Sichuan
It's fitting that an ancient form of opera and magic called biànliǎn (face-changing) originated here, for Sichuan (四川, Sìchuān) is a land of many guises. Capital Chengdu shows a modern face, but just beyond its ring roads you'll find a more traditional landscape of mist-shrouded, sacred mountains, and a countryside scattered with ancient villages and cliffs of carved Buddhas.
Central Sichuan is also home to the giant panda, the most famous face in China. In the south, expect a veil of history and a muted beauty that sees far fewer travellers than the rest of the region.
To the north the visage changes again into a fairyland of alpine valleys and blue-green lakes. Sichuan’s Tibetan side appears as you venture west. This is Kham, one of the former Tibetan prefectures: a vast landscape of plateau grasslands and glacial mountains where Tibetan culture still thrives and you’re certain to have your most magical experiences.
Latest Stories from Sichuan
Top attractions
These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Sichuan.
See
Dzongsar Monastery
One of the oldest, most important and certainly most visibly impressive monastery complexes in Kham, the remote Dzongsar Monastery sits on a sharp ridge above the main village of the Dzongsar Valley. The monastery was originally founded in 746 by a Bönpo lama, but has been much reconstructed since and, considering its importance, is quite a small structure, though it's none the less magical for it. In the late 13th century a new Sakya monastery was established on the site of the Bön monastery (Bön was the religion that predated Buddhism on the Tibetan plateau) and the monastery has remained a part of that school of Tibetan Buddhism ever since. However, it has also played an important role in the Rimé movement and is known for its openness to most Tibetan Buddhism schools. The complex contains a number of chapels, one of which houses the ashes of the first and second Rinpoche Dzongsar, who were leading figures in the 19th-century Rimé movement. Colourful traditional wooden housing for the monks is clustered around the monastery and along the valley floor below. It's down on the valley floor that the large and highly regarded shedra (Buddhist college) is located. Around 1900 monks study here. Many of them have studied previously in India and some will likely want to practise their English with you. The colourful buildings and constant ebb and flow of monks moving around the complex make for a wholly exotic and mystical place to explore. Come to the shedra in the early evening and you might catch the courtyard full of hundreds of debating monks. What makes the place so utterly charming is the absolute dearth of other tourists.
See
Le Shan Grand Buddha
Le Shan’s serene, 1200-year-old Grand Buddha sits in repose, carved from a cliff face overlooking the confluence of three busy rivers: the Dadu, Min and Qingyi. The Buddhist monk Haitong conceived the project in AD 713, hoping that Buddha would protect the boats and calm the lethal currents. It was 90 years after Haitong's death that the project was completed, but afterwards the river waters obeyed. Believers credited Buddha’s grace; others pointed to the construction process, in which piles of surplus rocks reshaped the rivers and changed the currents. At 71m tall, he is indeed grand. His shoulders span 28m, and each of his big toes is 8.5m long. His ears are 7m. Their length symbolises wisdom and the conscious abandonment of materialism. It is said that heavy gold baubles left Siddartha's earlobes elongated even after he was no longer weighed down by material things. Inside the body, hidden from view, is a water-drainage system to prevent weathering, although he is showing his age and soil erosion is an ongoing problem. To fully appreciate this Buddha’s magnitude, get an up-close look at his head, then descend the steep, winding stairway for the Lilliputian view. Avoid visiting on weekends and holidays, when traffic on the staircase can come to a complete standstill and queues can top two hours or more. Afterwards, head up the path to Su's Garden (苏园, Sū Yuán) just above the entry and exit area to the Buddha, a manicured garden around a cliffside teahouse (from ¥20) that's lovely when not hosting lunchtime tour groups. Admission also includes access to a number of caves and temples on the grounds, though they are a decent hike from the main attraction. Mahaoya Tombs Museum has a modest collection of tombs and burial artefacts dating from the Eastern Han dynasty (AD 25–220). Wuyou Temple, like the Buddha, dates from the Tang dynasty, and has Ming and Qing renovations. This monastery contains calligraphy and artefacts, with the highlights in the Luohan Hall – 1000 terracotta arhat (Buddhist celestial beings, similar to angels) displaying an incredible variety of postures and facial expressions: no two are alike. Also inside is a fantastic statue of Avalokiteshvara (Guanyin), the Goddess of Mercy. A separate park (not included in the Grand Buddha admission), the Oriental Buddha Capital, houses a collection of 3000 Buddha statues and figurines from across Asia, including a 170m-long reclining Buddha, one of the world’s longest. There is an entrance near the Grand Buddha's south gate; otherwise exit and take bus 3 or 13 (¥1) to the Oriental Buddha Capital (东方佛都, Dōngfāng Fódū) stop. The entrance is further than it looks on the park maps.
See
Bakong Scripture Printing Press
This fascinating 1729 printing press houses an ongoing printing operation that still uses traditional woodblock printing methods and maintains more than 290,000 scripture plates, an astonishing 70% of Tibet’s literary heritage. It's the biggest and most important of three such printing presses (the others are in Lhasa and Gansu). It's more than just a mere printing house though; this is a religious and pilgrimage site, and throughout the day and early evening scores of pilgrims circumambulate the outside of the building. Have a look in the main hall, protected from fire and earthquakes by the guardian goddess Drölma (Tara). There are some nice murals in the two ground-floor chapels (bring a torch). Afterwards, head up the stairs on the left-hand side of the courtyard to examine the wood-block storage chambers before climbing a steep ladder up to the main attraction: pairs of printers working together to ink and press more than 2500 prints each day at lightning speed. In a side room on the same floor, you’ll find the senior printers making larger and more complex prints of Tibetan gods on paper and coloured cloth. Aside from a brief interlude during China's Cultural Revolution, these printers have been in operation continuously since the founding of the monastery in much the same atmosphere as they work in today. The wood blocks are engraved with scriptures from all of the Tibetan Buddhist orders, as well as Bön (苯教), a religion that predates the arrival of Buddhism in Tibet. These ancient writings cover astronomy, geography, music, medicine and Buddhist classics, including two of the most important Tibetan sutras. A set of 555 woodblock plates, written in Hindi, Sanskrit and Tibetan, describes the history of Indian Buddhism and is the only surviving copy in the world. On the way out, don't miss the steep ladder that gives access to the paper-cutting rooms upstairs and a small rooftop shrine beyond. You aren’t generally allowed to take photos inside. To get here, turn right out of the bus station, then left over the bridge and keep walking straight up the hill.
See
Giant Panda Breeding Research Base
One of Chengdu’s most popular attractions, this panda park 18km north of the city centre is the easiest way to glimpse Sichuan’s most famous residents. Don't, however, make the mistake of thinking you'll be seeing wild pandas. They are kept in large enclosures and have a dedicated team of scientists and keepers tending to their every need. As well as living, breathing pandas, there are some fascinating panda information centres and museums explaining panda conservation and husbandry. Home to nearly 120 giant and 76 red pandas, the base focuses on getting these notoriously love-shy creatures to breed and has been remarkably successful at it. March to May is the ‘falling in love period’ (wink wink). If you visit during summer or autumn, you may see tiny newborns in the nursery incubators. Try to visit in the morning, when the pandas are most active. Feeding takes place around opening time at 8am, although you’ll see them eating in the late afternoon, too. Pandas spend most of their afternoons sleeping, particularly during the height of midsummer, when they sometimes disappear into their (air-conditioned) living quarters, though some of these have public viewing areas. At the best of times, it can be very busy. At weekends you'll be lucky to spot a panda through the swarms of humans. From exit A of the Panda Avenue (熊猫大道) station on metro line 3 , a free D025 bus transfer is available from 8.30am to 4pm. A taxi from the city centre costs about ¥50, or hostels run trips here. There are also various dedicated buses from the city centre to the gates of the research base. The Panda Bus is one such company and it charges ¥10 from the Wide and Narrow Alley, the Wenshu Monastery and various other locations.
See
Dzogchen Gompa
Backed by mountains, the massive Dzogchen monastery complex sits halfway up a steep ridge overlooking a valley dotted with stupas, shedras (Buddhist colleges), dormitory blocks, and further chapels and prayer halls. One of the most important seats of the Nyingma (Red Hat) sect, the monastery was originally established in 1685 but almost everything you see today was rebuilt with flamboyance from the 1980s onward. Visiting the monastery and other Buddhist sites in the valley takes at least a day. In Tibetan, 'Dzogchen' means 'Great Perfection'; the monastery is so named because it's supposed to be the perfect place to study the Vajrayana Buddhist tradition and the site is regarded as one of the holiest places in the Tibetan world. As such, over the years thousands of Buddhist practitioners have come to the valley to study at the renowned shedra. Today the monastery's popularity means it's continuing to grow and many of the students studying here are actually Han Chinese. Currently, there are around 300 registered monks and nuns, but many hundreds more are present at any one time. The main part of the complex contains three different prayer halls. After you've finished exploring these, clamber uphill for ten minutes to the prayer-flag-lined ridge just above from where there are stunning views. Afterwards, descend down to the valley floor and walk up towards the head of the valley. Along the way you'll pass the main shedra on your left, accommodation blocks for students, further smaller temples and a large stupa that's a near-exact copy of the famous Boudhanath Stupa in Nepal (though without the atmosphere of that one), before finally arriving right at the end of the valley and a nunnery. On the mountain slopes above are remote meditation caves. From around 8am to noon daily, monks gather in the main prayer hall to pray and chant. Interested visitors are welcome to sit in and watch.
See
Former Residence of the 7th Dalai Lama
Kelzang Gyatso (1708–57), the seventh Dalai Lama, was born in a cold, dark, cave-like room in the basement of this house during a period of intense political struggle. He eventually grew into a visionary leader, and under his rule Tibet established a national archive, instituted civil-service training programmes and formalised the Tibetan government structure. While the building is officially open from 9.30am to 5pm, in practice the hours are erratic. Chinese tourists are normally forbidden from entering inside the building. Not all Tibetans shared the belief Gyatso was the reincarnate; to escape the ongoing civil war, the Dalai Lama was raised and educated largely in exile. Qing Emperor Kangxi issued a proclamation affirming his identity, and in 1720 sent his son and troops to install the Dalai Lama to power in Lhasa. Mongol uprisings, rebellions and several coups later, the Dalai Lama gained the support of the clergy and the people. The main house is a series of rooms crowded with devotees lost in prayer, and displays of sacred relics of the Dalai Lama and the 13 other lamas born here. If you ask, the guardian will show you the exact spot where Gyatso was born. There is a small footprint visible in the rock, plus a number of other auspicious signs and markings. Tibetan Buddhist or not, a visit here can be a deeply powerful experience, especially if there are many other pilgrims present. Gyatso's descendants still live in the house next door and it's likely that it will be one of them who shows you around. The area around the house has recently been completely renovated in a sympathetic style and is now one of the more attractive urban neighbourhoods in all of the Tibetan regions.
See
Ya'an Bifengxia Panda Base
Ya'an Bifengxia Panda Base was established in prime forest in Ya'an in 2003 for research purposes rather than tourism, and its mission expanded in 2008 following the earthquake that severely damaged its sister reserve at Wolong. Bifengxia is now home to 80 pandas, some of which may eventually be returned to the wild. The panda centre is 3km away from the ticket office in the main car park where the minibus drops passengers. Pick up a map and store bags for free at the tourist information office. Turn left out of the ticket office then take the free lift (乘电梯, chéngyúntī; 8am to 7.30pm) down 50 storeys to the foot of the gorge for a 7.5km nature walk to the panda centre entrance. It takes about two hours to reach the centre via the concrete paths passing tall waterfalls, imaginatively named mountains, and a small collection of hanging coffins (悬棺, xuánguān) en route. Although this panda base does get chaotically busy at weekends and in holidays in general, it's much quieter and therefore a more enjoyable visit than the Giant Panda Breeding Research Base in Chengdu. The walk along the valley to the pandas adds to the pleasure of a visit.
See
Gongga Monastery
Set at an altitude of 3941m and cut off from the outside world by winter snows for months on end, the Gongga Monastery (also known as the Minya Konka Monastery) has an unforgettable location with views directly over to the glaciers of Gongga Shan. The small monastery dates from 1285 and is of the Kagyu, or Black Hat, sect of Tibetan Buddhism. There are some impressive wall murals within the main prayer hall. The monastery sits on the main Gongga Shan trekking routes and can also be used as a base for day hikes (including a long day hike to the Gongga Shan basecamp). Around a vertical kilometre higher up the mountain slope above the monastery is a small shrine dedicated to the mountain god, Dordjelutru, which attracts a few hardy pilgrims and trekkers. At the time of research the road to the monastery was closed for repairs and the only way there from the Yulongsi Valley was by walking for a day and a half.
See
Degongbu Temple
Surrounded by the mud-brick buildings belonging to the smaller of Ganzi's two Tibetan quarters, this 13th-century temple's two dimly lit halls (one historic, the other finished in 2007) are filled with the smell of yak-butter candles and the sound of spinning prayer wheels as locals make a small kora (circumambulation of a sacred site done as a pilgrimage) around both the exterior and interior of the compound. It's one of the most atmospheric temples in Kham. The temple is dedicated to the Dharma protectors (fierce deities who protect the Buddhist religion and community from threats) and monks are present leading prayers 24 hours a day. It's on the left just up from Qinghe Lu (清河路); look for the gateway topped with small white stupas. The neighbourhood it's in is full of shops selling everything the passing pilgrim, monk or nun might require.