Just took advantage of cheap fares and booked a week in November.
Thinking of Sheraton to take advantage of points.
My wife and I are fairly active senior citizens
What ever help you can give as to sightseeing tours, restuarants would be greatly appreciated
Thanks

From Chengdu, Panda Research Center is a must.

You can have a baby panda sit on your lap for about 100 dollars USD per 2 minutes. Yeah, its a rip off but we thought of it as a donation to the research center. My wife raves about it still to this day.

We also went to Jiuzaiguo from Chengdu but that was a short plane ride. In November, it might be pretty chilly but the scenery will still be amazing. The tourists will have thinned out by then as well.

With that much time, after you've covered most of the sites on tour books, I highly recommend the Shanxingdui archaeological site. Most amazing things I've seen outside of Egypt, and it's not far from the panda center. There's another site called Jinsha of the same civilization, but I haven't visited it.

The Saningdui Museum is truly world class, one of the better museums I've seen in the world. It's an hour or 90 minute drive from Chengdu. You'll need to hire a car and driver to get there.

I recommend against an hot pot dinner. The spicy oil infuses your clothes and hair with its aroma, and I didn't enjoy the food.

Go to a folklore performance that includes the remarkable performance of changing masks. Go early and you can see performers apply the makeup that completely transforms them.

Be sure to go to the panda sanctuary that is 2-3 hours south of town, not just the panda preserve in town. On the way back, have your driver stop for lunch at a little town that is remarkably preserved as an old way of life.

Go to Mount Emei (峨嵋山), which is 2.5hr coach ride from Chengdu. There are also trains but less frequent. You can take a bus from the foot of the mountain and hike the last leg (instead of a cable car) for an hour to the top. Stay overnight at the top for the sunrise in the morning. It's magical (from photo). Unfortunately it was cloudy when we were there.

If you like buddha, Leshan Giant Buddha (乐山大佛) might also be a choice. There are direct buses to Leshan City at the foot of Mount Emei when you come back down. Try take the boat tour as you get a better view of the buddha.

Chengdu - Emei - Leshan - Chengdu is logical way to doing this the above, which was also what we did. This only takes 2 days to do with an overnight on Emei.


I'd second Jiuzhaigou Nature Reserve (九寨沟) even though it is November. Whatever season it is a wonderful place. Also you have the upside of the valley being free of tourists. You would need to stay at the down the prior day. The easiest way is fly CTU-JZH. The airport is about 1.5hr drive from the town. The going rate is 200 Yuan. From the airport it's better to pre-arrange a taxi otherwise you end up paying 300 Yuan or more. The Chengdu - Jiuzhaigou bus route is said to be scenic but honestly it is a waste of 9 hours and rather painful.


If you have time, I'd suggest Wolong National Nature Reserve (卧龙自然保护区) over the Panda Research Centre in town. The research centre is very small and more or less like a zoo, while the nature reserve is much bigger and I imagine you can do a bit of hiking over there from the photos I see on internet.


I love hot pot, despite the spicy oil infusing thing, which also irritates me, but could be because I am Chinese. But seriously I suggest you give it a go, and some of my European friends do love it. YMMV.


Chengdu is my favourite city to live in China, with brilliant food and laid back attitude (by Chinese standard). I hope you have a wonderful time there.

No hot pot? That's my favorite...try snake hot pot in guangdong province.

+ 1 on the Sanxingdui Museum

We also went there, it was amazing.

I'm not a big fan of hot pot, but it is certainly a fun dining experience for those who aren't used to it, and it a visit to Sichaun without a hot pot meal is comparable to a visit to Beijing without trying Peking Duck (also a cuisine that not everyone enjoys, but is steeped in tradition).

The thing is, bad hot pot places are prevalent throughout China, and the concepts of popularity and price aren't always useful with respect to avoiding them. (Well, the price thing is a bit tricky; if it costs Y10,000 per head, and still manages to attract customers, you can be sure that it's not "bad", but you can be equally sure that it's not worth Y10,000 per head.)

In Shanghai, we usually just go to Hot Pot King, which isn't fancy, but is a big step up from 小肥羊, and is always enjoyable.

Any suggestions as to tour guides or companies?
Y10.000 for a meal seems a small fortune unless I have the exchange rate wrong. Would try hot pot BUT not at that price

You might want to grab the latest version of the Lonely Planet: China to browse both before and during your travels (the utility of the LP isn't nearly as great as it was 20 years ago because it will never be as current as info you can find on your phone, but I still happen to like its consistency of structure and readability; more upscale guides like Fodor's are not well suited for places like Western China IMO, even if they are better suited for your particular demographic in the general sense).

Regarding hot pot, I suggest you just go with your gut, maybe inspect the meat from a visual standpoint, and roll the dice. You can also check out dianping if you read Chinese, but I don't put a great deal of stock in the reviews there (just like TA, many are planted). This shouldn't cost more than Y150 pp.

Also Little Sheep is good for more northern style.

I don't like hot pot as a rule of thumb however the OP is in Chengdu.

OP is going to try hot pot, shouldn't it be Sichuan Mala Hot Pot? It's eye watering, sweat inducing, a must try once kind of thing, isn't it?

When we were in Sichuan, we were starved and only thing open was a hole in a wall Sichuan Mala Hot Pot, it was 40 degrees hot outside and the hot pot looked like something that the devil will hesitate to eat. Once we tried, it was incredible flavor without burning heat. An underlying fiery taste which was just fantastic. Made the outside heat seem not so hot.

Instead of trying franchised Northern or Shanghai hot pot, OP should try the local hot pot.

Of course! I only mentioned 小肥羊as an example of a chain that I don't care for, but won't kill me. In Chengdu, I would steer clear of the national chains.

I know 小肥羊 is a chain I would stay away from when their spice mix for the hot pot broth are displayed prominently on Asian supermarket shelves in Canada and US.

I think the sights mentioned are indeed all very nice and there's no doubt you should try proper hot pot - just don't wear your nicest clothes as they will be smelly afterwards. If you can't handle the spice, there's always the option of a split-pot where one half is spicy and the other non-spicy. Good compromise for us sweaty-noserunning westerners (and fear not, plenty of locals react similarly to the heat, they just really enjoy that )

If you don't mind the spice and if you like seafood, i would recommend the restaurant 蓉记香辣蟹爬爬虾. Don't know if there's an english name unfortunately, but it's spicy crab/shrimp-ish stuff which is indeed very spicy and very messy to eat, they even hand you plastic gloves (you have to get them out of the shell somehow..)! However, it's unbearably delicious and they also have non-spicy items which are also lovely (mainly garlicy-juicy oysters and similar things..).

Certainly a great experience and very very tasty - I go there whenever I'm in Chengdu. But you might need help from a local to find the right place. There are many similar restaurants in the same street.