Karst & Pandas
山水与熊猫
Chengdu, Chongqing and the Guangxi karst — the softest, greenest, best-eating corner of the country.
Photo: xiquinhosilva · CC BY 2.0 · resized
- Length
- 12 days
- Pace
- Relaxed
- Best season
- April–May, September–November
- Budget
- ¥7,000–9,500 per person
This is the route for a second trip, or a first trip for someone who is not primarily interested in dynasties. It pairs the two great southwestern food cities with the limestone landscape that defines Chinese painting, and the pace is gentle throughout — teahouses, bamboo rafts, bicycles and pandas.
Day by day
→Day by day
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Day 1–3
Chengdu
Panda Base at 07:30 opening, People's Park teahouse, Sichuan opera face-changing, and Jinsha Site Museum. Hotpot every night.
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Day 4
Leshan & Emei
The 71 m Giant Buddha by boat, then a night on Mount Emei for the sunrise from the Golden Summit.
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Day 5–6
Chongqing
Liziba's monorail through a tower block, Hongyadong lit at night, and a day trip to the Dazu Rock Carvings.
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Day 7
Chongqing → Guilin
Flight or a long rail day. Evening in Yangshuo.
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Day 8–10
Yangshuo
Li River cruise, the Yulong valley by bicycle and bamboo raft, Xingping at sunset for the ¥20 note view, and the Impression Sanjie Liu show.
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Day 11
Longji Terraces
Up to Dazhai or Ping'an for a night in a village guesthouse. Sunrise from Golden Buddha Peak.
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Day 12
Depart
Back to Guilin and fly out, or high-speed rail on to Guangzhou and Hong Kong.
Swaps and variations
- Add the four-day Yangtze cruise from Chongqing to Yichang instead of flying to Guilin
- Substitute Jiuzhaigou for Leshan and Emei if you are travelling in October
- Extend to Guangzhou and Hong Kong for three more days of eating
05On this route
The stops, in detail
Chengdu & the Panda Base 成都
Pandas at breakfast, mahjong in a teahouse by ten, and the most numbing food in China by dinner.
UNESCO
Leshan Buddha & Mount Emei 乐山大佛与峨眉山
A 71-metre Buddha carved into a river cliff over ninety years, and a Buddhist mountain where the macaques rob you.
Chongqing 重庆
A city built vertically on cliffs between two rivers, where the metro drives through an apartment block and the ground floor might be the twenty-second.
Li River & Yangshuo 漓江与阳朔
The scenery on the back of the ¥20 note: limestone towers, bamboo, water buffalo and a river that bends between them for 83 kilometres.
Longji Rice Terraces 龙脊梯田
Seven hundred years of hand-cut terracing wrapped around whole mountains, from riverbank at 300 m to ridge at 1,100 m.