Chengdu to Leshan Tour: Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding + Leshan Giant Buddha
Welcome to Chengdu, the hometown of the giant panda. This morning, our guide will meet you in the hotel lobby and take you to start today's Chengdu–Leshan tour.
First, you will drive about 17 kilometers to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, located in the northern suburbs of Chengdu, to see China's adorable national treasure, the giant panda, and learn about their habits and conservation. The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, or Chengdu Panda Base for short, houses more than 100 giant pandas, making it the world's largest captive giant panda breeding base. Here, you can see giant pandas of different ages playing, eating, climbing hills, climbing trees, and sleeping in the park, and you can also follow your guide to visit the Chengdu Giant Panda Museum to learn more stories about pandas. If you visit in autumn, you may also have the chance to see adorable giant panda cubs in the Moon Nursery and Sun Nursery. Moreover, the famous Chinese panda star Huahua lives here. She is known for her cute appearance and unique personality and is called a "top female celebrity." In addition to giant pandas, you can also see red pandas (rarer than giant pandas), Baer's pochards, golden pheasants, Eurasian scops owls, and other rare animals at the Chengdu Panda Base. (Note: 1. Giant pandas prefer cool weather and are more active in the morning, so it is recommended to arrive early to see more natural panda behavior; 2. Admission to the Chengdu Giant Panda Museum is free, but advance reservation is required, and it is closed every Monday.)
After lunch, you will drive about 2 hours to visit the famous Leshan Giant Buddha, a World Cultural and Natural Heritage Site. The Leshan Giant Buddha is the largest and tallest stone-carved Buddha in the world, a great miracle in world cultural history, and a well-known Buddhist holy site in China. The Buddha is carved into the cliff at the confluence of the Minjiang, Qingyi, and Dadu rivers. Its superb carving technique makes it an artistic treasure of Tang Dynasty cliff carvings in China, and its ingenious design has kept it standing for a thousand years, hence the saying, "The mountain is a Buddha, and the Buddha is a mountain." Carved into the riverside cliff, the Leshan Giant Buddha is about 71 meters high, about 28 meters wide at the shoulders, about 14.7 meters high at the head, about 7 meters long in the ears, about 5.6 meters long in the nose and eyebrows, about 3.3 meters long in the mouth and eyes, and about 8.5 meters wide across the instep. More than a hundred people could sit on the top of the foot, and from a distance it looks extremely magnificent and solemn. You can tour on foot to see the Buddha up close and feel its grandeur, visit ancient Buddhist temples such as Lingyun Temple and Jiading Temple to gain a deeper understanding of Leshan's history and Buddhist culture, or go to the Buddha viewing platform to photograph the full view of the Leshan Giant Buddha and the charming natural scenery around it.
Optional activity at your own expense: The plank road at the Leshan Giant Buddha is narrow, steep, and winding. If you are not in good physical condition or want a more relaxed visit, you can take a cruise to enjoy the full view of the Buddha and take in its magnificent posture.
After the tour, this wonderful and unforgettable one-day Chengdu–Leshan tour will come to an end. Our driver will take you to the airport/train station or back to your hotel. If you would like to extend this trip and explore more destinations in China, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Huangshan, Harbin, Yunnan, Xi'an, Zhangjiajie, Tibet, Guilin, Xinjiang, and more, you can also contact our customer service to arrange it for you.
🍽️ Lunch included
🏨 /
