Sichuan Travel Journal2026

Preface

In 2023, after leaving my previous job and taking a break between jobs, I traveled to western Sichuan at the end of the year. It was also my first real trip in the true sense.

After that trip, I wrote my first travel journal. Because it received a lot of positive feedback, this travel series slowly came into being.

On that tour, I visited many places, saw majestic snow mountains for the first time, and also saw the beautiful Jiuzhaigou. The slight regret was that it was cloudy when I went to Jiuzhaigou. After that visit, I kept thinking I should come back the next summer when the weather was good. In the end, it was only today, three years later, that I finally returned.

The main goals of this trip:

1. Visit Jiuzhaigou ✅
2. See giant pandas ✅

Itinerary

Day 1 Heading to Jiuzhaigou

I took a ride-share to Pudong Airport.

Check-in, security, takeoff, flight, and then I arrived at Mianyang Nanjiao Airport at 11:20.

The airport is very small. Once I came out, I could take a taxi directly to Pingzheng Bus Station. The DiDi driver asked where I had flown from, and I said Shanghai. He asked whether plane tickets were expensive now, saying they used to cost one or two thousand yuan. I said it probably was not peak season yet, so mine was relatively cheap, 700 yuan. Along the way I saw the name “Tongli” everywhere. I looked it up and it seems to be a fairly large local company. The coach I took this time was also operated by Tongli. There were many banyan trees planted along the streets of Mianyang.

I had bought a flexible coach ticket on 12306 for the 8:00 to 14:30 time window. I reached the station at only 12:00, and the bus waiting to depart belonged to the 8:00 to 12:30 batch. The driver said he needed to see whether his bus would be full, because passengers from the 8:00 to 12:30 batch had priority. If there were empty seats, he would call me over. He was pretty nice.

I went back to the waiting hall for a while. Just before 12:30, the driver asked me to get on another bus. Since they were all station-dispatched buses, there should not be any trap, right 😂. This bus was very comfortable. It was a new vehicle, the seats and air conditioning were both just right, and it was not tiring to sit in. There was a camera above the driver and speed limits too, so it looked fairly standardized.

At 3:30 in the afternoon, we arrived at Jiuzhaigou’s new county town. The road was smooth all the way, with barely any traffic, which was great. I had booked a hotel near the valley entrance. All the other passengers got off in the new county town, leaving only me. The driver said I could later switch to the bus driven by the driver from Mianyang station, so he would not have to make a separate trip to the valley entrance. Fair enough.

There was a little more traffic from Jiuzhaigou County to the valley entrance. I got off at the Goukou Bus Center and walked to the hotel, about 1 km. I had not eaten lunch either, so I ordered KFC. KFC is still my favorite 🥹. The yak hot pot I had in Jiuzhaigou in 2023 tasted bitter and made me not want to try it again, so I chose something safer this time.

After a whole day on the road, I went to bed early. Tomorrow morning I would catch the first entry batch and enjoy a full day in the scenic area!

Day 2 Jiuzhaigou

I got up a little after 6 and washed up.

At 7, I went to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. The toast was not good, but the butter was Anchor, so paired together it was acceptable. I ate a bit more, because today would be a full day of serious walking.

After eating, I took a taxi to the entrance of Jiuzhaigou. It was not quite 7:40 yet, and the queue was not too long at that time. Everyone was waiting for the first entry batch at 8 😄. As it got closer to 8, more and more people arrived.

The line moved quickly. Before 8:10, I had already boarded the sightseeing bus, and I even got the left-side window seat I wanted, so I could enjoy the sights along the central route.

Routes for Jiuzhaigou’s sightseeing buses are assigned by scenic-area dispatch. Today my bus was headed to the Primeval Forest. A staff member on the bus introduced the scenic area, recommended routes, and things to watch out for, which was quite helpful. When we passed Mirror Lake, there was no wind yet in the morning. It really was as calm as a mirror, with clear reflections on the water.

Primeval Forest

I got off at the Primeval Forest stop and planned to hike from the Primeval Forest, through Grass Lake, to Swan Lake.

The weather was clear this morning. Every blade of grass and every tree under the sunlight, even the shadows, looked so beautiful.

This rocky mountain must look even more magnificent when it is covered with snow.

The rhododendrons were also in bloom.

Grass Lake

At Grass Lake, sunlight fell on the green grass, and the dew was sparkling.

Such layered beauty!

I saw two little ducks. What a lovely scene.

Swan Lake

I walked to Swan Lake. Before we got off the bus, the staff member had explained that it got its name because, in winter, heavy snow covering the grass looks like swan feathers.

Eagle Claw Cave

Arrow Bamboo Lake

I took the sightseeing bus to Arrow Bamboo Lake. I did not see any arrow bamboo, only a lake full of horsetail plants.

Arrow Bamboo Lake Waterfall

There is a small waterfall below Arrow Bamboo Lake.

Panda Lake

I continued walking to Panda Lake.

Looking down from above, I could see lots of fish.

There were grilled sausages for sale here, but I was not interested.

Five Flower Lake

I took the sightseeing bus to Five Flower Lake. I feel like many of the most representative Jiuzhaigou photos online are taken here.

There was algae growing on the lake surface, which slightly affected the view.

After walking a little further downstream, those “dirty things” disappeared from the water surface.

There were many calcified trees in the lake. One auntie was really odd. I had only stood by the railing for one second when she came over and kept chanting beside my ear, “Are you done? Are you done? Are you done?”

A deep, profound blue.

Pearl Shoal

I took the sightseeing bus to Mirror Lake.

Mirror Lake

By noon, the wind had already picked up, so it looked like a very ordinary lake.

I took the sightseeing bus back to Nuorilang Center and transferred to the bus for Long Lake. You can have lunch here and buy milk tea or coffee.

Long Lake

After arriving at Long Lake, the clouds thickened again. By the lake, the scenery was slightly less impressive because the sky was no longer clear.

The wild roses were blooming beautifully.

From Long Lake to Five-Color Pond, the official sign says 820 meters, but in reality it felt longer than that.

Five-Color Pond

It was the dry season, so Five-Color Pond had relatively little water, but that did not stop it from being the clearest and most transparent water in Jiuzhaigou. When the wind blew across the surface, it looked like glass.

After seeing Five-Color Pond, I took the sightseeing bus back to Nuorilang Center Station. Then I walked toward Nuorilang Waterfall. Last time I only looked at it from below, so this time I definitely wanted to go up to the viewing platform and see the whole waterfall.

Nuorilang Waterfall

There are not too many steps. It takes about 10 minutes to climb to the viewing platform.

From here, you can see the lake above the waterfall, like the waterfall’s reservoir.

I came down from the viewing platform and walked toward the sightseeing bus stop.

Rhinoceros Lake

It looked a little bit like Long Lake here.

Tiger Lake

I walked toward Tiger Lake. There were prayer flags over flowing water here.

The sunlight streaming through the clouds was gorgeous.

So many little fish.

Shuzheng Waterfall

Walking further down brought me to Shuzheng Waterfall. It was beautiful.

I kept walking and reached the entrance of Shuzheng Village. Below it was Shuzheng Lakes. You cannot see the full view from the roadside, so I climbed to the viewing platform above Shuzheng Village to take a look.

Shuzheng Lakes

The view was nice.

After coming down, I continued walking toward Sparkling Lake.

Sparkling Lake

The lakes here clearly felt very deep. All I could see was blue; I could not see the bottom.

The sun was almost setting, so I could not see the scene where sunlight falls on the lake like flickering sparks.

It was almost 6, so I took the sightseeing bus to the final stop, Bonsai Shoal.

Bonsai Shoal

I skipped Double Dragon Lake. Bonsai Shoal gets its name from the trees in the river that look like individual bonsai.

Reed Lake

I walked back 600 meters to Reed Lake.

From Reed Lake, I walked back to Bonsai Shoal and took the bus out of the scenic area.

I called a DiDi back to the hotel. I had already walked too much today and did not want to walk anymore. There were many taxis at the scenic-area entrance. I was ripped off there in 2023 and still remember it.

DiDi was not much cheaper, but at least it was a price I had accepted, not a price I was tricked into. The driver asked how long it had taken me to get a ride. I said it had taken quite a while and that it was a bit hard to get one. Pretending it was my first time here, I asked the driver, “This is not even peak season yet, right? I cannot imagine how crowded it gets in peak season.”

The trip was very short, less than 2 km, and I soon arrived at the hotel. I originally wanted to order KFC, but most of the menu showed sold out, so I switched to McDonald’s.

It was a little hard to sleep tonight. I had walked too much during the day, my body felt slightly hot, and my face was a bit red. I went to bed after 9, but my body temperature did not come down enough for me to fall asleep until around midnight.

Day 3 Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding

Heading to Chengdu

This morning’s bus to Huanglongjiuzhai Station departed at 6:30. The Guoda boarding point was very close to the hotel, less than a 10-minute walk.

I got up a little after 5, washed up, packed my backpack, ate a small piece of bread, checked out, and went to take the bus.

The weather was a bit cloudy today. Luckily, I had already visited Jiuzhaigou yesterday and seen the scenery in better weather. The bus ride actually took about 2 hours, following the national highway. There was a little rain on the road.

When I arrived at Huanglongjiuzhai Station, I found that there were still more than 2 hours before the train I had booked. I quickly opened 12306, changed to an earlier train, and boarded smoothly.

In less than 2 hours, I arrived in Chengdu. The rise in temperature was very obvious, and the smog was also quite heavy. It felt hot and stuffy.

Arrived at Chengdu East Railway Station.

The smog in Chengdu was very obvious, and the weather was also hot and muggy.

After leaving Chengdu East, I went nearby and had a bowl of Laoma Tihua, pig trotter soup.

In the afternoon, I planned to go see giant pandas. Amap showed a Giant Panda Express Bus Line 4, but I could not find the boarding point. The location on Amap was in the middle of the square, but how could a bus possibly drive into the square? I really could not find it, so I took the metro instead.

After exiting the metro, I still had to take a bus for 2 stops. There were many unlicensed cars soliciting passengers at the metro exit. The bus costs 2 yuan and runs point to point, but those cars wanted 10 yuan. They really do squeeze out-of-towners…

Panda Base

At the panda base, I bought a ticket on Meituan and entered the park by scanning my ID card. At the entrance, there were many “guides” soliciting visitors, saying they could take you along the best route and so on.

The walkway near the west gate is open-air and rather sunny, with the trees on both sides still quite short. Because it was hot, the pandas had all gone indoors. At this time, some pandas were still napping, while others had already woken up.

The first giant panda I saw today was also the first giant panda I had ever seen in my life 😊.

The indoor hall had air conditioning, so I could rest inside. There was a lot of bamboo outdoors. I wonder if, when the weather is cooler, the pandas can just munch on it directly.

It looked awake, yet also not quite awake, pondering panda life.

After visiting a few panda halls, I went to the golden snub-nosed monkey hall. The air conditioning there was even stronger and very cool.

Next, I went to the Star Nursery, where there were recently born pandas.

After coming out, I reached Panda Walking Street. I had KFC for afternoon tea and took a rest. It was too hot.

Then I went to the Moon Nursery. Many rooms had their curtains drawn today, so I did not see any pandas there.

Then I went to Red Panda Activity Yard No. 2.

There was a red panda sleeping on a tree. So cute.

The weather was too hot, and the park was spraying mist. The red panda seemed to be using the mist to cool down.

Beware of fierce beasts! Rawr!

I continued to the Panda Villa Area. This is an older part of the panda base, with denser woods and bamboo groves, so it was cooler than the west gate area.

I continued visiting a few more panda halls and went to Red Panda Activity Yard No. 2.

After seeing the red pandas, I was ready to leave the park.

I exited from the south gate, took a bus to the metro station, then took the metro to the hotel. The hotel was near Tianfu Square. At Tianfu Square, I had a bowl of pork intestine noodles. The noodles were made from sweet potato starch, which I do not like. Rice noodles are still better.

After eating, I went to Chabaidao and bought a cup of lemonade. It was 2 yuan, so cheap.

I checked in at the hotel, showered, did laundry, and rested.

Day 4 Chengdu - Mianyang - Return Trip

I slept quite well last night. I got up, packed everything, and had breakfast. The breakfast at this Hi Inn was pretty simple: soy milk, vegetable buns, steamed rolls, and tea eggs.

I checked out and took a bus to Wenshu Monastery.

Wenshu Monastery

There were many not-that-old grandmas selling jasmine bracelets here. Some even touched my arm while trying to sell them, which I did not like.

Wenshu Monastery is free to visit. It seemed like there was complimentary incense available, but I did not light any. I simply walked around.

I also visited Wenshu Pavilion, where many bodhisattva statues were displayed.

Huanhuaxi Park

After leaving, I took the metro toward Du Fu Thatched Cottage. This metro station may have taken the long transfer walking distance into account, because it even had a moving walkway installed.

What? The ticket for Du Fu Thatched Cottage costs 50 yuan? Then I would not go in. I just walked around Huanhuaxi Park outside.

It felt very leisurely there, quite nice.

Master Ye

After walking around the park, I came out and had qiaojiao beef across the street. It was good. The beef soup tasted quite similar to Hakka beef soup.

After eating, I took the metro to Chengdu East Railway Station and then took a high-speed train to Mianyang.

It was my first time seeing a metro carriage with this kind of seat layout. Sitting there felt very cool.

Shengshui Temple

Shengshui Temple is located in the northern section of Changhong Avenue, Fucheng District, Mianyang, Sichuan, on the right bank of the Fujiang River at the southern end of Tazi Mountain. The Baoji-Chengdu Railway and Chengdu-Mianyang high-speed railway pass in front of it. Covering more than 100,000 square meters, it consists of Shengshui Temple and Luohan Temple. The temple was first built during the Yonghui period of the Tang dynasty (650-655), originally named Ganquan Temple. In the first year of the Zhengtong reign of the Ming dynasty (1436), it was renamed after the mountain spring “holy water.” The “Longqiu” spring beneath the cliff behind the Guanyin Hall still flows year-round. The temple complex is arranged along a central axis with main buildings such as the Hall of Heavenly Kings, Mahavira Hall, and Dabei Hall, with auxiliary halls including the Jade Buddha Hall, Jialan Hall, and Patriarch Hall on both sides. The hip-and-gable roofs and gilded eaves show the style of Han Chinese Buddhist temples.
https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%9C%A3%E6%B0%B4%E5%AF%BA/9733

The entire long corridor was filled with sculptures. It felt very solemn.

From the overpass, you can watch trains. This track might be for freight, because I only saw container trains like this.

Turning from here leads to the neighboring Luohan Temple.

Luohan Temple

Mianyang Luohan Temple is located in Shengshui Village, Chengjiao Township, Mianyang, Sichuan, at the southern end of Tazi Mountain on the right bank of the Fujiang River, near the Baoji-Chengdu Railway and the Mianyang-Jiangyou Expressway. The temple was funded and built by Master Guoqing over more than 20 years. Its main buildings are arranged along a central axis, including the Weituo Hall, Hall of Heavenly Kings, Seven Buddhas Hall, and Mahavira Hall. On both sides are architectural groups such as the Ten Thousand Buddhas Holy City, Luohan Hall, Bell and Drum Towers, and Vulture Peak, combining the solemn style of northern Buddhism with features of Jiangnan gardens.

The Ten Thousand Buddhas Holy City enshrines more than 12,000 small Buddha statues and over 40 Buddha and bodhisattva statues taller than nine meters. The Luohan Hall contains 1,250 arhat statues in different poses, while Vulture Peak contains 500 serene statues of nuns. The temple’s core Qing-style Mahavira Hall features carved beams and painted rafters. The scripture library has an elegant exterior and modern facilities inside, and the reclining Buddha is 42 meters long with a peaceful form. The whole temple follows the mountain terrain, with groups of arhat statues on both sides of the 260-step stone stairway, forming a layered architectural complex amid greenery.
https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E7%BB%B5%E9%98%B3%E7%BD%97%E6%B1%89%E5%AF%BA//15826469

These stairs were quite steep. I had to rest for a while after climbing up.

After leaving, I took a taxi to Wanda and ate at a local restaurant called Liuyuexue Dry Pot. It was delicious!

Return Trip

The sky gradually darkened.

After landing, I took a ride-share home and wrapped up the trip beautifully.

Expenses

Thoughts

• I visited almost every attraction in Jiuzhaigou
  I walked about 20 km. Because there are many attractions and they are quite spread out, I did not feel completely exhausted.

• Chengdu was pretty hot
  The temperature was not actually that high yet, but it was muggy and uncomfortable.

• A new way to get to Jiuzhaigou
  Going from Mianyang was a good experience. The route from Mianyang to Jiuzhaigou County is expressway all the way and takes about 3 hours.