Frequently Asked Questions
No, the city cannot be reached by sea. Chengdu appears in cruise programmes as a land stage, before or after the Yangtze sailing that begins in Chongqing. Travellers usually give it one or two days.
For the giant pandas, essentially. Chengdu is home to the world's leading research base devoted to the species, and that encounter alone justifies the detour into Sichuan.
At opening, in the morning. That is when the animals eat, sitting in the dew with an armful of bamboo: their most active display of the day. Later on, many of them sleep.
Two to three hours is enough. The base lies about fifteen kilometres from the centre and houses more than a hundred animals in large wooded enclosures. The shaded paths are easy walking.
Yes, in the nurseries, where the year's cubs doze. It is the highlight of the visit: in front of the glass, conversations die away on their own. The presence of very young animals does depend on the birth season.
The heart of local life: calligraphers tracing characters in water on the paving, impromptu dancers, whole families around a teapot. The server comes round endlessly with his long-spouted kettle, and nobody dreams of hurrying anyone.
A street of red lanterns, artisan stalls and Sichuan snack counters, a short ride from the centre. It is touristy, let us be honest, but its evening buzz keeps real charm when the skewers sizzle over the braziers.
It has character: spicy hotpot, dumplings in sauce, tofu lifted by the local pepper that pleasantly tingles the lips. Restaurants do know how to tone dishes down for cautious palates; you only have to ask.
Via Chongqing, where Yangtze embarkation takes place, by road or rail. Factor that transfer into your timing: it is not something to improvise the day before departure.
That of a breath. It slows the pace rather than speeding it up: after its teahouses and unhurried pandas, you begin the Yangtze cruise relaxed, between the frenzy of the coastal megacities and the solemnity of the imperial sites.
