Must-see attractions in Chengdu

  • Top Choice
    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…

  • Top Choice
    Wenshu Monastery

    This Tang dynasty monastery is dedicated to Wenshu (Manjushri), the Bodhisattva of Wisdom, and is Chengdu’s largest and best-preserved Buddhist temple…

  • Top Choice
    Chengdu Museum

    Spanning ancient Shu and pre-Qin dynasties to the Revolutionary era and modern Chengdu, this spectacular five-storey museum (completed in 2016) is packed…

  • Jinsha Site Museum

    In 2001 archaeologists made a historic discovery in Chengdu’s western suburbs: they unearthed a major site containing ruins of the 3000-year-old Shu…

  • Wuhou Temple

    Located adjacent to Nanjiao Park and surrounded by mossy cypresses, this temple (rebuilt in 1672) honours several figures from the Three Kingdoms period,…

  • Sichuan Museum

    Aficionados of Chinese history will enjoy a stop here for a look at Sichuan's past through Shu-era calligraphy and painting, bronze works and ceramics,…

  • Qingyang Temple

    Alongside Culture Park, this is Chengdu’s oldest and most extensive Taoist temple. Qingyang (Green Ram) Temple dates from the Zhou dynasty, although most…

  • Sichuan Science & Technology Museum

    Families will love the hands-on nature of this huge museum – almost every display is of a touchy-feely nature. Labels and descriptions are light on…

  • Chengdu Art Gallery

    Rotating exhibitions of classical-style Chinese art in a traditionally styled courtyard building that's almost as artistic as the paintings within. It's a…

  • People’s Park

    On weekends, locals fill this park with dancing, song and taichi. There’s a small, willow-tree-lined boating lake and a number of teahouses: He Ming…

  • Tomb of Wang Jian

    Built for Wang Jian (847–918), a general who rose to power following the collapse of the Tang dynasty to rule as emperor of the Shu kingdom, this above…

  • Chengdu Museum of Contemporary Art

    This privately funded museum aims to create a space for the development and exhibition of contemporary and abstract art in Chinese society. Works on…

  • Daci Temple

    Very few things in Chengdu emphasise the stark contrast of modern and traditional China like the squat buildings of Daci Temple surrounded by the towering…

  • Sichuan Tower

    On a clear day the views from the outdoor 218m observation platform of the 339m Sichuan Tower are said to stretch all the way to Dujiangyan. On a hazy or…

  • Culture Park

    A sprawling green park of ginkgo-lined paths, lotus-filled ponds (listen out for the massive frogs croaking happily away) and teahouses. There's also…

  • Aidao Nunnery

    The earliest public nunnery in Sichuan, this Ming dynasty (1368–1644) nunnery was completely rebuilt in 2001. The small courtyard and two central halls…

  • Zhaojue Temple

    This Tang dynasty Chan Buddhist temple is worth a quick stop, particularly if you're passing through the nearby Zhaojuesì bus station on the way back from…

  • Sichuan Art Museum

    This six-floor museum is understaffed and understuffed, and the regular rotating exhibitions are hit or miss, but the good is good enough to make it worth…