Charismatic Southwest China with Sichuan and Yunnan

Classic China route

Charismatic Southwest China with Sichuan and Yunnan

Tailor-made private China route following Chengdu - Sanxingdui Museum - Mianyang - Pingwu - Jiuzhaigou - Huanglong - Songpan - Maoxian linking the main cities with a Sichuan extension, planned around clear city order, iconic sites, comfortable transfers and realistic visit timing.

Tailor-made Chengdu - Sanxingdui Museum - Mianyang - Pingwu - Jiuzhaigou - Huanglong - Songpan - Maoxian
SichuanTrainCulture
Duration Tailor-made
Route Chengdu - Sanxingdui Museum - Mianyang - Pingwu - Jiuzhaigou - Huanglong - Songpan - Maoxian
Travel style Private or small-group pace
We check Local guide, vehicle and booking checks
Best for For Sichuan scenery, heritage mountains and seasonal landscapes

We shape the route around your dates, pace and comfort level before preparing the proposal.

Choose with confidence

Picture the route before asking for a proposal.

Follow the route rhythm, landscapes and travel moments first. If this feels like the China you want, we shape the dates, pace, hotels, transport and special interests around your group.

Prefer to explore before contacting us? Start with the daily plan, route sequence and route-fit notes. Then send us the parts you like, and we will reshape the journey around your dates.
01

What you will see

Jiuzhaigou, Huanglong, Emei, Leshan, Sanxingdui, birding or reserves are tied to real stops.

02

How the pace feels

Ticket windows, roads, walking level and hotel position decide whether the route feels smooth.

03

How it can change

Photography, light hiking, family pace, less walking or more scenery time can be adjusted.

Route fit

For scenery and culture with the right season.

Good fit

You want Sichuan landscapes, Buddhist heritage, lakes, mountains or seasonal color.

Less ideal

You want a city-only trip or cannot allow any seasonal/road adjustment.

Highlights

  • Chengdu
  • Sanxingdui Museum
  • Mianyang
  • Pingwu
  • Jiuzhaigou
  • Huanglong

Planning focus

Scenery works best with the right season and rhythm.

We check scenery window, ticket rules, road time, walking comfort, hotel position and whether the route needs one more night.

Route at a glance

See the sequence before the details.

This quick route view helps you understand the order of stops, where the journey slows down and what we check before the final proposal.

Route sequence

01 Chengdu
02 Sanxingdui Museum
03 Mianyang
04 Pingwu
05 Jiuzhaigou
06 Huanglong
07 Songpan

Season and roads

Roads, mountain weather, festivals and scenery windows change the best version of the route.

Ticket timing

Pandas, museums, trains and popular sites may need document-based booking windows.

Daily pace

Driving time, rest time and hotel location decide whether the route feels smooth.

Itinerary rhythm

What each day can feel like

The day-by-day view shows how scenery, cultural stops or nature experiences are placed. Before confirmation, we check season, tickets, opening hours, roads and hotel position.

02
Chengdu - Sanxingdui Museum - Mianyang

Chengdu - Sanxingdui Museum - Mianyang

Drive to Pingwu, visit of Bao'en Si temple. It is a Buddhist Monastery, the history of it dates back to the 15th Century. The temple is famous for its glazed roof tiles, the same tiles were used for the Forbidden City in Beijing. With a size of 278 by 100 meters, it is one of the largest Buddhist temple in Sichuan. Then drive to Jiuzhaigou.

03
Mianyang - Pingwu - Jiuzhaigou

Mianyang - Pingwu - Jiuzhaigou

Jiuzhaigou is a fairyland and paradise, it’s composed of three valleys forming a Y-shape. If there is really a fairy land in the world, it would be Jiuzhaigou Valley. It is a natural masterpiece. The mountains are green and graceful, the water is crystal clear and brightly colored. That makes a picturesque and magnificent scenery. Beauty is a harmonious unity of primitiveness, colors, shapes and ringing. It is the culmination of landscape aesthetics.

04
Jiuzhaigou

Jiuzhaigou

In the morning drive to visit the Huanglong (Yellow Dragon) Scenic Spot which is listed as a World Natural Heritage. Huanglong is marked by its low-temperature and highly calcified Karst landform, which forms numerous valuable colored ponds. In the afternoon drive to Songpan, walking through the old town Songpan. Then drive to Maoxian.

06
Maoxian - Taoping – Dujiangyan - Chengdu

Maoxian - Taoping – Dujiangyan - Chengdu

In the morning leave for Leshan. On the way enjoy the beautiful countryside landscape of western Chengdu Plains during about two hours of driving on the expressway. Upon arrival in Leshan visit of the Grand Buddha in Lingyun Temple. The grand Buddha was completed in 803 of Tang Dynasty after 90 years of construction and enjoys the fame of the biggest sitting stone sculpture in the world (71-meter height). Carved on the cliff face, the sculpture is well designed with perfect bal

07
Chengdu – Leshan – Emei Shan

Chengdu – Leshan – Emei Shan

Early in the morning take the sightseeing bus to Leidongping Bus Station along the 52-kilometer zigzag mountain road. Upon arrival, we take the cable car to the Golden Summit. With an altitude of 3099 meters, if the weather is fine, the view is amazing; the verdant forest waves surge along the mountain; Min River, Qingyi River and Dadu River are like three pieces of silk; Mt. Daxue and Mt. Gongga seem to stretch to the horizon; the sun emerges with all shimmering

08
Emei Shan – Chengdu, train Chengdu – Xichang

Emei Shan – Chengdu, train Chengdu – Xichang

In the morning arrival in Xichang, transfer to the hotel. After a short rest and breakfast in the hotel visit of Qionghai Lake, Museum of Slave Society of Yi Nationality, Datong tower, and the workshops for handicrafts. The Qionghai Lake is the second largest freshwater lake in China. The museum is the only museum of social formation in China and is rated as a historical and cultural site under the government protection. It is also the only theme museum in China that exhibits and studies the slave

09
Xichang

Xichang

In the early morning drive to Lugu Lake. The place is home to an “unusual matriarchal kingdom”. The local Mosuo people have, through all the ages, managed to keep their matrilineal tradition persistent and intact. In the afternoon go sailing on the beautiful lake and visit the local people’s residence to experience the folkways.1N at 3*Lugu Lake Princess Hotel

11
Lugu Lake - Lijiang

Lugu Lake - Lijiang

The Lijiang Old Town is famous for its old wooden houses and the layout of the town’s streets. It has been listed as a World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO. Stroll through the old town Lijiang. Then visit of Hei Long Tan (Black Dragon Pool), which is located in the northern foot of the Elephant Hill. The summits of the Yulong Snow Mountain are clearly reflected in this pond. Afterwards visit of Dongba (local primitive religion of Naxi Minority) Culture Museum. At last visit Baisha village of Naxi minor

12
Lijiang

Lijiang

In the morning drive about 200 kilometers to Dali, the ancient capital of Nanzhao Kingdom and hometown of Bai minority. On the way, visit of the local residences of Bai minority at Xizhou. In the afternoon visit of San Ta Si (Three Pagoda Temple) in the northwest outskirts of Dali. Then stroll in the alleys of Dali ancient small town.

13
Lijiang - Dali

Lijiang - Dali

In the morning transfer to the bus station, drive to Kunming by shuttle bus. Kunming, capital of Yunnan province, is also called “Spring City” due to its fine climate all year round. Yunnan in Chinese means "at the south of the clouds". In the afternoon visit of the West Hill with the Longmen Caves.

14
Dali - Kunming

Dali - Kunming

After the breakfast drive to Shilin, a county of the Sani minority, to visit the Stone Forest. The bizarre karst stone rocks feature in various formation and some of them tower above to 30 m high. Drive back to Kunming, transfer to the airport to take a flight back home.

Images help show the landscape and travel mood of the route. The exact hotel, vehicle, guide and timing are confirmed with your proposal.

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