1

You can do an easy day trip to the Great Buddha at Leshan, which is quite impressive. In September I spent 3 nights up in Jiuzhaigou which was amazing. The road is pretty awful, so book a return package with flights, and if possible, 2 full days in the park, although you can do a lot in 1 full day. Wonderful scenery.

2

Sorry, I’m no idea for your '4 and a half days’ itinerary that cover all the musts.

Generally, the most hot spots are;
At Chengdu city: Wu Hou Ci,…..
Nearby places: panda feeding center, Leshan Big Buddha, Emeishan, Du Jian Yian and Qing Cheng Shan,…..
Further places: Jiuzhaigou+ Huanglong

Not sure are you have interesting at Museums, such as Jinsha Ruins, Yongling Museum in the city, or the San Xing Dui Museum at Guanghan.

If you have interest Museums and ancient towns, I’ll suggest your 2 and a half days excursion on Chengdu- San Xing Dui Museum- Langzhong- Chengdu.

3

Zigong for the (excellent) dinosaur museum, salt drill museum etc. Nice landscape en route. Dazu rock carvings is good too. Otherwise, Leshan/Emei shan would be the obvious choice if not done already

4

Thx to all for the replies and suggestions. I'm sorry that I didnt detailed the places I'm going to visit in Chengdu. Actually, this is an organized package. The itinerary said that I will visit Kuanzhaixiangzi or The Wide and Narrow Lanes, Jinli Ancient Street, Tea Shop, Chunxi Road, Luodai Ancient Town, Longquan Flower and Fruit Mountain, Silk Shop, Eastern Music Theme Park, Qintai Road, Panda Base and Wenshu Workshop.
My interest is not in musuem or ancient town but more to landscapes. I hv made some research and I am interested to visit either Jiuzhaigou or Hailuogou. Can someone tell me how to do this by bus or by flight (whats the name of the arrival airport?) The duration of the journey, bus @ flight fare, entrance fees and whatever u think is neccessary for me to know, I would be very thankful.
My first day of arrival is free at leisure and I will be arriving Chengdu airport at 1.40pm. I am thinking of going to Snow Mountain for some ski fun. Do u think the time is sufficient (3 hrs of skiing is enough for me)? And how to get there?

5

Reg. flights: try Elong.net. Some 600 RMB, one way.

6

For skiing, Xi Ling is the closest venue that approx 3 hours from Chengdu.

Chengdu's Jing Sha bus station has freq. bus to there that starting at 09:30 at @40min interval.

BTW, Kuanzhaixiangzi= The Wide and Narrow Lanes.

7

For Jiuzhaigou and Hailuogou, i do not think they have much to offer because they are both covered by snow and you could see nothing excep boundless snow. The highlight of them lies in its beautiful waters and the water are frozon in winter. Also the road to Hailuo is harsh to drive due to snow and it is dangerous to head there. You had better not.

Hope it helps.

8

Thx again for the replies...Ok then, I hv made up my mind to spend 1 full day at Xiling Snow Mounntain. As for the other extra day, I am still wondering on where to go, perhaps somewhere not too far from Xiling? I hv checked Emeishan, but I dont think its suitable to hike there during this time and its not worth to pay the entrance fee for the very short stay. Any other suggestion? Landscape & scenic view is my priority.

9

Emei Shan totally worth it even in winter (I went there on a Feb. Chinese New Year), but only if you can devote 2-3 days to actually climb it on foot.

If you're in to the Buddhist Holy Mountain thing at all, it's really a stunning/stellar location, but the value is about experiencing it over the course of a climb. You can't really "get it" by taking a bus to the top and taking a bus back. Since your schedule is tight, skip it.

I enjoyed seeing Leshan's big buddha and also enjoyed seeing umm, I forget the name, but it's a very old very interesting hydro-engineering (river diversion) project in Sichuan.

Edited by: LongIslandBob

10

Oh, there is an old prison in Chongqing where the KMT slaughtered a bunch of prisoners before departing for Taiwan.

Unless you are "in" to that period of Chinese history, the prison tour is pretty unmemorable, but there is a sculpture in the execution room there that is so impressive, this non-art-guy remembers it 20-some years later.

If you art into art . . . . .