6 Days Shanghai Chengdu Panda and Food Tour

Shanghai Yu Garden
Chengdu Giant Panda Base
Making Pixian Chili Bean Paste in Cuisine Museum

Tour Outline: Shanghai - Chengdu - Chengdu Panda Base - Sichuan Cuisine Museum - Chengdu

Overview
Itinerary
Service Inclusion
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Trip Overview

Shanghai, a mega city in China with many factories of different types, by taking this tour you can experience the famous Maglev Train, have a nice look at Paper-cut Factory and Water Purification and Environmental Protection Industrial Park to see how things are made and the newest technology. In Shanghai Wildlife Park, you can see the animals taken good care of in the field. And in Yu Garden, you can see how ancient culture integrated into magnificent garden.

In Chengdu, you will meet with Giant Panda, the national treasure of China. You can interact with them, take pictures with them, and even learn how locals do to protect this lovely and once-endangered species. In downtown Chengdu, you will learn about many less-known stories of the Three Kingdoms, especially the stories of Zhuge Liang. Meanwhile you can taste local snacks like Sandapao, Saniao Beef Ball, etc.

In addition, you can also learn about the history and method of cooking Sichuan cuisine at Sichuan Cuisine Museum. Here you can try to cook by yourself, taste pure traditional Sichuan cuisine and view antiques of Sichuan cuisine, letting you get close to Sichuan cuisine from all perspective! After getting home, your family and friends will be surprised of your Sichuan cuisine cooking skills!

To visit factories of ancient China Intangible Cultural Heritage in Shanghai;
To experience unique culture and snacks in Chengdu;
Meet with national treasure of China, the Giant Pandas.

Best Time to Visit

All year round
Physical Demands

Very leisure tour; zero physical demand

Day by Day Itinerary

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Day 1: Arrive in Shanghai and Experience the Maglev Train

After your arrival in Shanghai, our guide will take you to take Maglev Train from Pudong Airport to Longyang Road Metro Station, then transfer you to your hotel. And you can ask the guide to recommend local famous restaurants for you.

Stay overnight in Shanghai

Day 2: Shanghai Sightseeing: Paper-cut Factory, Water Purification and Environmental Protection Industrial Park (4-5h driving)

Today, you will visit Paper-cut Factory, where you can learn about the history and production process and even have a hands-on try.

In the afternoon, you will go to Water Purification and Environmental Protection Industrial Park to know about the whole progress of water purification and the usage of purified water such as irrigating vegetables, drinking and so on.

Stay overnight in Shanghai

Day 3: Shanghai Sightseeing: Shanghai Wildlife Park and Yu Garden (4-5h driving)

Golden Monkey in Shanghai Wildlife Park

Yu Garden

Today, you will first visit the Shanghai Wildlife Park. This is a theme park integrating wildlife breeding, exhibition, breeding and protection, popular science education and entertainment. You will see the Golden Monkey, Golden Antelope, Crested Ibis, Asian Rhinoceros Unicorn, very rare species, the park was made mainly to protect, breed and extend rare and endangered animals, popularize animal knowledge to the public, meanwhile, cultivate awareness of animal protection.

After visiting Shanghai Wildlife Park, you will go to Yu Garden, a private garden built in the Ming dynasty, about 400 years ago. After meticulous care for over 20 years, the owner named it “Yu Garden”, expressing the wishes of safety and harmony. You can experience the ancient culture in Yu Garden, viewing the magnificence of wisdom of Ancient Chinese.

Stay overnight in Shanghai

Day 4: Fly from Shanghai to Chengdu and Go around in Downtown Chengdu (2.5h flying)

Today you will be escorted to airport and take the flight to Chengdu. Upon your arrival at Chengdu, our guide will pick you up and take you to your hotel. After settling down, you will go to downtown Chengdu to see the capital of Sichuan Provience. And you can have hot pot if you want!

Stay overnight in Chengdu

Day 5: Chengdu Tour: Chengdu Panda Base, Jinli Street and Wuhou Temple (4-5h driving)

Jinli Ancient Street

Chendu Panda Base

In the morning, our tour guide & driver will pick you up from your hotel, and drive to Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding (known as Chengdu Panda Base) which is the best possible environment for rearing and breeding. Here, you can explore the daily life of the cute pandas, and see them eating bamboo at their active time (from 9 o’clock to 11 o’clock).

In the afternoon our guide will escort you to the Jinli Ancient Street, one of the oldest streets to appreciate the local snacks and artifacts. The elegant style of the architectures tells you what Sichuan looks like during the Qing Dynasty. Then visit Wuhou Temple, where people in Chengdu commemorate Zhu Geliang, you can learn many stories of this sagacious man.

After tour, be transferred back to your hotel.

Stay overnight in Chengdu

Day 6: Chengdu Food Tour to Sichuan Cuisine Museum (5h driving)

Pixian chili bean paste in the courtyard

The Famous Pixian Chili Bean Paste Ferments in the Courtyard

Sichuan Cuisine Cooking Class in the Cuisine Museum

After breakfast, your guide and driver will pick you up from your hotel in and drive to the Sichuan Cuisine Museum, which is located in Pixian County in western Chengdu. As the first museum with a theme of regional cooking culture in the world, Sichuan Cuisine Museum is the best place to learn the history of the famous Sichuan cuisine, as well as experience how to make an authentic Sichuan dish.

When you arrive in Sichuan Cuisine Museum, you could visit the main hall houses, where thousands of relics of cooking utensils hold. You could learn the history of Sichuan cuisine that dating back to about 2,500 years ago, in the Hall of Classical-collection Exhibition. There are great collection of books and records that vividly show the portrait of the rich culture of Sichuan cuisine, one of the most popular regional cuisines in China, even among the world.

Keeping on visiting the museum, you will see many antique treasure of the ancient Sichuan. And in the small farm in the courtyard, you could see how the famous Pixian Chili Bean Paste ferments in clay jars.

The most fantastic part of this foodie tour is to take a cooking class there and learn the authentic Sichuan dishes from local chefs. There is an English menu for you to choose, once you decided which to learn, the chef will teach you hand by hand. When you fished, you could sit down and enjoy the dish you just made. What a wonderful experience!

After the tour, our guide will take you back to Chengdu and end the gourmet tour in Chengdu.

Price Details & Guide

Price Inclusions

Private transportation to the destinations and sites listed in the itinerary; ranging from 4WD land cruiser to bus depending on the group size and trip route; car gasoline, road toll and in-transport refreshments (free bottles of water, air pillow and headscarf) are included;
Private experienced English-speaking trip leader;
Airport/railway station pick-up and send-off services at the beginning/end of the tour;
Entrance ticket fees for all the sight spots listed in the itinerary;
First aid kit;
A coverage of 300,000RMB Chartis travel insurance;
Volunteer fees in Dujiangyan Panda Base;
Lunch at Panda Base;
Lodgings for 5 nights;

Price Exclusions

International and domestic flight/train to Beijing/Chengdu (Note: we accept the domestic flight/train tickets booking to Chengdu from other cities in advance, check the updated ticket availibility and cost with your travel consultant);
Meals that are not specified in the itinerary (Averagely a meal in the 3rdpole region cost 3~10USD per person);
Tips and gratuities for the trip leader and driver;
The expense of a personal nature like alcoholic beverages, laundry, phone call, etc;
Optional activities and excursions not specified in the itinerary;
China Entry visa fees;

Itinerary Alteration

Once we receive your tour deposit, which is followed by signing the contract, your reservation is secured with legitimacy. Our staff will reserve the accommodation, vehicle, site tickets, meals and more, and pay the deposit for our suppliers. So if you want to alter to another itinerary, you need to cover the deposit we've paid, while no service charge is needed if you make some changes on the itinerary you booked.

Cancellation and Refund Policy

If you cancel the tour beacuse of your personal issues, you will be liable to pay cancellation charges that are bounded by 3rdpoletour.com cancellation policy as follows:

1.) If you cancel the tour more than 30 days before the trip starts, you will forfeit 10% of the total land cost per person;
2.) If you cancel the tour 15-30 days prior to your trip start date, 20% of your total land tour cost will be forfeited as a cancellation fee.
3.) If you cancel the tour 7-15 days before the trip starts, you will forfeit 30% of land cost.
4.) If you cancel the tour 7 days prior to your tour start date, you will forfeit 50% of land cost.
5.) If you fail to show up or cancel at your scheduled arrival time without prior notice or later than that, you will forfeit 100% of the land cost.

If the tour has to be cancelled because of the natural disaster or the government restrictions that is beyond both parties control, we will charge only USD50 per person, this is just the service fee and larbor fee during the preparation. This is a rare occurrence!

The cancellation fee charged by 3rdpoletour.com will be kept under your name (person who contacted us) for a usable period of 2 years. Within the applicable period you can use it for next time or you can kindly pass your authority to any of your family, friends or colleagues to use by booking a tour with 3rdpoletour.com. A certifying email from you is necessary to pass the cancellation fee to others, but it is only applicable for private group.