5 Days of Fun in Chengdu! Hotpot + Pandas + Ancient Town, Copy This Pitfall-Free Itinerary

Can you believe it? The three of us—my wife, our 6-year-old daughter "Xiao Tuanzi," and I— flew from Beijing to Chengdu for 5 days and 4 nights, spending a total of 19,980.5 yuan (down to the last 0.5 yuan for a bowl of street-side spicy wontons), stayed in an INS-style designer homestay, ate Michelin-recommended private hotpot, took the kid to see real giant pandas, touched authentic Sanxingdui bronze masks, and soaked in tea while watching fireflies fly over the stream in the back mountains of Qingcheng... On the return flight, Xiao Tuanzi fell asleep on my shoulder, murmuring, "Dad... can we feed the pandas again tomorrow?" At that moment, I knew—this trip was worth every penny. 🗺️ Trip Overview: Chengdu 5 Days 4 Nights · Family Light Luxury Cultural Tour Day 1: Arrive at Shuangliu Airport → Check into designer homestay near Taikoo Li → Night tour of IFS + first taste of snacks at Kuanzhai Alley Day 2: Full immersive panda day! Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding + Parent-child pottery DIY (make a panda cup) Day 3: In-depth tour of Sanxingdui Museum + Evening tea and ear-picking experience at People’s Park Day 4: Light hike in Qingcheng Back Mountain + Night stroll at Dujiangyan + Special private hotpot feast Day 5: Free time for souvenir shopping → Return trip 💰 Expense Details (Total for family of three | Accurate to 0.5 yuan) | Item | Cost | |------|------| | Airfare (Beijing ↔ Chengdu round trip, including tax) | ¥8,640 (early bird tickets booked two months in advance) | | Homestay (4 nights, loft two-bedroom in Taikoo Li core area) | ¥3,200 (¥800 per night, with projector + washing machine + kitchen) | | Food (3 meals + snacks + desserts) | ¥3,800 (including one Michelin-recommended hotpot, 3 popular coffee shops) | | Attraction tickets + transportation | ¥1,760 (Panda Base ¥126/person, Sanxingdui ¥72/person, subway + taxi) | | Parent-child activities + experiences | ¥1,280 (pottery class, Hanfu rental, ear-picking, children’s bike rental) | | Souvenirs + specialty purchases | ¥1,800 (hotpot base, rabbit head, Zhang Fei beef, Shu embroidery panda, Sanxingdui cultural products) | | Emergency miscellaneous (parking, bottled water, insurance, etc.) | ¥500.5 (including a 5-yuan bowl of wontons) | | **Total** | **¥19,980.5** | — About ¥6,660 per person, expensive but worth it, every penny spent on the “experience.” 🐼 Day 1: Straight to Taikoo Li upon landing, daughter’s first words: “The panda is climbing the building!” Landed at Shuangliu Airport at 3 PM, private car transfer to the homestay. The room was on the 8th floor, with floor-to-ceiling windows facing the “climbing panda” at IFS. Xiao Tuanzi screamed, “Is it trying to get into our window?” In the evening, we walked to Kuanzhai Alley, avoiding the crowded main street and instead exploring the side alleys: ate San Da Pao (¥15), Tang You Guozi (¥8), and Bingfen (¥10 with sticky rice cake). Xiao Tuanzi licked as she walked, “Mom, all the sweets in Chengdu smell so good.” Back at Taikoo Li at night, we bought a book called "Chengdu Nursery Rhymes" at Fang Suo Bookstore, and she hugged the book saying, “I want to learn Sichuan dialect to tell my kindergarten friends.” 🐾 Day 2: Early morning rush to the panda base, almost late trying to get the “Hua Hua same-angle shot” Left at 6:45 AM to enter the park half an hour before the tour groups. Headed straight to the “Adult Giant Panda Villa Area”—goal clear: meet the top star panda “Hua Hua”! From afar, we saw her slumped on a tree branch chewing bamboo, ears tilted, like a flattened glutinous rice ball. Xiao Tuanzi held up binoculars shouting, “Hua Hua! I brought you carrots!” (just for comfort) We watched panda cubs tumbling in the nursery. She suddenly asked, “Dad, do they miss their mom?” I crouched down and said, “Yes, just like you miss grandma.” She nodded and hugged the new panda plush toy even tighter. In the afternoon, we joined a parent-child pottery class and made three cups by hand: mine was called “Dad of the Pandas,” my wife’s “Pooper Scooper Mom,” and Xiao Tuanzi’s crooked one she named “Hua Hua the Original.” 🏺 Day 3: Sanxingdui time travel of 3,000 years, daughter says “The bronze mask is blinking” Private car straight to Guanghan Sanxingdui Museum. At the entrance, a huge bronze standing figure stood tall, dim lights, low music. Xiao Tuanzi whispered, “Dad... is it alive?” We put on AR glasses in the “Digital Exhibition Hall” and saw how the bronze divine tree was cast and the patterns on the golden scepter emerge. The most amazing was the interactive area where kids could “touch” replica bronze masks. She touched the large eyes and said, “It can see much farther than me.” Had “Ancient Shu flavor meal” (¥128/set) at the museum restaurant for lunch. She said, “Did people eat this rice 3,000 years ago too?” In the evening, took her to Heming Teahouse at People’s Park, the whole family sat on bamboo chairs drinking Bìtán Piāoxuě tea, she tried ear-picking for the first time, scared but couldn’t help laughing, “It’s itchy! Like ants crawling on my head!” 🌿 Day 4: Light hike in Qingcheng Back Mountain, a summer meeting with fireflies Avoiding the crowds at the front mountain, we went to the quieter **Qingcheng Back Mountain**. Rented a children’s bike, dad pushed, mom filmed, daughter rode, all along the stream with the sound of water and birdsong. At “You Yi Village” farmhouse, we ate smoked meat with wild bamboo shoots and tofu pudding rice. The owner said we might see fireflies at night. Sure enough, after 8 PM, the valley darkened, tiny lights danced in the grass, Xiao Tuanzi held her breath, “Mom... did stars fall down?” At that moment, no one took out their phones, the whole family quietly stood, watching the light nature scattered. At night, drove to Dujiangyan, strolled Nanqiao Night Market, ate my first-ever “cold pot skewers + duck brain,” she finished the duck tongue and said, “I want to be a Chengdu girl someday.” Day 5: Last stop before returning—hotpot base wholesale market Skipped the scenic spots and headed straight to the spice market on **Haijiao Street**. Bought 10 packs of hotpot base with different spice levels (¥280), vacuum-packed rabbit head (¥98), Zhang Fei beef (¥168), and customized a set of “Panda Family” fridge magnets. Before boarding, she flipped through the photo album at the airport and said: “This trip, I learned four things: 1. Pandas can fight too 2. Ancient people were smarter than us 3. Fireflies are little flying lamps 4. Chengdu is my favorite place besides home.” 🧡 Final Thoughts Many say, “Traveling with kids is suffering.” But I want to say: childhood only happens once, don’t let it live only in tutoring classes and online lessons. This 20,000 yuan is not consumption, it’s an investment— an investment in a light she will remember when she grows up. Some scenery becomes the light in a child’s heart; and some journeys become the soul’s hometown for a family. If you want a “cultural, warm, and lively” family trip, choose Chengdu. Here, there are not only pandas but also a slow life that softens the heart, and a mouthwatering spicy flavor that hits the soul. > 📌 **Tips & Practical Advice** - Go early to the panda base! Best to enter before 7 AM - Book a Sanxingdui guide in advance (¥150/session) - Choose homestays near Taikoo Li or Jianshe Road for convenient transport and food - Bring sunscreen and mosquito repellent for kids; the back mountain is humid - Hotpot recommendations: “Wuliguan” and “Houtang,” locals queue up for these Chengdu, a city you don’t want to leave once you arrive. And we’ve already started planning to come again next Chinese New Year— because Xiao Tuanzi said, “I want to see Hua Hua’s baby.”