Chengdu makes an exceptional base for two of China’s most memorable day trips: the Giant Panda Breeding Research Base — the closest you can get to wild giant pandas anywhere in the world — and the Leshan Giant Buddha — the world’s largest stone Buddha, a 71-metre seated figure carved from a cliff face over 90 years in the 8th century.
Both are outstanding destinations independently. Combining them with 2–3 days in Chengdu itself (teahouses, Jinli Street, Sichuan opera, extraordinary food) makes for one of the best city-plus-day-trip itineraries in China.
Table of contents
Open Table of contents
Giant Panda Breeding Research Base (大熊猫繁育研究基地)
Essential Information
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Location | 10 km north of central Chengdu |
| Getting there | Metro Line 3 to Panda Avenue, then free shuttle (20 min total); or taxi/DiDi ¥40–60 from city centre (30 min) |
| Tickets | ¥55 per adult; book online in advance — same-day tickets often unavailable |
| Opening hours | 7:30 AM – 6:00 PM (last entry 4:00 PM) |
| Best time | 8:00–10:00 AM — pandas are most active and visible during morning feeding |
Why Morning Matters
The most important information in this section: arrive at 8:00 AM (or 7:30 when it opens). Giant pandas are crepuscular — most active in the 2 hours after dawn. By 10–11 AM, they are typically asleep. By afternoon, the combination of sleeping pandas and peak tourist crowds makes the base significantly less rewarding.
Morning feeders are stationed at enclosures; keepers distribute bamboo; pandas eat enthusiastically; red pandas (small, fox-like, completely separate species) run circuits of their enclosure.
By 8:30 AM, you can be watching multiple pandas eating bamboo in perfect morning light. By 11 AM, the same pandas are typically curled into balls in the corner.
The Animals
Giant pandas (大熊猫): Approximately 50+ giant pandas in residence — the world’s largest captive population. They are housed in several main enclosures: the adult area, the sub-adult area, and (most popular) the nursery, where cubs are raised. Cubs are impossibly appealing and provide the iconic panda photographs.
Red pandas (小熊猫): Completely unrelated to giant pandas (they are actually more closely related to raccoons than bears), but housed in the same facility. Smaller, red-furred, with distinctive face markings. More active throughout the day than giant pandas.
Sunbears and others: A small secondary exhibition of other endangered species; mostly of secondary interest compared to the pandas.
Photography Tips
- Morning light is soft and comes from the east; panda enclosures face various directions — check which side the pandas are on before positioning
- The sub-adult outdoor enclosures (near the main pandas) have the best natural backgrounds — bamboo grove, wooden climbing structures
- Tripods are not particularly necessary; the pandas are stationary enough for good shots with standard settings
- Do not use flash — signs throughout the facility, and it’s genuinely harmful to the animals
Volunteer Programs
The base offers 1-day and multi-day volunteer programs for significant fees (¥1,000–3,000+/day). These include feeding, cleaning (panda droppings are prodigious), and direct supervised interaction. Not a cuddling session — actual husbandry work — but genuine and memorable.
Book months in advance. Volunteer spots fill up quickly, especially for peak seasons.
Practical Notes
The base is large — full circuit approximately 4–5 km. Wear comfortable shoes. A free shuttle bus operates internal routes. The restaurants on-site are mediocre; eat in Chengdu before or after.
Leshan Giant Buddha (乐山大佛)
Essential Information
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Location | Leshan City, 130 km south of Chengdu |
| Getting there | High-speed rail from Chengdu East to Leshan (30 min); then 20 min bus/taxi to site; OR direct bus from Chengdu Wuguiqiao Bus Station (1.5 hrs) |
| Ticket | ¥90 (includes all access); book online in advance |
| Opening hours | 7:30 AM – 6:00 PM (April–October); 8:00 AM – 5:30 PM (November–March) |
| Allow | 3–4 hours for full visit |
The Buddha
The Leshan Giant Buddha (乐山大佛) is a seated figure of Maitreya (弥勒佛, the Future Buddha) carved into the cliff face at the confluence of the Min, Qingyi, and Dadu rivers. Construction began in 713 AD under the Tang Dynasty monk Haitong, who initiated the project believing that the presence of the carved Buddha would calm the treacherous river currents that were drowning boatmen.
Statistics that require standing in front of the statue to fully comprehend:
- Height: 71 metres (taller than the Statue of Liberty without its pedestal)
- Head height: 14.7 metres
- Shoulder width: 28 metres
- Foot length: 8.5 metres (large enough to park a double-decker bus on each foot)
- Ear length: 7 metres (each ear longer than most people are tall)
The statue was carved over 90 years by teams of workers funded by monk Haitong and his successors. A 13-storey wooden superstructure once covered the Buddha — traces of the ceiling anchor points are visible in the cliff. The wooden building rotted away over centuries, leaving the Buddha exposed to the current view.
The Two Approaches
The North Face (Nine Turns Path / 九曲栈道): The most dramatic approach — a stairway cut into the cliff face that descends directly alongside the Buddha’s body from shoulder level to the river. The path is very narrow (1–2 persons wide), extremely steep, and extremely crowded during peak periods. At the base, you stand between the Buddha’s enormous feet looking up at the full 71-metre figure.
The South Face (Plank Path / 栈道): Less vertical, but gives a different perspective on the full figure from across the body.
Queue times: The Nine Turns staircase can have waits of 1–3 hours on weekends and national holidays. Book your visit for a weekday; arrive at opening time.
The Boat View
Combine the land visit with a boat trip: several operators run river cruises on the Minjiang that pass directly in front of the Buddha for a river-level view. From the water, the full scale of the statue — the way it dominates the cliff face and the riverbank — is more comprehensible than from the staircase beside it. ¥70–100/person; 30-minute circuit.
Combining the Day Trip
Chengdu → Leshan Giant Buddha → Emei Mountain can be combined into a 2-day circuit: Chengdu day 1, Leshan and Giant Buddha day 2, Emei Mountain day 3 (the sacred Buddhist mountain 20 km from Leshan, with its own extraordinary hiking routes and monastery complexes).
Or as a single day trip: depart Chengdu 8 AM → Leshan by 9 AM → Giant Buddha by 10 AM → full exploration → return 4 PM → back in Chengdu for hotpot by 6 PM.
Where to Eat in Chengdu After
No day trip plan is complete without dinner in Chengdu.
Hotpot (火锅): The definitive Chengdu experience — communal pot of numbing-spicy broth (the málà combination of Sichuan pepper and chilli), various vegetables, mushrooms, offal, thinly sliced beef and lamb. Hai Di Lao (海底捞) is the famous chain with excellent service; local options are Long Chao Shou (龙抄手) for a more modest local institution.
Dan Dan Noodles (担担面): Thin wheat noodles in a sauce of sesame paste, chilli oil, and preserved vegetables. The original street food, now universally available from simple to upmarket versions.
Sichuan Sausage (腊肠): Smoke-cured pork sausage with Sichuan pepper, heavily spiced, sold from market shops throughout the city and eaten at room temperature.
The panda base and the Leshan Buddha serve as excellent reminders that China is simultaneously ancient and contemporary, deeply cultural and naturally extraordinary. Few cities offer two such genuinely spectacular day trips within 2 hours of the centre.
Last updated: May 2026