Not a list of everything — a short list of what's worth your limited time, with the practical notes we give our own guests.
The world's most famous panda conservation center keeps dozens of giant pandas in generous bamboo-forest enclosures, from tumbling nursery cubs to imperious adults. Everything happens in the morning: arrive for the 8–10am feeding window and you'll see ten times the action of an afternoon visit.
Carved through 90 years of the Tang dynasty, the 71-metre Maitreya sits where three rivers collide — the largest stone Buddha on earth. The river cruise gives you the full statue in one frame; the cliffside stairway takes you past his 7-metre ear. Do the boat first, then decide about the stairs.
One of Buddhism's four sacred Chinese mountains, rising to the Golden Summit at 3,079 metres where a 48-metre golden Puxian statue floats above the cloud sea. Cable cars do the hard work; resident macaques provide the comedy and the theft. Sunrise up top is worth the overnight.
The living heart of 'slow Chengdu': the century-old Heming teahouse serving gaiwan tea to a sea of bamboo chairs, matchmaking notices in the marriage corner, ballroom dancers, and the gentle clink of an ear-cleaner's tuning forks. Not a sight — an atmosphere.
Two sets of rebuilt old lanes that do dusk better than anywhere in the city: red lanterns, Sichuan opera face-changing shows, skewers and sugar-painting stalls. Touristy, yes — but knowingly and charmingly so, and the snacks are real.
Forty kilometres north lies the strangest archaeology in China: the bronze masks of the Shu kingdom, with jutting cylindrical eyes and gold-leaf faces, cast 3,000+ years ago by a civilization the history books barely mention. The new museum building is world-class. Genuinely unmissable if you have half a day.
Want them without the logistics? Our Chengdu day tour links the essentials door-to-door, and the 4 days journey covers the full set at a relaxed pace.