Sichuan Trip: Panda home, Giand Buddha & Yangzi River Cruise |
Sichuan is the gem of western China. Famous for its spicy food, lively teahouses and wild panda bears, Sichuan also boasts some of the best cultural heritages sites like the Giant Buddha at Leshan, the sun-worshipping Shu-kingdom's Sanxingdui museum and Dazu grottos. We begin in Chengdu to look at the Panda breeding center and Sanxingdui museum, then head to Leshan Giang Buddha, Dazu grotto, and arrive in Chongqing, the biggest city in China with fantastic night views on the Yangzi River. Finally we embark on our cruise down to the Three Gorges and the biggest dam in the world.
|
|
Time: All year round (best time from April to October)
Day-by-Day Itinerary:
*** We are always happy to design a custom trip just for you; If you find anything in our following itinerary that interests you or you have done your own researches, simply write your ideas in our online "book a tour" form or email us at "justin@gopinkchina.com". We'll reply with price quote. |
We will gather in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province. Our first stop in this pleasant city is the Sanxingdui museum that houses the ancient relics of the Kingdom of Shu, which flourished for over a thousand years in the Chengdu Valley before the 3rd century BC. Only in the 1980s did archeologists discover the bronze masks and instruments of this mysterious culture, which seems to resemble pre-Colombian arts more than Chinese arts. Next we will visit the Panda Breeding Center and observe the hundreds of cutest panda bears there. An expert from the center takes us around and explains the habits of these adorable animals. This evening we will enjoy a brilliant Sichuan Variety Show including Puppet, Hand-shadow, Mask-changing in the pleasant teahouse yard of Wuhou Shrine.
|
|
|
Early in the morning we drive to Leshan and tour the enormous 230-ft (71-m) Giant Buddha (a UNESCO's World Cultural Heritage) carved into the red sandstone face of Lingyun Hill overlooking the treacherous confluences of the Min, Dadu, and Qingyi rivers below. Lunch is at the nearby Fishing Village. Following lunch, we will visit a mystic 2000-year-old Han tombs and worship at the 500-Luohan Statue Wuyou Temple. This evening we arrive in Zigong.
|
|
|
Days 3: Dazu
| Zigong's Dinosaur Museum ranks among the top 3 of its kind in the world, displaying enormous skeletons of unearthed Dinosaur fossils, and is a must see for us. In the afternoon we arrive at Dazu Grotto, the protected UNESCO's World Cultural Heritage, unique for its harmonious synthesis of elements from Confucianism, Daoism and Indian Tantric Buddhism. In the evening we arrive at Chongqing to stroll along the Yangzi River to look at the mountain city's fabulous night views and enjoy a piquant Hot-pot dinner. |
|
|
Days 4: Chongqing
One of China 's more unusual cities, Chongqing's downtown Victory Monument area is quite pleasant to stroll around and get lost in its numerous food and fashion shops. As China 's war-time capital during World War Two, Chongqing has kept the Former Home of General Stilwell (1883-1946) who was based here between 1942 and 1944 as Commander of the US forces, a great place to know more of the twists-and-turns of China-U.S. relation history. Lunch stop is Ciqi Kou
(Porcelain Port) , a charming old town with 1,700 history and many handcraft shops and teahouses for a leisure afternoon. This evening we board the boat for Yangzi River Cruise. |
|
|
Days 5-7: Yangzi River Cruise
Before the 20th century, rugged mountains would have virtually isolated Sichuan from eastern China if it hadn't been for the 400 mile ( 650km ) strech of the Yangzi linking Chongqing with Yichang in Hubei Province. The journey was a perilous one, the river tearing through the sheer-sided Three Gorges. Today, with the shoals cleared, the journey makes a popular cruise through spectacular scenery, with regular stops at famous sights. The landscape has been irrevocably changed by the filling of the Three Gorges Dam, due for completion in 2009, gradually making the cruise even more leisurely and extending the cruise season. The drama of the landscape will undoubtedly be lessened, but the new reservoir is so large that the impression of being on a river will remain, as will the key elements of history and scenery. For more adventurous souls, they can choose to forsake the luxurious cruise ship but board the fast boat and venture into the deep canyons, where they can stay in primitive villages and enjoy all kinds of excitment from hiking, biking, rafting and kayaking.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|