1

Hi

Dont know the current situation re roadworks but it is about 5/6 hours to Langzhong
Bus station is on the out skirts of the new Langzhong and the old is attached so to speak , about 15 mins by taxi
There is some excellent accomodation in old Langzhong , many great courtyard establishments dating back centuries .
Yes the buses leave from Beimen station which is about 10 mins walk from Sims Guesthouse

Cheers

2

I'll only be able to stay overnight in Langzhong: I'd get the first bus, have the afternoon in Langzhong, as long as possible the next day, then last bus back to Chengdu. Do you think it's enough? I'm tight for time & an extremely efficient tourist!! I mean, I see lots in a short time.....

3

I stayed at the Feng Shui Museum: Tianyi youth hostel in Langzhong. Highly rated! There are other courtyard places - similar to Pingyao, and older houses you can pay to enter (again similar to Pingyao) as well as a couple of towers. I'm not sure how much there is to see in Langzhong - the Feng Shui museum is one, but generally I just enjoyed wandering the streets of the old town without the crowds of Pingyao. A day is probably enough - we stayed two nights and had a very relaxing time.

4

Hi,

I made this trip recently. I can't remember exactly how long it took - I think it was actually less than 5 hours. The road is an excellent freeway all the way there, and there were no problems with construction or roadworks on my route. As #1 points out, you'll get dropped off at a new bus station way on the outskirts of Langzhong, from where city buses will take you into the city (you can certainly get a city bus to the old bus station, which is walking distance from the old town). Buses go from Beimen, I would try calling the bus station up if I was you to try and determine what time the first bus is scheduled to leave. I checked out the Tianyi Youth Hostel drumbrake mentions and thought it was a mess - there are plenty of alternative homestay-style places to choose from. I think an overnight trip is a good way to see the place. I spent about 24 hours in Langzhong, and thought that was very reasonable.

5

It's a couple of years since I stayed at the Tianyi Youth Hostel so sounds like it's changed for the worse.

6

The set-up at Tianyi was all right, but the staff were absolutely useless and a series of irritations as I was checking in led me eventually to go and sleep elsewhere: when I arrived they had someone special come over to talk to me in English, and despite the fact that my Chinese was considerably better than her English, she insisted on talking to me in English, making the conversation cumbersome. Then they showed me a room, which I agreed to take, only for it to transpire 15 minutes later that the room they'd showed me into and let me have a look around was in fact already occupied, and I needed to take a different room. They made a complete mess of the check-in, taking ages to fill out a form and making mistakes with the money. Finally, when I went to investigate the new room, I discovered that the windows didn't shut (a bit of an issue in a room who's only furnishings were a bed and an A/C) and that in the narrow corridor directly outside of my room there were two "No Smoking" signs, and also a full ashtray. I decided I'd had enough, and went to search for rooms elsewhere; staff were so disorganized that if I wasn't honest, I would have ended up stealing 100 Yuan of their money: they tried to "re-fund" me 100 Yuan, despite the fact that I'd never paid them in the first place.

7

I won't bother with the Tianyi YH then.......
If all goes according to plan (which it never does...) I'll get to Chengdu very late (about 2 am!!) & head straight for a hostel.
Following morning get the first bus possible - depending largely on when I manage to wake up - & head for Langzhong. I should have the afternoon in Langzhong & the next morning there.
I'll take the latest possible bus back to Chengdu & base myself there.
Following day Leshan with a return to CDU in the afternoon/evening.
Following day pandas in the morning & use what's left of the day to see a tiny bit of Chengdu. This is really just a reconnaissance trip.
Next day have to fly out again.
Is this plan pushing it a bit time-wise? Pandas & Leshan are the 2 priorities but that left me with 2 full days, which I thought was too much for just Chengdu - hence the trip to Langzhong.

8

Hi
Easy to spend 2 days inChengdu
I am exhausted just reading your plans .
If you are getting into Chengdu at 2 am and getting up early to catch a bus then stay at Sims. As i said the bus station is about 10 mins down the road

Cheers

9

It looks easy to spend a WEEK in Chengdu! I'm checking it out for a future, longer trip where we will stay somewhere nice (Old Chengdu Club??), wander around & stuff our faces with Chuan Cai......
This way I figure I'll have 2 afternoons to explore Chengdu. Trust me, I move fast.....
I've already booked Sim's for when I arrive. Will stay at the Traffic for the other nights to be near the bus station.