Field guides · from Chengdu
The questions we answer on the road, written down.
When should you arrive at the panda base? Does your passport qualify for the 240-hour route? Is Huanglong worth the altitude? Read the practical answer, then decide whether you want a local team to shape the rest.
Eleven practical guides
Useful before you book a flight.
Entry rules
Chengdu 240-hour visa-free transit, explained plainly
The three hard conditions, when the clock starts, why Chengdu Tianfu qualifies, and when the 30-day route is simpler.
Chengdu
The Chengdu panda bases: a local field guide
Which base to choose, when pandas are awake, what the keeper-for-a-day experience really is, and how to fit pandas into one calm day.
North Sichuan
Jiuzhaigou or Huanglong: which one deserves your day?
Two UNESCO valleys, one airport and very different days. A practical choice by time, altitude, season and the people travelling with you.
Beijing
A calm four-day private Beijing itinerary
How to place the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, hutongs and the Temple of Heaven so the capital feels spacious rather than rushed.
Beijing
Mutianyu or Badaling: choosing the right Great Wall day
Compare crowds, walking, cable cars, scenery and the people travelling before you choose the section for a private Beijing day.
China · Family
China family vacation: a practical private itinerary
How to plan around children, grandparents, pandas, the Great Wall, trains, food and the pauses that keep a family route enjoyable.
China · Honeymoon
China honeymoon itinerary: a private route for two
Pair city energy with a slower landscape, then leave room for the moments no standard honeymoon package can script.
China · Family
10 days in China with children: Beijing and Chengdu
A realistic two-base plan with pandas, the Great Wall, arrival, transfer and recovery days counted before adding a third region.
Beijing · Family
Beijing with children: four or five days without the rush
How to pace the Forbidden City, the Great Wall and hutongs, with practical options when legs, weather or attention span change the day.
China · Honeymoon
10-day China honeymoon: Shanghai and Yangshuo
A private city-and-landscape route with slow mornings, a clear transfer plan and a weather backup for a meaningful celebration.
China · Luxury
A 14-day private luxury China itinerary
Beijing, Xi'an, Guilin and Shanghai arranged so four different stops still leave room to breathe.
How we write
Useful detail, including the inconvenient bits.
These are not generic destination lists. They come from the questions our Chengdu team answers every week: which hour matters, which route is kinder to a parent, and when a famous stop is not worth forcing into the day.
Rules, seasons, altitude and opening arrangements move. Each article carries its review date; send us your dates before you book and we will check the current position again.
Operated by 成都光大国际旅行社 — licensed since 1987Travel licence L-SC-CJ00008See the paperwork →
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