Chengdu Natural History Museum

Offers all the typical animals that one might expect in a zoo (elephant, tigers, giraffes, monkeys, as well as panda bears). While the zoo itself is large and spread out, some of the cages are woefully small and the facility seems understaffed. Might be good for a family to visit. The zoo has vendors selling Chinese snacks as well as some carnival type rides.

Five tombs of the princes of the Ming Dynasty, who were given estates in the area by the emperor, and subsequently buried here. Their burial chambers have been excavated, two of which are open to the public; the tomb of Prince Xi (僖王陵) and the tomb of Prince Zhao (昭王陵). The former is lined with beautiful carvings, and is often said to be the grandest burial chamber to have been excavated to date in China.

This is the biggest facility of this kind in the world. Due to habitat destruction and other reasons, the giant panda is maybe the most famous endangered animal. It is home to some 60 giant pandas, but also has some red pandas and a colony of black-necked cranes. The pandas are basically on display for tourists but views are much closer than is possible at most Western zoos. (If you want to get even closer and hold a panda or volunteer all day to feed them bamboo and clean the panda cage, visit the Dujiangyan Panda Base, about an hour's drive outside Chengdu.) A small museum and a cinema screening related documentaries is also available. A restaurant and souvenir-stalls top off the tourist installations. The best time to visit is in the morning, when pandas are most active. Pandas sleep during the hottest time of the day. Feeding time is around 09:30-10:00. Expect some crowd. It is recommended to arrive as early as you can to avoid the hordes of school and tour groups that arrive every morning.The best time to visit is early morning when pandas are most active. Feeding time is around 09:30-10:00.

Shuijingfang is a liquor company that specializes in the production of high-quality baijiu (distilled rice wine). The company has been operating continuously in Chengdu for over 600 years, albeit under many different names. Around the turn of the last century, archaeologists uncovered the remains of the original distillery that was in use 600 years ago. As the oldest distillery site yet discovered in China, the site was declared a national heritage site and nominated for world heritage status. The site is now part of the Shujingfang Museum. Entrance to the museum's exhibition hall is free but you will need to pay for a tour guide if you wish to visit the archaeological site. English guides are ¥100 and Mandarin guides are ¥40. After visiting the exhibition hall and archaeological site, the tour guide will lead you to a modern distillery, which may or may not be operating at the time of your visit. The final stop on the tour is a tasting room where you can sample some of the baijiu produced here. Of course, there is also a shop where you can buy bottles of baijiu.

This Tang Dynasty Buddhist temple is the most impressive, and perhaps also the most used, temple in Chengdu. It is dedicated to the Buddhist representation of Wisdom, Wenshu Pusa (Manjusri Bodhisatva), and contains more than 450 Buddha statues and other precious relics. In addition to the halls and gardens, the temple also has a charming tea house that offers an insightful window of Chengdu life as it is frequented by locals who engage in games of chess, reading, knitting and just chatting with family and friends. The temple also has a delightful vegetarian restaurant with seats offering views over the gardens. There are many shops around the temple, including some of the best street food in the city, such as a sweetwater noodle shop.

A scenic, historic bridge crossing the Jin River in the middle of Chengdu. A bridge at this location was mentioned in the writings of Marco Polo. However, in the 1980s the bridge was destroyed by flooding, and was rebuilt in 2003. There is a restaurant on top of the bridge.