Eight days covering the whole of Sichuan's headline scenery: the turquoise lakes of Jiuzhaigou, the terraced travertine pools of Huanglong, the sacred summit of Mount Emei, the 71-metre Leshan Giant Buddha, the 2,000-year-old Dujiangyan irrigation system and, of course, the giant pandas.
Qiang ethnic feast, yak health hotpot, farmhouse cuisine and Emei hotpot are all part of the journey, alongside two complimentary cultural experiences: a visit to a Tibetan family home and the Sacred Elephant of Emei evening show.
Meals: own arrangement | Overnight: Chengdu
Fly or take the high-speed train to Chengdu, where a member of our team meets you and transfers you to your hotel. The rest of the day is free - if you arrive early, Wuhou Shrine, Chunxi Road and Du Fu's Thatched Cottage are all easy to reach independently. Your driver will text or call between 19:00 and 22:00 to confirm tomorrow's pick-up time.
Meals: breakfast, Qiang feast lunch, dinner | Overnight: Chuanzhusi
An early 06:00 departure with a packed breakfast. Travel upstream along the Minjiang River past Diexi Lake and the ancient town of Songzhou to Chuanzhusi. Visit Huanglong Scenic Area (ticket included), a 5A site and China's only fully preserved highland wetland, where the Bonsai Pond ranks among the world's most spectacular travertine terraces - shifting colour with the light and the seasons, earning it the name Jade Pool on Earth. Afterwards, join the complimentary Tibetan family home visit for singing, dancing and local hospitality.
Note: Huanglong sits at high altitude, so please take it easy. The cable car is not included - 80 RMB up, 40 RMB down. We suggest riding up and walking down for the full panorama.
Meals: breakfast, dinner | Overnight: Jiuzhaigou
A full day in Jiuzhaigou National Park, the fairytale world named for its nine Tibetan villages. Beautiful in all four seasons, it holds dense primeval forest, more than ten rare species including the giant panda, and snow peaks rising above wooden Tibetan houses, prayer flags, footbridges and mills. Its layered lakes, waterfalls, autumn colour and Tibetan culture together earn the saying that after Jiuzhaigou, no other water is worth seeing.
Notes: entry is by real-name registration, so bring your ID. The 80 RMB shuttle bus is not included. Lunch is at your own expense inside the park, from about 60 RMB at Nuorilang restaurant, or bring your own. You explore independently; each stop has a shuttle stop with an onboard guide, and you should confirm the meeting time with your driver before entering.
Meals: breakfast, yak hotpot lunch | Overnight: Chengdu
Visit the visitor centre (180 minutes) with its jade, local produce and medicinal herbs, then a traditional Tibetan village where you will see murals, prayer flags, white stupas and mani stone piles, along with highland barley sheds and dung-plastered walls. Lunch is a yak soup hotpot before the drive back to Dujiangyan or Chengdu. Dinner is your own - the night markets are worth a wander.
Meals: breakfast, farmhouse lunch, Emei hotpot dinner | Overnight: Mount Emei
Depart around 07:00 for Mount Emei (about 2.5 hours). From Huangwan station, transfer to the local eco shuttle (included) for roughly 90 minutes up to Leidongping. After a farmhouse lunch, walk 1.5 km to Jieyin Hall and take the cable car (65 RMB up, 55 RMB down, at your own expense) to the Golden Summit at 3,077 metres, home to the Golden, Silver and Bronze halls, the ten-direction Samantabhadra statue and Sheshen Cliff. With luck you may catch the sea of clouds or the famous Buddha's halo. Return the same way for a hotpot dinner and the evening show Sacred Elephant of Emei, a night of a thousand years of Emei culture.
Meals: breakfast, lunch | Overnight: Chengdu
After a buffet breakfast, depart around 07:00 for the Tiangong Kaiwu or Xiyan jade centre (90 minutes) and the Qiangongfang craft workshop (90 minutes). Following lunch, drive to Leshan for the Leshan Giant Buddha, a cliff-carved statue begun in the early Kaiyuan era of the Tang dynasty and completed 90 years later, standing 71 metres tall with an expression of serene gravity. Return to Chengdu by coach.
Meals: breakfast, speciality lunch | Overnight: Chengdu
Start at the Panda Park, home to both giant and red pandas year-round. After lunch, explore Dujiangyan, the 2,000-year-old irrigation works that still water the Chengdu plain, and the surrounding western Sichuan farmsteads. Finish at the Shu Craft Cultural Centre (about 120 minutes) to see the bamboo, wood and stone carving traditions passed down through generations of Sichuan artisans, before returning to Chengdu.
Meals: breakfast
Enjoy breakfast and free time at the hotel, then your driver transfers you to the airport or railway station for your onward journey home.
Cultural adventure is a style of travel built around deeper experiences – the kind that connect you to the people, traditions and everyday life of a place. And doing it in a way that reflects your pace, your interests, and what you want from the journey.
