A friend recently did the itinerary you mentioned (she was supposed to go to Tibet instead of Lijang, but the government closed it off due to the anniversary of the uprising). She went to Chengdu for the pandas (found the center to be quite a delight) and paid the "donation" to hold one for several minutes. She absolutely loved that and the pictures are terrific. Definitely inspired me to do the same trip. If you're interesting, drop me a note and I'll send you a link to the photos. Her photos of Black Dragon Pool Park, outside Lijang, are quite lovely.