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CHENGDU · THE GATEWAY TO HIGHER-CHINA
Chengdu, the gateway
to Higher-
For many Chinese travellers, Chengdu is a dream destination of pandas, fiery hotpot, teahouses and a famously relaxed rhythm of life. Look west on a clear day, and the snow peaks mark the beginning of Higher-China.
Three levels of the journeyCity, nearby journeys, highlandsPrepare the practical essentials ›
01In ChengduHistory, neighbourhoods and food
02Around ChengduFocused day trips and short extensions
03Into the HighlandsRoutes toward western China
See the current map ›
START IN CHENGDU
Choose how far you want to go.
In Chengdu: understand the city through its history, neighbourhoods, food and everyday public life.
Around Chengdu: add focused day trips and short extensions when you have more time.
Into Higher-China: use Chengdu as the starting point for longer mountain and plateau journeys.
Open nowComing later
Explore the journey map
Chengdu
Panda Base
Sanxingdui
Dujiangyan · Qingcheng
Wolong
Mount Siguniang
Bipenggou
Danba
Kangding
Tagong
Xinduqiao
Gongga · Hailuogou
Litang
Yading
Songpan
Huanglong
Jiuzhaigou
Emei · Leshan
BEGIN WITH THE CITY
Understand Chengdu.
Then travel outward.
IN CHENGDU
Begin with Chengdu’s history, neighbourhoods and food.
Choose how many days to stay, where to base yourself and how to read the city beyond its headline sights.
FOOD & CULTURE
Learn how Chengdu eats, drinks tea and uses public space.
AROUND CHENGDU
Compare focused day trips and short extensions.
FIRST HIGHLAND ROUTE
Chengdu to Jiuzhaigou: which way works for you?
HIGHLAND LETTERS
From Kangding, the road reveals a different west.
TRAVEL ESSENTIALS
Prepare for every level of the journey.
Set up payments, communication, train booking and navigation before you fly. Then confirm your China entry route and the Chengdu airport where you will arrive.
Essential China travel tools
Four practical guides for the systems independent visitors use most.
Register with an international mobile number, enable Weixin Pay and stay in touch locally.
Open the WeChat guide →Railway 12306
Register with a foreign passport, complete verification and book China train tickets.
Open the Railway 12306 guide →AMap
Switch the China-focused map app to English, find destinations and plan metro routes.
Open the AMap guide →Before you arrive
Check the entry rule that fits your whole route, then use the guide for your airport code.
ENTRY POLICY
Choose the right entry basis for a full Sichuan trip
Compare national visa exemptions, ordinary tourist visas and the geographic limits of Chengdu’s 240-hour transit policy.
Open the China entry guide → TFU · TIANFUArriving at Chengdu Tianfu International Airport
Follow the correct terminal route to the metro, railway, airport bus or ride-hailing pickup.
Open the Tianfu Airport guide → CTU · SHUANGLIUArriving at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport
Find transport from T1 or T2 and distinguish the airport’s metro and railway stations.
Open the Shuangliu Airport guide →Only transiting through Chengdu? Check the separate Chengdu 240-hour visa-free transit guide for route and permitted-area rules.
ABOUT US
Local perspective from Chengdu into western China’s highlands.
Chengdu & Higher helps independent international visitors understand the city, separate nearby journeys from longer routes, and travel west with fewer surprises. We test the practical systems a journey depends on—payments, trains, local transport and routes—then connect them with lived regional knowledge, honest limitations and cultural context.
Not a tour marketplace. A field guide built from local experience, firsthand testing and information checked before publication.
FOUNDER · TRAVEL & OPERATIONS
Trinle 赤列
A Tibetan tourism professional born in Luhuo County, a highland county in Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture on the southeastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. Raised in Kangding and now living in Chengdu, he knows western Sichuan through both work and everyday life. He enjoys mountaineering and sports.
- Born in Luhuo
- Raised in Kangding
- Based in Chengdu
FOUNDING CULTURAL EDITOR
Andre Du 杜冬
As an experienced writer on Tibet, Andre continues to write about Tibet. He is also a literary translator and cultural-tourism planner. He has written guidebooks for the Chinese edition of Lonely Planet and served as a lead writer for Tibet Geographic (《西藏人文地理》). He is the author of Kangba Love Letter and When Mountains Speak, and has translated works of travel literature and cultural history. After years of reporting, travel and cultural research across Tibetan regions, he led Litang County’s culture and tourism development company from 2018 to 2021, working with a local team on destination development and cultural storytelling. His work connects field research, writing, local culture and practical tourism development.