Chengdu is the capital of Sichuan Province in south-west China. Benefiting from Dujiangyan Irrigation Project, which was constructed in 256 B.C., Sichuan Province is reputed as "Tian Fu Zhi Guo", literally a place richly endowed with natural resources. Chengdu, as the capital, is extremely productive. Covering an area of 12,390 sq km, it is home to 11 million people, which made Chengdu the fourth largest city in China in terms of population.

Chengdu is the gateway to scenic Jiuzhai Gou, the Buddhist mountains of Emei Shan and Le Shan, and one of the most important panda breeding centers. And because Chengdu is one of the few cities with daily flights to Lhasa, many travelers come here to arrange transportation to Tibet.

In Chengdu:

Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. In total there are fewer than 1000 giant pandas in the world, 80% of which are distributed within the territory of Sichuan province. Therefore, when you come to Chengdu, Sichuan Province, one of your main objectives will be to see the giant pandas. This panda base is the biggest facility of its kind in the world, with 60 giant Pandas, as well as over 20 other species of rare animals fed and bred here. Official website: http://www.panda.org.cn/

Green Ram Monastery. Directly west of the city center, this Daoist monastery is culturally and historically the most important sight in the city. It's said that at Qingyang Fair (its first incarnation), Laozi attained immortality. And it was here that he revealed the Daode Jing (Classic of the Dao) to Yin Xi, frontier guardian at the Hangu Pass and last man to see Laozi before he left the world of men for Mount Kunlun, gateway to the Western Paradise. Today Qingyang Gong is one of the most active and important Daoist monasteries in China. Among its treasures, of greatest historical significance is a set of rare and elegant pear-wood printing plates of abstracts of scriptures in the Daoist canon. The grounds contain six halls on a central axis, a room for printing Daoist texts that stands to the east, and a room for worshipping Daoist sages that stands to the west. The Hall of Three Purities (Sanqing Dian) is the monastery's main building, but the most emblematic has to be the Bagua Ting (Pavilion of the Eight Trigrams). This octagonal building sitting on a square pedestal (symbolic of the Earth) rises 20m (65 ft.) and has two flounces of upturned roofs covered in yellow, green, and purple ceramic tiles. Between the roofs, each facet of the octagon has at its center a plaque of the eight trigrams set off by a pattern of swastikas, symbolic of the sun or the movement of fire. The 81 carved dragons are said to symbolize the 81 incarnations of Laozi, but the number has closer associations with Chinese numerology and the belief in nine as the most "accomplished" of numbers.

Wuhou Memorial Temple. This temple is about 1800 years old, and the present constructions were rebuilt in 1672. It is dedicated to Zhu Ge Liang, the Martial Marquis of Shu (Sichuan) during the Three Kingdoms Period (220-280AD). Zhu Ge Liang was the personification of noble character and intelligence. He is renowned for his great personality, his dedicated service to his master, and his outstanding intelligence. A visit to the temple illuminates his status in the minds of Chinese people. This is also the biggest temple in the world about Three-Kingdom Period.

Wenshu Monastery. This temple is the best-preserved Buddhist temple in Chengdu. It is the home of the Buddhist Association of Sichuan Province and Chengdu City. Initially built in the Sui Dynasty, this temple has a history of over 1300 years. Wensu (Bodhisattva Manjusri in Sanskrit) Monastery is famous for its rich cultural relics, exquisite gardens and solemn halls.

North to Chengdu:

Huanglong Valley (Yellow Dragon Valley). This is undeniably "The fairyland on Earth". This valley was added to the World Heritage List in 1991 by UNESCO. This incredible valley undulates through the southern part of the Minshan mountain range in the Songpan County about 155 miles away from Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan. Huang Long wins its fame for its magic landscape of lime formations, made up of 3400 multi-colored and uniquely-sized ponds, interlace along the valley. There are also five waterfalls, four stalactite caves and three ancient temples, all in the same valley, which make this valley look like a dragon surging down from snowcapped peaks of Mt. Minshan.

Jiuzhaigou (Nine-village Valley). North of Chengdu, lying on the highest tableland in the world between the Sichuan Basin and the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, Jiuzhaigou Valley covers altitudes ranging from 2,000 meters (656,168 feet) to about 4,300 meters (14,107,612 feet). With its large number of lake groups, waterfalls and rich variety of endangered plants and fauna, Jiuzhaigou was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992. With some of the most beautiful and inspiring scenery on earth and some of the reserves scenic spots considered holy by the local Tibetan and Qiang people, it is no wonder there are lots of mysterious legends in this wonderful landscape of Jiuzhaigou. Many people are drawn to the area for these reasons, and with the park open all year round the authorities have ensured that the fragile environment is sufficiently protected with a range of comprehensive tourist facilities.

Tips: we suggest 3 days to visit both Huanglong and Jiuzhaigou: start from Chengdu, drive to Songpan, Huanglong, then Jiuzhaigou, then fly back to Chengdu. Along the way, visits to many primitive ethnical villages that are still keeping their traditions would be pleasant bonus to the trip.

South to Chengdu:

Emeishan Mountain. This is one of the four most sacred Buddhist Mountains in China. Most of the monasteries and temples on Mt. Emeishan were built during the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220AD). Apart from the temples, the mountain is also renowned for its steep cliffs, lofty peaks, roaring waterfalls, gurgling springs, towering trees and fragrant flowers.

Famous for four marvels of Emeishan Mt.: the sunrise, Buddha Light, Cloud Sea, and Holy light. Buddha light: sometimes when you stand at Sheshenya on this mountain, you can see circles of light down in the clouds and fogs. Legend has it that it is light from between the Buddha's eyebrows. You can also see the shadow of yourself in the middle of the light circles, what is more amazing it that, each one of the crowd can see only the shadow of himself, none of others' at all. It mostly happens in the afternoon.

The top of Emei Mountain (3099m above sea level) is called Golden Top (Jin Ding), crowned with a 48-meter-tall bronze statue of Buddha Samantabhadra, which is surrounded by the Gold Palace, Silver Palace, Bronze Palace and a white pilgrim's pathway.

Leshan Giant Buddha. 31km east to Emeisahn Mountain, Leshan Giant Buddha is an enormous statue carved into the side of Lingyun Mountain. The Buddha is over 71 meters (230 feet) tall and is wide enough for more than 100 people to sit between its feet. The massive carving began in 713 AD during the Tang Dynasty and was completed in 803 AD. The Buddha overlooks the confluence of the Min River, Qingyi River and Dadu River and is reputed to be the largest carved stone Buddha in the world. A local saying says, "The Mountain is a Buddha, the Buddha is a mountain".

Both of Emeishan Mountain and Leshan Giant Buddha are enlisted by UNESCO as World Heritage in 1996.