What you'll do
A Taste of Sichuan'd Wild Side
Hello, and welcome to the gateway to the mountains - Sichuan.
This is a province full of high mountains, wide-open landscapes, Tibetan culture and ranchers.
This 5-day itinerary offers just a small taste of what Sichuan is all about - including multiple mountain lookout points offering incredible views, short hikes, Tibetan temples and activities like horse-riding.
If you only ahve a few days to spend in the region, this is the itinerary for you.
Tips for a Sichuan adventure:
The west of Sichuan is a fascinating place, but here are some things to be aware of.
Driving conditions - The roads are generally poor, with landslides each year taking down roads. For that reason a lot fo the roads will change slightly or end up as off-road sections. With that in mind, if you're self-driving then I highly recommend getting a large SUV-type car.
If you would rather hiring a driver, you can add Xi Peng on wechat - he is a reliable and friendly driver. Just let him know Alex Feal sent you!
Language - English is not widely spoken here so it'd be good to download a solid translator to be able to communicate.
You can add people on wechat and allow the app to do the translating for you too.
Signal - Dpending on your carrier, a lot of the region won't have cell coverage, so be sure to have things like maps, translators etc downloaded in advance, as well as carrying some cash for if you can't pay with Alipay.
Altitude - A lot of the places in Western Sichuan are at high altitude (between 4,000m-5,000m) and altitude sickness can set in. I'd highly recommend having a bottle of Oxygen just in case. You can pick these up at most stores once you hit Kangding and further beyond.
Day 1
Hello and welcome to A Taste of Chuanxi - a 5 day Western Sichuan adventure that offers a glimpse into the mountains and life in the region for people on a short timeframe.
Day 1 in Sichuan
The mountains begin from Kangding - so today that's where we'll be headed to which makes today predominantly a travel day.
Kangding is between 3-7 hours away from Chengdu depending on road condition so there'll ba few options for today. You can choose to spend some time in Chengdu before heading out, or you can go directly and drive deeper into the mountains.
Either way, it's time to go!
If you want to spend some time in Chengdu before driving out around lunch, here are a few nice spots you can hit in the morning!
Tourism-wise, you can head to the Panda research base, or to the Wuhou Shrine area.
Or, if you're looking for a spot of shopping before you hit the moutnains, there are worse places to grab a brew and hit the shops than Taikoo Li
Taikoo Li
shop
Trendy shopping in Chengdu
An 'old town' refurbished into a trendy shopping district? I'm here for it!
About Taikoo Li
The Taikoo Li shopping area surrounds Daci Temple and has transformed the area into a great place to wander around the shops and spend a few hours while unwinding.
The place blends modern and Sichuan-style architecture and has become full of international luxury brands in a laid-back spot to chill.
Somehow, in the heart of a city of so many millions, the trendy shopping district feels relaxed.
Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding
Sightseeing
Panda conservation paradise in China
No visit to China and Chengdu is complete without seeing pandas, and this is one of the best places to visit them.
About the Research Base
Originally set up in the late 1980's, the panda research base now homes over 150 giant pandas and is seen as the premier research base into panda conservation and one of the more iconic places to visit within China.
Top tips:
Aim to be in the park for opening time as that is when the pandas will be at their most active. From our last visit, they were fed daily at around 7am so that's a solid time to aim for.
It's also worth noting the park can get extremely busy, especially as Chinese social media turns some of the pandas into celebrities which makes their specific encolusures very busy so go as early as possible.
If you're lucky enough to visit during the summer months, you are likely to see the baby pandas being cared for inside the smaller enclosures having just been born.
WuHou Shrine (武侯祠)
culture
Historical park honoring Three Kingdoms
Wuhou shrine is one of those spots that never gets boring as I find myself finding new compositions and angles every time I visit - which is why it remains on my visit list every time I visit Chengdu.
About Wuhou Shrine
While the construction date of the original Wuhou Shrine is unclear, we do know that this one was originally built in the late 1600's and, in my opinion, is one of the nicest walks in the city.
The Shrine features temples dedicated to Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang (dynasty warriors players know exactly who they are) aswell as plenty of interesting photography compositions with the vivid red walls. In general, the shrine s a great place to just wander around soaking up the history.
If you're a photographer, my suggestion would be to get there veery early for opening time and then skip all the cultural temples and push through to the red-wall walkway. This is the most iconic part to photograph but, within about 10 minutes of the shrine opening is already packed with people so yeah, get ready for a bit of a hectic 10 minutes and then you can relax and ramble along enjoying the history and stories.
Getting to Wuhou Shrine
Wuhou Shrine is in downtown Chengdu and is easily reachable from across the city by either taxi or subway.
藏佳宴藏餐
restaurant
Delicious Tibetan food
the perfect intro to Tibetan food to start your journey.
About 藏佳宴藏餐 / Cangjian
This small second-floor restaurant is hard to find - and will often require queuing for a bit to get a table - but it is most definitely worth it.
It's hidden away inside an alleyway, so the images above should show a bit more of how it looks to get there, but if you follow the directions for either the English or the Chinese name and double check with the map pin here it should be the right one!
Recommendation wise, we absolutely love the stuffed mushrooms so 10/10 you should go for that!
Kangding Suonanshi Minsu Hotel
hotel
A lovely stylish hotel - a comfortable stay before your trip
This stylish hotel run by a family of Tibetan heitage is a perfect comfortable spot to begin your Western Sichaun adventure.
About Kangding Suonanshi Minsu Hotel
The hotel features large rooms with a bathtub and overlooks the Nanwu Monastery.
I'm not sure how else to describe a room other than the bed is comfortable, the design is great and the people are fab.
After you wakeup, the staff will bring breakfast to the room so you're ready to go on your adventure.
But it's the workers here that really make this a step above.
The owner is incredibly friendly and will be happy to help you on your trip into Sichaun - all you have to do is ask.
Getting to the Hotel
The hotel has been said to be a bit hard to find so make sure to use the Chinese name of 康定索南峙民宿.
In general, you'll head slightly out of the main downtown area, then up and around an alleyway.
If you're driving, jsut a heads up that it is quite steep.
Booking a room
From what I've seen, this hotel is not on any of the 'foreign' versions of the apps so I'd recommend booking direct with the owner:
You can contact her on WeChat via: 15283620767