Explore the culture of Chengdu, from nature to history and art. Visit the Giant Panda Breeding Research Base and the Sanxingdui Museum. Enjoy a Sichuan Opera Gala at Liyuan Hall.
Start your day at the Giant Panda Breeding Research Base. This place is full of life and fun, located in the northern suburbs of Chengdu. The environment is like the wild habitat of the giant panda, with lakes, streams, bamboo forests, and lawns.
The pandas live in many “Panda Villas”, which are open-air and indoor. When it's cooler, the pandas play in the garden. You can see them through the railings.
When it's hot, the pandas go into the air-conditioned lounge, and visitors can see them through the glass. The musical “Panda” is a highlight. It shows the beautiful scene of giant pandas in Chengdu. It also reflects the city's environment and lifestyle.
At noon, go to Dujiangyan Restaurant for lunch. It is not included in the itinerary, but you can choose your own cuisine.
In the afternoon, visit the Sanxingdui Museum. It is in the northeast corner of the Sanxingdui site, on the Yazi River in Guanghan City. It is 38 kilometres from Chengdu and 26 kilometres from Deyang. This large museum was built in 1992 and opened in 1997. It has a large collection of valuable human cultural heritage.
The bronze statues in the museum are amazing. They include a 2.62-metre-high bronze Daliren, a 1.38-metre-wide bronze mask and a 3.95-metre-high bronze sacred tree. Each is a masterpiece. There are also gold tools and jade tools, which are very rare and show what life was like in ancient Shu.
The tour ends with the Sichuan Opera Gala at Liyuan Hall. Sichuan Opera is a shining pearl in the treasure house of Chinese opera. It is loved by people in Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, and other southwestern regions. It has four main sound chambers: high, Kun, Huqin, and weak. The other chambers came to Sichuan from other provinces at a specific time in history.
At the party, there were lots of different shows, including face-changing, fire-spitting, shadow-dancing, lantern-rolling, puppet shows, Monkey King, and noisy stages. These shows showed the charm of Sichuan opera, a traditional art that has been around for a thousand years. They also showed the unique folk culture of the southwestern region.
