Chengdu: Giant Pandas & Leshan Buddha Day Trip

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Free cancellationExcellent qualityLikely to sell out

1/6

Duration11h

GroupUp to 35

LanguagesEN

Mobile ticketAccepted

Why You'll Want to See Pandas Before the 1,300-Year-Old Buddha

You start with three hours watching giant pandas eat and play in their habitat, then either return to Chengdu or continue to the ancient Leshan Giant Buddha for a 2.5-hour visit that includes the option to see it from the river. Transport, entry fees, and an air-conditioned vehicle are all included; the full day takes eleven hours and returns you by evening, while the half-day panda option gets you back by lunchtime.

11h

Step-by-step itinerary

Visit Chengdu Panda Base and Leshan Buddha

Gather at Chengdu IFS panda sculpture
Explore Chengdu Panda Base for 3 hours
Travel to Leshan Giant Buddha
Visit Leshan Giant Buddha for 2.5 hours
Return to Chengdu

The Experience

What is it about watching a giant panda actually eat that makes you forget to take photos? You stand there in the bamboo grove at Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, and there's just this black-and-white creature munching away three meters from you, completely unbothered by the crowd. The tour gathers at 8:00 a.m. at the panda sculpture outside Chengdu IFS—right next to Taikoo Li, so you can't miss it—and from there it's straight into the base for about three hours. You walk through the groves, watch them play, watch them sleep in trees, and somewhere in that time you stop thinking about whether this was worth the early start.

If you pick the full-day option, you don't head back to the city after the pandas. Instead, the bus takes you toward Leshan, about two hours away, where the 71-meter Giant Buddha sits carved into a cliff face. It's been there since around 713 AD, and standing in front of it—or better yet, taking the boat ride that lets you see it from the river—you get why people have been coming here for thirteen centuries. You spend 2.5 hours there, which gives you time to walk around, maybe take the boat, grab lunch if you want. The whole day is eleven hours start to finish, and you're back in Chengdu by 7:00 p.m.

The half-day option gets you just the pandas—4.5 hours total, back by 12:30 p.m.—which works if you've got other plans or you're not sure about the long drive. Either way, there's no shopping stops, no hidden fees, and the vehicle is air-conditioned. Entry to both places is included, so you're not paying again at the gate.

What’s included

Entrance fees to Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding and Leshan Giant Buddha (full-day option only).
air-conditioned vehicle transport.
hotel or meeting point pickup and return to Chengdu.

Good to know

Easy physical levelStroller friendlyPublic transport nearby

Operated by Zanbus

Is this one for you?Pick this if you want to see both pandas and one of China's oldest Buddhist monuments in a single day without arranging separate transport or tickets—the fixed schedule and included entry mean you just show up at 8 a.m. and the logistics are handled.