Sichuan in a week: Chengdu, Leshan, Mount Emei and Dujiangyan

Chengdu is the easiest Chinese city to enjoy slowly: pandas in the morning, a teahouse in the afternoon, hotpot at night. Around it, within an hour or two by train, are the Leshan Giant Buddha, the largest stone Buddha in the world, Mount Emei with its monasteries and summit above the clouds, and Dujiangyan, where a third-century BC engineer split the Min River and the system still works. Mount Qingcheng, next to Dujiangyan, is the Taoist counterpart to Buddhist Emei. A week covers all of it with no leg longer than two and a half hours.

Day by day

Laid out by the atlas's trip planner from the stops below, with the trains and flights in its tables; open it on the map to change the days, the order or the stops.

1. Day 1 · Chengdu

   • Chengdu Giant Panda Base
   • Sanxingdui Museum

2. Day 2 · Leshan

   • High-speed train Chengdu South → Leshan, 41 min (G5415, 59 a day); about 1 hour door to door, ¥51. Compare ways
   • Leshan Giant Buddha

3. Day 3 · Emeishan

   • Leshan Giant Buddha continued
   • High-speed train Leshan → Emei, 11 min (C6253, 17 a day); about ½ hour door to door, ¥9.

4. Day 4 · Emeishan

   • Mount Emei

5. Day 5 · Emeishan

   • Mount Emei continued

6. Day 6 · Dujiangyan

   • High-speed train Emeishan → Dujiangyan, 2 h 8 min (C6344, 1 a day); about 2½ hours door to door, ¥84.
   • Dujiangyan Irrigation System

7. Day 7 · Dujiangyan

   • Mount Qingcheng

Why this order

Chengdu is the hub for every leg, and Leshan and Emei sit on the same line south, so the week runs out and back once rather than in a loop.

When to go

March to June and September to November. Emei’s summit is cold and often in cloud; winter brings snow to the top and crowds to the hot springs.

Good to know

• Sanxingdui, the Bronze Age museum north of Chengdu, has a new building and timed entry; book it before you go.
• On Emei, a cable car and buses reach the Golden Summit in half a day; walking the whole mountain takes two days and a monastery bed.
• Chengdu East is the station for Leshan and Emei; Xipu, on the metro, has the trains to Dujiangyan.

Before you go

• Visas and visa-free entry Can I visit China without a visa?
• Paying for things How do I pay for things in China without a Chinese bank account?
• Internet and apps Will Google and my other apps work in China?
• Trains and 12306 How do I book train tickets in China with a foreign passport?
• Book popular sights early Which sights in China need booking in advance, and how?
• When to go When is the best time to visit China?

On the map

The map opens with these 6 stops in a trip; "Plan my days" lays out the same days and lets you move stops, change the days each gets, or choose where you arrive and leave.

Other trips

• Chengdu to Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong: a week in the Aba mountains 6 days · Chengdu, Songpan and Jiuzhaigou
• Two weeks in China: Beijing, Xi’an, Chengdu, Guilin and Shanghai 14 days · Beijing, Xi'an, Chengdu, Leshan, Guilin and Shanghai
• Yunnan by train: Kunming, Dali, Lijiang and Shangri-La 9 days · Kunming, Dali, Lijiang and Shangri-La