Attractions

Sichuan Museum

Built in 1941, Sichuan Museum is the largest comprehensive museum in Southwest China and is divided into three floors.

The first floor is mainly a gallery of pottery art from the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220), exhibiting cultural relics of rustic stone carvings and pottery sculptures from that time. The second floor consists of the Gallery of Bashu Bronze Wares, Dafeng Gallery (Zhang Daqian’s Art Gallery), Chinese Painting and Calligraphy Gallery and the Gallery of Porcelain. The third floor is composed of the Gallery of Tibetan Buddhism, Gallery of Buddha Statues from Wanfo Temple, Gallery of Sichuan Ethnic Culture Relics and Gallery of Arts and Crafts, which mostly reflect the folk customs of Sichuan.

After visiting Sichuan Museum, it is recommended you go to the nearby Dufu Thatched Cottage, Qingyang Palace, Wuhou Memorial Temple and Jinli to have more fun.

Sanxingdui Museum 

Sanxingdui Museum is a thematic museum built on Sanxingdui site which mainly collects and exhibits thousands artifacts of bronze, jade and gold in ancient Shu period three thousand years ago. Dreamy art of ancient China, amazing heritage of lost civilization, here is the best wathching and learning place of the Sanxingdui Culture.

Daocheng Yading Scenic Area

Located to the south of Garze Tibetan autonomous prefecture and to the east of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in Southwest China’s Sichuan province, the Daocheng Yading Scenic Area is a national nature reserve. "Yading" in Tibetan means a "sunny place" and a "holy land". This scenic area is famous both at home and abroad for its unique primitive ecological environment and majestic landscape. Composed of three mountains and their surrounding rivers, lakes, and alpine meadows, it gathers the most beautiful views of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

With altitudes between 2,900 meters and 6,032 meters, the Daocheng Yading Scenic Area covers 1,344 square kilometers and is one of the most complete and original mountain natural ecosystems in China. As the core of Shangri La’s eco-tourism area in China, it also showcases the natural scenery of some of the world's most beautiful mountains and canyons.

The Daocheng Yading Scenic Area boasts pleasant and ever-changing scenery. It has the most unique snow-covered mountain landscape in Hengduan Mountains along with forest ecosystem, mountains, seas, lakes, valleys, canyons, and meadows. This scenic spot is a paradise for photographers, where they can also encounter rainbows, waterfalls, and mirages.

The Daocheng Yading Scenic Area not only has rich natural scenery but is also home to simple and profound cultural landscapes. Specifically, its Tibetan Buddhist culture interprets religious belief, its clothing culture highlights the inheritance of simplicity, its culture of songs and dances shows strong ethnic customs, the folk dwellings reflect the characteristics of Tibetan architecture, and its clay pottery culture inherits a unique profundity. Both the natural and cultural landscapes of the Daocheng Yading Scenic Area present the harmonious beauty of Shangri-La.

Mount Emei

Mount Emei lies seven kilometers southwest of Emeishan city and represents one of the four mountain ranges in China that Buddhists consider sacred. It was included in the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1996.

The mountain stretches more than 200 km from north to south. Its main peak, Wanfo Crest, is 3,099 meters above sea level.

Since ancient times, Mount Emei has been described as “Beauty under Heaven”. Temples were built there as early as the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220), and Buddhism was introduced to the mountain during the Jin Dynasty (265-420). In the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911) there were more than 150 temples.

A legend claims that the mountain is where Samantabhadra gave lectures on Buddhism, and most temples house a statue of him. The main scenic spots on the mountain include Baoguo Temple, Wannian Temple, Fohu Temple, Qingyin Pavilion, Heilongjiang Tunnel, Hongchun Platform, Xianfeng Temple (Jiulao Cave) and Xixiang Pond.

Mount Qingcheng and the Dujiangyan Irrigation System

Located on the northwest edge of Chengdu Plain, Dujiangyan was built in the 3rd century BC, and has been the world's only existing ancient irrigation system which diverts water without a dam, controlling and distributing the waters of the Minjiang River to fertile farmland.

Mount Qingcheng is regarded as one of the cradles of Taoism. Its name is taken from the verdant peaks that resemble a city wall dotted with numerous temples. In 13 AD, some 400 years after the creation of the Dujiangyan irrigation system, an elderly man took a long journey to the foot of Mount Qingcheng. In this quiet place, he began his reflections that would lay the foundation of Taoism, the only major religion to originate in China. The man, Zhang Ling, is now considered an immortal.

The mountain is 25 kilometers by minibus from Dujiangyan. If you ascend by cable car, a visit can be done on a day-trip along with seeing the irrigation system.

The Dujiangyan irrigation system and nearby Qingcheng Mountain were listed as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site in 2000. In 2006, Dujiangyan was listed as a World Natural Heritage site as a corridor region of the giant panda's habitat.

Huanglong, Aba Tibetan-Qiang autonomous prefecture

Situated in Songpan county, in northwest Sichuan province in the southern part of the Minshan Mountains and southeast of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Huanglong valley is made up of snow-capped peaks and China’s eastern-most glaciers.

In addition to its mountain landscape, the area has diverse forest ecosystems, spectacular limestone formations, waterfalls and hot springs. The area also has a population of endangered animals, including the giant panda and the Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkey. Huanglong National Nature Reserve is 31.5 kilometers long, 28.4 kilometers wide and covers 55,000 hectares. Its main targets for protection are natural scenery and rare wildlife.

Huanglong Scenic and Historic Interest Area was declared a World Natural Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1992.

Huanglong is noted for its beautiful mountainous scenery with relatively undisturbed and highly diverse forest ecosystems, combined with the more spectacular localized karst formations, such as travertine pools, waterfalls and limestone shoals. Its travertine terraces and lakes are unique in all of Asia and rate among the three most outstanding examples in the world.

When water flows into two separate streams, it forms colorful ponds and waterfalls. At the end of the gold-reflecting river is Bathing Cave Waterfall. Plunging 7 meters off a cliff, it creates a curtain of water. Nearby, Brilliant Flying Waterfall, fed by the ponds in the upper reaches, cascades 10 meters down, with a width of 60 meters. The jigsaw-like cliffs at the top of the waterfall split the water into small streams, creating a most fantastic sight. Of all the colorful pools, eight are famous: Flower-washing Pool, Bonsai Pool, Mirror Pool, Rhododendron Pool, Jade Plants Pool, Riot of Color Pool in the south, Stone Pagoda Village Sea Pool and Turning Flower Pool in the north.

According to The Songpan County Chronicles, Huanglong's three temples, set one behind the other, were built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), when they attracted large numbers of worshippers. The front and middle temples now are mostly dilapidated, but the rear temple, at the end of Huanglong Ravine, and the Hall of the Goddess of Mercy in the middle temple are well preserved. The back temple contains a statue of the Perfect Man of Huanglong. In the middle of the sixth lunar month each year, a temple fair at Huanglong attracts local people from the Tibetan, Qiang, Hui, and Han ethnic groups. Festival goers offer incense, pray, sing, dance and enjoy the scenery.

Giant Buddha, Leshan

The Leshan Giant Buddha scenic area, which covers 2.5 square kilometers, is famous for its giant statue of the Buddha.

The Buddha is located to the east of Leshan City, Sichuan province, at the confluence of three rivers: the Min, Qingyi and Dadu rivers. It is carved into the cliffs of Lingyun Mountain.

The charm of the Buddha lies not only in its size but also in its architectural artistry. There are 1,051 buns in the Buddha's coiled hair, which is skillfully embedded in the head. Another architectural highlight is the drainage system. The system is made up of some hidden gutters and channels, which help displace rainwater and keep the inner part dry, thereby playing an important role in protecting the Buddha.

The 71-meter-tall Buddha is the largest stone sculpture of a sitting Buddha in the world and the only UNESCO World Natural and Culture heritage site in the western part of China.