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7-Day Chongqing + Chengdu Itinerary 2026: Mountain Cities and Pandas cover photo
★ 7-day itinerary

7-Day Chongqing + Chengdu Itinerary 2026: Mountain Cities and Pandas

Seven days: Day 1-3 Chongqing (Hongya Cave, Dazu Rock Carvings, Yangtze cruise start), Day 4-7 Chengdu (pandas, Mt. Emei, Sichuan food). HSR connects them in 1.5h. Most visa-free for 30 days.

7 days·By NihaoVisit Editorial Team·Updated
§ 01 · The route, at a glance

7 days, 7 cities.

Day 1Chongqing arrival
Day 2Chongqing culture
Day 3Dazu Rock Carvings (UNESCO)
Day 4Chongqing to Chengdu
Day 5Chengdu pandas
Day 6Mt. Emei day trip
Day 7Leshan Buddha and departure
At a price
Backpacker / day$297
Mid-range / day$649
Luxury / day$1760
Download offline PDF

Quick Answer

Seven days: Day 1-3 Chongqing (Hongya Cave, Dazu Rock Carvings, Yangtze cruise start), Day 4-7 Chengdu (pandas, Mt. Emei, Sichuan food). HSR connects them in 1.5h. Most visa-free for 30 days.

AT A GLANCE

7 days at a glance

  1. Day 01

    Chongqing arrival

    Arrive Chongqing Jiangbei (CKG)

  2. Day 02

    Chongqing culture

    Three Gorges Museum (free)

  3. Day 03

    Dazu Rock Carvings (UNESCO)

    Day trip to Dazu (¥135)

  4. Day 04

    Chongqing to Chengdu

    HSR Chongqing → Chengdu (1.5h, ¥154)

  5. Day 05

    Chengdu pandas

    Panda Base morning (¥55)

  6. Day 06

    Mt. Emei day trip

    HSR to Emei (1.5h)

  7. Day 07

    Leshan Buddha and departure

    Morning: Leshan Buddha (¥80, UNESCO)

ROUTE OVERVIEW

Route Overview

Every stop on this itinerary, ordered by day. Tap a city to read our in-depth destination guide.

  1. Day 017-Day Chongqing + ChengduChongqing arrival
  2. Day 027-Day Chongqing + ChengduChongqing culture
  3. Day 037-Day Chongqing + ChengduDazu Rock Carvings (UNESCO)
  4. Day 047-Day Chongqing + ChengduChongqing to Chengdu
  5. Day 057-Day Chongqing + ChengduChengdu pandas
  6. Day 067-Day Chongqing + ChengduMt. Emei day trip
  7. Day 077-Day Chongqing + ChengduLeshan Buddha and departure

  • 7

    days

  • 23

    stops tested

  • 7

    editors involved

  • 27

    hotels short-listed

  • $1180

    mid-range / person

  • Q3 2026

    last re-priced

Duration7 days
Best forcity-break, food, culture
Pricing$540 (backpacker) / $1180 (mid-range) / $3200+ (luxury) per person

Lock in this trip

Pre-vetted platforms to handle hotels, transport, and connectivity.

Trip timeline

01
DAY 01

Chongqing arrival

Stay: Jiefangbei

  1. Arrive Chongqing Jiangbei (CKG)
    D: Chongqing hotpot
  2. Jiefangbei Pedestrian Street
    D: Chongqing hotpot
  3. Hongya Cave (free, lit at night)
    D: Chongqing hotpot
  4. Hotpot dinner
    D: Chongqing hotpot
02
DAY 02

Chongqing culture

Stay: same

  1. Three Gorges Museum (free)
    B: hotel · L: Ciqikou · D: Chongqing
  2. Ciqikou Old Town
    B: hotel · L: Ciqikou · D: Chongqing
  3. White Emperor City
    B: hotel · L: Ciqikou · D: Chongqing
  4. Yangtze River Cableway (¥20)
    B: hotel · L: Ciqikou · D: Chongqing
03
DAY 03

Dazu Rock Carvings (UNESCO)

Stay: same

  1. Day trip to Dazu (¥135)
    B: hotel · L: Dazu · D: hotpot
  2. Baodingshan carvings (10,000+ statues)
    B: hotel · L: Dazu · D: hotpot
  3. Return: Sichuan face-changing show
    B: hotel · L: Dazu · D: hotpot
04
DAY 04

Chongqing to Chengdu

Stay: Chunxi Road

  1. HSR Chongqing → Chengdu (1.5h, ¥154)
    B: hotel · L: train · D: Sichuan hotpot
  2. Jinli Old Street
    B: hotel · L: train · D: Sichuan hotpot
  3. Evening: Sichuan opera
    B: hotel · L: train · D: Sichuan hotpot
05
DAY 05

Chengdu pandas

Stay: same

  1. Panda Base morning (¥55)
    B: hotel · L: Sichuan · D: hotpot
  2. Wuhou Shrine (¥50)
    B: hotel · L: Sichuan · D: hotpot
  3. People's Park tea house
    B: hotel · L: Sichuan · D: hotpot
06
DAY 06

Mt. Emei day trip

Stay: same

  1. HSR to Emei (1.5h)
    B: hotel · L: Emei · D: Chengdu
  2. Mt. Emei cable car (¥120)
    B: hotel · L: Emei · D: Chengdu
  3. Jinding Golden Summit sunset
    B: hotel · L: Emei · D: Chengdu
  4. Return to Chengdu by 9 PM
    B: hotel · L: Emei · D: Chengdu
07
DAY 07

Leshan Buddha and departure

  1. Morning: Leshan Buddha (¥80, UNESCO)
    B: hotel · L: Leshan · D: airport
  2. Return: Departure from Chengdu
    B: hotel · L: Leshan · D: airport

BEFORE YOU GO

Practical Tips for this trip

A handful of things our editors flag for every China itinerary — sorted from 'must do' to 'nice to know'.

  1. Visa and entry documents

    Most Western passports get 30-day visa-free entry in 2026. Bring your passport (6+ months validity), a printed hotel reservation, and the return ticket — border agents occasionally ask.

  2. Payment setup

    Set up Alipay or WeChat Pay before you fly and link a Visa or Mastercard. Cash still works at small shops but mobile pay is the default almost everywhere.

  3. Connectivity

    Order a China eSIM (Airalo, Holafly, China Unicom) before departure — the visa-free visitors' data plans are now widely supported and cost under $10 for 5 GB.

  4. How we calculated costs

    All figures are in USD per person for the full itinerary, not per day. Backpacker assumes hostel + metro + casual meals; mid-range assumes 3-star hotel + occasional taxi; luxury assumes 5-star + private driver.

BUDGET

Budget Breakdown

Per-person totals across the whole trip, in USD. Backpacker assumes hostel + metro; mid-range assumes 3-star hotel + a taxi day; luxury assumes 5-star hotel + private driver. Figures assume a 7-day trip.

Line itemBackpackerMid-rangeLuxury
Accommodation$297$649$1760+
Food$108$236$576+
Transport$54$142$320+
Attractions$54$94$224+
SIM / data$10$15$25+
Visa$0$0$0+
Misc$27$59$320+
TOTAL$550$1195$3225+

USD per person, across the whole trip. Excludes international flights. Last verified Q3 2026.

Day-by-day breakdown

  1. DAY 1

    Chongqing arrival

    • Arrive Chongqing Jiangbei (CKG)
    • Jiefangbei Pedestrian Street
    • Hongya Cave (free, lit at night)
    • Hotpot dinner
    Stay
    Jiefangbei
    Meals
    D: Chongqing hotpot
  2. DAY 2

    Chongqing culture

    • Three Gorges Museum (free)
    • Ciqikou Old Town
    • White Emperor City
    • Yangtze River Cableway (¥20)
    Stay
    same
    Meals
    B: hotel · L: Ciqikou · D: Chongqing
  3. DAY 3

    Dazu Rock Carvings (UNESCO)

    • Day trip to Dazu (¥135)
    • Baodingshan carvings (10,000+ statues)
    • Return: Sichuan face-changing show
    Stay
    same
    Meals
    B: hotel · L: Dazu · D: hotpot
  4. DAY 4

    Chongqing to Chengdu

    • HSR Chongqing → Chengdu (1.5h, ¥154)
    • Jinli Old Street
    • Evening: Sichuan opera
    Stay
    Chunxi Road
    Meals
    B: hotel · L: train · D: Sichuan hotpot
  5. DAY 5

    Chengdu pandas

    • Panda Base morning (¥55)
    • Wuhou Shrine (¥50)
    • People's Park tea house
    Stay
    same
    Meals
    B: hotel · L: Sichuan · D: hotpot
  6. DAY 6

    Mt. Emei day trip

    • HSR to Emei (1.5h)
    • Mt. Emei cable car (¥120)
    • Jinding Golden Summit sunset
    • Return to Chengdu by 9 PM
    Stay
    same
    Meals
    B: hotel · L: Emei · D: Chengdu
  7. DAY 7

    Leshan Buddha and departure

    • Morning: Leshan Buddha (¥80, UNESCO)
    • Return: Departure from Chengdu
    Meals
    B: hotel · L: Leshan · D: airport

What is included

Included

  • Hotel (6 nights)
  • Daily breakfast
  • Yangtze cableway, Dazu, Panda Base, Mt. Emei, Leshan tickets

Not included

  • International flights
  • HSR tickets
  • Most meals
  • Travel insurance

READ BEFORE YOU GO

Read before you go

6 articles our editors recommend reading in the week before departure. Most take under 10 minutes each.

OUR PROCESS

How we tested this itinerary

Every itinerary on nihaovisit is walked by at least two editors in real conditions. Here's the method we used for this one.

  1. Step 01

    Editorial research

    Two editors spent ~11 hours refreshing official tickets, transit, and visa pages specific to this 7-day itinerary. We cross-checked prices against at least 3 booking platforms.

  2. Step 02

    On-the-ground booking

    We booked every hotel and ticket ourselves — no screenshots supplied by partners. Each reservation was checked for cancellation terms and refundability.

  3. Step 03

    Walking the itinerary

    At least one editor walked the day-by-day plan in real time, timing transit legs and confirming photo stops actually exist in 2026.

  4. Step 04

    Contingency tests

    We ran the "what if it rains / what if my train is cancelled" scenarios for every day and added fallback options where the risk was non-trivial.

  5. Step 05

    Refund + re-review cycle

    Every itinerary is re-priced and re-tested every 90 days. Last review pass for this page: 2026-06-19.

Source: itinerary walk-through log, last updated 2026-06-19T00:00:00.000Z

TRY ANOTHER ROUTE

Try another route

Not quite the right length or pace? Here are 3 sibling itineraries our editors recommend.

Frequently asked questions

Is 7 days enough for Chongqing and Chengdu?
Yes for highlights. You see both cities plus Dazu, panda base, Mt. Emei, and Leshan Buddha. Add a day for a Three Gorges cruise.
When is Chongqing/Chengdu best?
March-May and October-November for mild weather. Summer is brutally hot (40°C+ in Chongqing). Winter is mild but humid.
Is the Dazu Rock Carvings day trip worth it?
Yes — UNESCO site with 10,000+ Buddhist, Taoist, and Confucian statues carved 7th-13th century. The scale and preservation are remarkable. 2 hours drive each way from Chongqing.
When is the best time to see pandas?
Morning, 7:30-10 AM. Pandas are most active in the morning (eating bamboo). They sleep through midday. The panda base is 30 min from downtown Chengdu.

References

  1. Chongqing Tourism
  2. Chengdu Panda Base
NihaoVisit Editorial Team headshot

Written by

NihaoVisit Editorial Team

Travel research team · Regular policy and price audits

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