serving travelers from all over the world enable us to know how to make great trips for travelers of different travel styles.

What makes AbsolutePanda excellent?

• We are one of the premier travel companies focusing on panda and other wildlife in China.
We use AbsolutePanda as company brand because of our deep love toward panda and our determination to create your absolutely enjoyable panda trips.

Since 2003, our professional tour leaders and wildlife experts have helped thousands of travelers gain an in-depth understanding of Giant Panda and their companion animals, enjoy stunning scenery all over China and explore the authentic local culture.

• Exclusive Quality & Value Guarantee.

We define our quality by well-designed itineraries, stunning destinations, creative interactions, small groups, professional guides, and reasonable prices.

• Explore China in comfort and your style.

We understand each traveler is different. In addition to selected accommodations, meals and vehicles, we would like to show you the real China by an authentic experience with incredible wildlife and lovely locals.

• We care and share.

We believe the best way to help wildlife is through love and appreciation. By bringing nature lovers to enjoy the beauty of nature in China, we hope that local people can know the value of wildlife and learn how to love and appreciate those beautiful creatures living near their villages.

Map

Discovery Ancient Shu & Chengdu History by Museums --Trip Map

Itinerary

Outline:

Day 1. Chengdu Panda Base-Sanxingdui Museum-Jinli Street. (LD)
Visit the Chengdu Panda Base in the early morning then drive to Sanxingdui and roam Jinli Street after dinner. Overnight: Chengdu

Day 2. Jinsha Site Museum-Chengdu Museum-People's Park-Kuanzhai Alley. (BLD)
Go to Jinsha Site Museum to begin the day. Learn the story of Chengdu from its museum, park and old alley.

Details:

Day1. Chengdu Panda Base-Sanxingdui Museum-Jinli Street. Meals: LD
Early in the morning, we visit the most famous panda base—the Chengdu Research Center of Giant Panda Breeding (Chengdu Panda Base). In the afternoon we will take an hour drive to the Sanxingdui Museum in Guanghan, a city next to Chengdu. The museum is one of the largest museums in southwestern China and has the best relics from Ancient Shu which is thought to be one of the most important multiple origins of Chinese civilization. After a authentic local dinner, we will have a night walk in Jinli Street, one of the best-known old streets in China.

Overnight: Minshan Anyi Hotel (Copper Panda)/Chengdu Hongtai Hotel (Silver Panda)/Shangri-La Hotel (Gold Panda)

Day 2. Jinsha Site Museum-Chengdu Museum-People's Park-Kuanzhai Alley. Meals: BLD
In the morning, we continue our exploration of the splendid but mysterious Ancient Shu by visiting another museum called the Jinsha Site Museum. After the sudden disappearance of Sanxingdui civilization, it is believed now that the Ancient Shu people moved to Jinsha site and turned the place into a center of politics, economy and culture in Chengdu Plain. Here archaeologists have unearthed a great variety of artifacts including more than 5,000 articles of gold, bronze, jade, stone, ivory, and lacquered wood, as well as millions of pottery potsherds, tons of ivory and thousands of boar tusks and deer horns. Therefore, it is considered that the Jinsha has unearthed the richest gold and jade wares and the most centralized elephant tusks in the world. This is the best place to understand the history of Chengdu prior to the unification of China by Emperor Qin in 221 B.C. After lunch at local popular restaurant, we take you to the Chengdu Museum, where we can show you the development of the city in different dynasties of China in galleries of different themes. After this culture experience, we take you to People's Park & Kuanzhai Alley nearby to feel the laid-back life of Chengdu people and visit the neighborhood built exclusively for Manchu officers by combing the northern and southern architecture styles.

Notes:
1. Chengdu Museum does not open on Mondays.
2. Jinsha Site Museum does not open on Mondays.
3. Sanxingdui Museum opens on Mondays.
4. If you need help in arranging a flight to Chengdu from other major cities of China such as Beijing, Shanghai, Xian, or a departure flight from Chengdu, please feel free to contact us, we are more than happy to provide any support we can to facilitate your trip planning.

Dates & Prices

1. Dates

This trip is available all year round except every Monday as Jinsha Sit Museum and Chengdu Museum close on Mondays. AbsolutePanda can tailor-make this trip according to your time and interest.

2. Prices

The AbsolutePanda team works hard to provide the highest quality tour experiences at a fair price. However, after working in the travel industry for more than 20 years, our team knows that no two travelers are alike in terms of their travel style, personal interest, choice of guides and preferences in restaurants and hotels. For AbsolutePanda, our client’s satisfaction is a top priority. To meet the needs of different clients and ensure they enjoy a trip suited to their preferences, we have created a variety of different price options for our trips. These options vary in the guides they use, quality of vehicles, accommodations, and restaurants.

Our trip price has the following options, please read the explanations about includes and excludes for each price option below. These standard prices are based on a minimum of two travelers. The trip size is 2-10.

Option 1: Copper Panda

For travelers who are looking for a skilled guide who speaks English and show them around. You can choose this price option.

The cost for a group of 2 to 10 people:

430USD/PAX

Single supplement:

35USD/PAX

The cost includes:

1. Vehicles listed on the trip. Fuel and tolls are included in the price. The size of the vehicle is based on the number of participants for this itinerary;

2. An English-speaking guide for the whole trip;

3. Meals listed above as BLD;

4. Bottled water and snacks;

5. Entrance charges listed in the itinerary;

6. China Domestic Travel Insurance;

7. Hotels listed in the itinerary.

The cost excludes:

1. Alcoholic drinks during the meal;

2. Extra charges due to change of itinerary from client-side or factors beyond the control of AbsolutePanda such as natural disaster and governmental policy change;

3. Discretionary tips to the guide and driver;

4. All personal expenses, such as laundry service or for personal shopping;

5. Train ticket or airfare to Chengdu and out of Chengdu;

6. Any items not listed in the itinerary as included;

7. Entrance fee, car rental, or meals during your free time trip;

8. Single supplement.

Example Guides:
1) Claude: A Sichuan local who is fluent in English, passionate, and is well-versed in general knowledge about popular destinations. He can work as a driver and guide for small groups.
2) Melinda: A detail-oriented guide who is fluent in English. Melinda is knowledgeable about general information about our popular tour locations.
3) Michael: An American living in Chengdu, Michael is a passionate guide and is adept at interpreting Chengdu from the perspective of a westerner.

Option 2: Silver Panda

For travelers who hope to have a guide who knows certain specialized fields very well and can share the knowledge in-depth in a certain field like birding, flower-watching, Buddhism, food, photography, etc., so that they can make the best use of their travel time and meet their personal taste best.

The cost for a group of 2 to 10 people:

510USD/PAX

Single supplement:

55USD/PAX

The cost includes:

1. Vehicles listed on the trip. Fuel and tolls are included in the price. The size of the vehicle is based on the number of participants for this itinerary;

2. An English-speaking guide who has excellent knowledge about a certain field for the whole trip;

3. Meals listed above as BLD;

4. Bottled water and snacks;

5. Entrance charges listed in the itinerary;

6. China Domestic Travel Insurance;

7. Hotel listed in the itinerary.

The cost excludes:

1. Alcoholic drinks during the meal;

2. Extra charges due to change of itinerary from client-side or factors beyond the control of AbsolutePanda such as natural disaster and governmental policy change;

3. Discretionary tips to the guide and driver;

4. All personal expenses, such as laundry service or for personal shopping;

5. Train ticket or airfare to Chengdu and out of Chengdu;

6. Any items not listed in the itinerary as included;

7. Entrance fee, car rental, or meals during your free time trip;

8. Single supplement.

Example Guides:
1) Shay: One of AbsolutePanda’s resident birding experts, Shay speaks English and is a detail-driven guide.
2) Cory: A botany expert and photographer who speaks English, Cory is a passionate guide who excels at leading clients.
3) Lily: An English speaking guide, Lily is especially skilled at leading clients on tours that involve Yoga and Taiji.

Option 3: Gold Panda

For travelers who want to travel in luxury, the gold panda option is the right choice for you. With this level of service, your group will enjoy the best restaurant and transportation options available. We will provide the details concerning your trip. Please feel free to ask us any questions concerning this package option.

The cost for a group of 2 to 10 people:

650USD/PAX

Single supplement:

95USD/PAX

The cost includes:

1. A nice private car listed on the trip. Fuel and tolls are included in the price. The size of the vehicle is based on the number of participants for this itinerary;

2. An English-speaking expert guide about a certain field for the whole trip;

3. Meals listed above as BLD, in the best and the most authentic local restaurants;

4. Bottled water and snacks;

5. Entrance charges listed in the itinerary;

6. China Domestic Travel Insurance;

7. Hotel listed in the itinerary.

The cost excludes:

1. Alcoholic drinks during the meal;

2. Extra charges due to change of itinerary from client-side or factors beyond the control of AbsolutePanda such as natural disaster and governmental policy change;

3. Discretionary tips to the guide and driver;

4. All personal expenses, such as laundry service or for personal shopping;

5. Train ticket or airfare to Chengdu and out of Chengdu;

6. Any items not listed in the itinerary as included;

7. Entrance fee, car rental, or meals during your free time trip;

8. Single supplement.

Example Guides:
1) Bella: A fluent English speaker, Bella is a knowledgeable birding expert and is well versed in Chinese food and local culture.
2) Philip: A local guide with fluent English and basic Japanese, Philip is an exceptional photographer and birding guide who has keen interests in Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, and Chinese cuisine.

Notes:
1. To AbsolutePanda team, our clients' overall satisfaction with their trip is the top priority. We've created different price options to make it easier for you to choose a tour that fits your style and budget. The basic option is not available for this trip as we feel it is difficult for our clients to enjoy this trip without the help of a guide. If you prefer to travel in a different style than the options we've provided here, please feel free to contact us.
2. For travelers who hope to tailor-make the day programs with their specific travel preferences in mind (transportation, hotels, special privileges, and famous local experts), tailor-making a tour is the best way to ensure your desires are met. Please contact us with your specific needs and we will make an itinerary based on your expectations. Once you confirm, we work out the cost and send it to you. Please feel free to ask any questions to learn more.
3. Please note that guides with specialized knowledge are not always available, especially during our busy season from April to October. If you have an on-planning trip, please contact us as early as possible so that we will block the date of our expert guide for you.

When you put your trust in our team, we are certain to help you enjoy an unforgettable travel experience in Chengdu!

Accommodations

AbsolutePanda firmly believes travel is an art. To ensure every trip with us is a great travel art for our clients, the AbsolutePanda team does all we can to consider every possible detail. The choice of hotels is an essential part of making a great trip. After many years of running a travel business, we have built up our network of cooperative hotels at different levels. We understand people are different in the choice of hotels when they travel. If you want to use some specific hotels, please feel free to let us know, we are delighted to book it for you at a competitive price to make the hotel choice better meet your taste, budget and travel style. We can either reserve a hotel with competitive price for you or simply include the hotel into your trip cost if possible. You are welcome to contact us and tell us your requests, we will do our best to create the best travel itinerary for your private use.

If you need help with hotel booking in other big cities of China at different styles and luxury levels (International-brand Hotels, Local Brand Hotels, Economical Hotels), please feel free to email our team at info@absolutepanda.com.

Here are the default hotel choices for this tour:

Chengdu Minshan Anyi Hotel (Copper Panda)
Located at Chunxi Road, the most famous & busiest street in Chengdu, Minshan Anyi Hotel is very convenient to reach from the airport, train station and city tourist destinations. The hotel offers many services and sufficient facilities as well as a Chinese restaurant serves a selection of Chinese dishes.

Chengdu Hongtai Hotel (Silver Panda)
Chengdu Hongtai Hotel is an exquisite boutique hotel featured with Ancient Shu culture as the theme. Located on the bank of Huanhua Creek, it is a rare quiet place in a noisy city with active vegetation coverage, with clean air, and a pleasant environment. Hongtai Hotel is also adjacent to Wuhou Shrine, Huanhuaxi Park, Dufu Thatched Cottage, and very close to the Jinsha Site Museum, Qingyang Taoist Temple and Qintai Road.

Shangri-La Hotel Chengdu (Gold Panda)
Located in Jinjiang District, just beside one of the Chengdu Landmark—the Anshun Bridge, Shangri-La Chengdu offers one of the best hotel services in Chengdu. It served many VIPs and political leaders when they were visiting Chengdu. Shangri-la Hotel Chengdu is also a very good starting point for a city day tour with a 25-minute drive from Chengdu International Airport, and 30 minutes to Chengdu Panda Base.

FAQs

1. Best time to visit Chengdu?
The best time to visit Chengdu is Spring and Autumn since the temperature is comfortable and many destinations around Chengdu are at their best time.
AbsolutePanda suggests our clients to avoid the national holidays for escaping the crowds.

2. Are there any days when the museums are not open?
Both Chengdu Museum and Jinsha Site Museum are closed on Mondays, besides that, no.

3. Could we take pictures inside the galleries of these museums?
Yes. Please turn off the flashlight of your cameras.

4. Do you have other special museums near Chengdu we can pay a visit?
Yes. We do have various kinds of museums like one of the biggest dinosaur museum in Zigong, Jianchuan Museum that exhibits civil cultures in Dayi County etc. We can tailor-make a museum tour for you according to your interest.

5. Can we add more pandas and other activities to this tour?
Of course, please send your request to us so our travel expert can give your best travel solutions.

Email us if you have any questions. Read our FAQ

Testimonials

Custom made panda tour around Chengdu - amazing
My girlfriend is obsessed with pandas. Unhealthily so. I decided to take her on a panda holiday, understanding that it would either:

a) Cure her of this obsession forever or
b) Be a really good holiday!
It worked out as b. AbsolutePanda were amazing in this process; we actually spent two years planing it, and at no point did they become frustrated with us as we changed and rechanged our requirements over and over.
Lily, Philip and Grant showed incredible patience with us, until finally they had formed the perfect itinerary, formed as an adorable PDF with paintings of pandas. We used some airmiles to make our own way to Shanghai for a few days at either end of the holiday, and flew to Chengdu in the middle. For everything else, we were totally in AbsolutePanda's hands, and they proved to be absolutely trustworthy and to take this responsibility very seriously.
First, Lareina (our guide) and Mr E (our driver) met us at the airport. Lareina was great fun, and super helpful - always happy to answer any of our ridiculous questions. Mr E did not speak much English, but was also lovely. They both had impeccable manners and were eager to cater to our every need. They took us immediately for dinner in Chengdu and ordered on our behalf. They paid attention to what we liked and didn't like, and tailored all of our meals around this throughout the trip. Then we went to the Shangri-La hotel, which was incredible - we were on the 34th floor, with stunning views of the city.
The next day, we went to the Dujiangyan panda base, where we explored and saw some pandas - and then each got to hug a baby panda and get a photo! This is not cheap, but a valuable source of income for the panda bases. An amazing experience. We had a lovely lunch and then explored a nearby ancient city and got some great photos. Finally, we drove all the way to the Bifengxia panda base, where we would be volunteering for the next few days. The hotel here was not as impressive since it was in the middle of nowhere (and cold!) but the team went to great efforts to accommodate us. They ordered food for us ahead of time, and provided a series of "breakfast boxes" with all kinds of Western style food and drink that we could eat during our time in Bifengxia. Other hotel guests were very jealous of this!
Over the next few days we volunteered in the panda base, and learned how to clean out the enclosures, prepare bamboo, and fed the pandas bamboo, carrot and special panda-cake. It was surprisingly hard work, but such a wonderful experience to be close to the pandas but away from the crowds of Chengdu. It was really personal and special. When we weren't working, we could explore the panda base as staff and access areas the general public could not. We stayed here for five days, and the staff were all wonderful.
Then Lareina and Mr E returned to pick us up, and we headed to Leshan where we explored the local area, tried the hot pot (amazing, but very spicy!), and took a moonlight stroll along the river. They'd arranged us another amazing hotel, the Ayard Of Ch'an Leshan which felt very authentic. We drank tea, and slept in Chinese PJs.
The next day we took a hike alongside the largest sitting Buddha statue in the world, and explored some of the local temples. We also wandered some of the shopping streets and bought some amazing local craft items, and saw a local flower show. And in the evening, we went to a Sichuan Opera, which I enjoyed much more than I thought I would! The face-changing magic and puppetry is especially impressive.
On the last day, we visited the final panda base in Chengdu, which is much bigger but also much busier! At this point we were experts in all things panda, and scored highly on the quiz in the museum
At the very end, we were sad to go! We formed some really beautiful memories, and the people were wonderful. We had an incredible experience. I can't recommend it enough.

—Booshtukka

Welcome to email us and be our guests to write the feedback for us. Testimonial of AbsolutePanda

Videos & Photos

Welcome to email us and share your trip video with us. Video Album of AbsolutePanda

We panda baby loves milk.

Known as "living fossil" dating back to 8 million years, will we still have the bright future?

Bronze mask in Sanxingdui Museum. Do Ancient Shu people look like this mask?

It says that the King of Ancient Shu has protruding eyes and this photo show some hint.

It is very rare to take a photo of the gold mask and the Golden Sun Bird together in Jinsha Site Museum.

The outstanding jade treasure in Jinsha Site Museum.

"Legend of the White Snake" with Shadow Puppetry version made of cowhide (Qing Dynasty).

Shadow Puppetry (could be Chinese first movie over 1,000years ago) Hall in Chengdu Museum (on Fifth Floor).

Jinli Street

The architectures in Jinli have the MIng and Qing dynasties style.

The Shadow Puppetry (intangible cultural heritage) in Jinli Street.

Chengdu life with traditional tea house in People's Park.

Dressed in the Sichuan opera clothes in Kuanzhai Ally is a fasion of local people.