NEW TRIP
Cave Temples, Giant Pandas, and Magical Guilin
Southwest China: Treasures of Sichuan and Guangxi
Overview
Lost civilizations, Buddhist holy mountains, legendary karst landscapes, and famed culinary traditions welcome us as we explore Sichuan and Guangxi, two of China's most culturally rich provinces. Our journey with Asia explorer and WT Trip Leader Roger Williams begins in Chengdu, the first city to have its cuisine honored by UNESCO. Here we'll visit the giant panda reserve and watch a performance of Sichuan opera. Moving eastward, we visit the pandas at Dujiangyan Panda Base, explore the sacred peaks of Mt. Qingcheng and Mt. Emei, and see Dazu's UNESCO-listed cliffside cave temples and massive Buddha sculptures. Our grand finale is famed Guilin, with its mystical karst landscape of limestone towers rising from rice paddies. Join us for a fascinating exploration of Southwest China!
Arrive: Chengdu, China
Depart: Guilin, China
Highlights
- See giant pandas up close at both the Chengdu Panda Base and Dujiangyan Panda Base
- Sip a cup of tea with the locals at Chengdu's People's Park
- Enjoy a hands-on cooking class with a Sichuan chef
- Explore Taoist temples on sacred Mt. Qingcheng
- Visit the UNESCO-listed 7th century cave temples at Dazu
- Experience Guilin's ethereal karst landscape
- Cruise the luminous Li River past soaring limestone peaks
Itinerary
In Chengdu, Sichuan's bustling capital, visit the famous panda reserve, attend a Sichuan opera performance, and see artifacts from the Shu Kingdom at the Jinsha Site, one of China's exciting recent archaeological finds. We'll also stroll the alleys of the old town and sip tea at lake-dotted People's Park.
Take a cooking class at the prestigious Museum of Sichuan Cuisine, see the giant pandas at Duijiangyan, and explore Taoist temples on Mt. Qingcheng, one of the birthplaces of Taoism.
We visit the 20-story-high Leshan Buddha, carved into a cliff in the 8th century, take the cable car to the top of Mt. Emei, a Buddhist holy peak, and see the prehistoric rock art at Yangue Cave.
Explore the Pilu Cave complex, with its stone carvings, the elaborate cliffside sculptures of the Dazu Rock Carvings, a World Heritage Site, and stroll the lanes of Ciqikou, Chongqing's Old Town.
A high-speed train brings us to Guilin, famed for its ethereal karst landscape of limestone towers and rice paddies. We'll visit the exquisite Reed Flute Cave, the dramatic Dragon's Backbone rice terraces, and cruise the iconic Li River. Depart on Day 18.
What the Trip is Like
This trip is rated Level 2, Easy, according to our trip grading system. While the trip is not physically strenuous, some travel days are long and transportation conditions can be demanding. This is not a hiking trip, but we do hope to have a few exploration walks during the journey.
Review Trip Level Details
On most of our walks, we will be on paved surfaces or sometimes on packed dirt. When we are visiting some of Sichuan's Buddhist holy peaks, trails to the hillside temples can have steep steps.
Sichuan is known for its mild temperatures, abundant rainfall, and high humidity throughout the year. The temperature difference between day and night is relatively small, while summers are hot and winters can be quite cold. September is an ideal to visit.
We stay in excellent hotels on this journey, all chosen for their locations and comfortable rooms with en suite bathrooms.
Sichuan has a dramatic topography with climatic conditions that lead to agricultural diversity and a cuisine with versatile ingredients, such as the famous Sichuan peppercorn (huajiao). Chili peppers also feature heavily and were probably introduced in the 16th and 17th centuries. Although Sichuan cuisine known for its spicy flavor, there are abundant sweet and sour flavors in this cuisine as well. Commonly used spices include fennel, pepper, aniseed, cinnamon, and clove. The most famous Sichuan dishes include mapo bean curd, shredded meat in chili sauce, kung pao chicken, fish fillets in hot chili oil, diced chicken sautéed with green peppers, and stir-fried pork slices in hot sauce. Some of our hotels will also serve items from continental cuisine.
Our road journeys will be in a comfortable 30- or 37-seat bus (depending on group size), so there is ample room to spread out. A 4-hour journey on a high-speed train brings us to Guilin. For the Li River cruise, we have top-deck seats on a multi-level cruise boat, and on our one-hour bamboo raft excursion, we'll be two to a raft with a guide to pole the raft down the river.
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Itinerary
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Trip Levels
With more than 200 different adventures to choose from, we want to help you find the trip that’s right for you. Our Trip Level system ranks each trip in two ways: a number rating from 1 to 6 according to the activity, and general travel rigors. 1 is the easiest and 6+ the most difficult.