FamilyRoutes

5 Days in Chengdu with Kids: Pandas, Sichuan Opera & Sanxingdui

schedule10 min readcalendar_todayMarch 25, 2026personChinaTravelFix Team

Tested over National Day with two kids — pandas at Dujiangyan (way fewer people!), Sanxingdui night session, Sichuan opera face-changing, and the secret wholesale building for panda souvenirs.

💡

Spent 5 days in Chengdu with kids over National Day. This route is tested — fun without being exhausting, and the kids were excited every single day. Copy it for your Chinese New Year trip.

Trip Highlights

Day-by-Day Itinerary

5 Days with Kids

Day 1

Arrive → Chunxi Road → Sichuan Opera 🎭

Afternoon: Chunxi Road citywalk. Stay nearby — shopping malls and snacks everywhere, kids never go hungry. Evening highlight: Sichuan Opera! Both kids were glued to their seats the entire show — the face-changing performers come down into the audience for interactions. Genuinely thrilling, not just for kids.

Day 2

Dujiangyan Panda Valley 🐼

Why here instead of the city base? Fewer people, more pandas, and you get incredibly close to them. Get there by 10 AM — we arrived just after opening and basically had the place to ourselves, zero queues.

🚄 Transport: High-speed train from Xipu Station to Dujiangyan Station (30 min), then a short taxi (~10 min). After pandas, if the kids still have energy, visit Dujiangyan Irrigation System. If not, head back for hotel rest.

Day 3

Eastern Suburbs Memory + Sanxingdui 🏛️

Morning at Eastern Suburbs Memory (东郊记忆) — old train engines, industrial-chic vibes, quirky shops. Kids love the open space. Grab lunch inside.

Afternoon/evening at Sanxingdui Museum. The new halls are massive and spectacular — bronze sacred trees, golden masks. During holidays there's a night session until 8 PM — we entered at 5 PM when crowds had thinned. Way more enjoyable. Tips: Book tickets online in advance. Rent a kids' audio guide or hire a docent — otherwise the artifacts are just "weird old stuff" to children.

Day 4

People's Park → Kuanzhai Alley → SKP Light Tower

Morning at People's Park: Tea at Heming Tea House by the lake — order juice for kids, buy fish food so they can feed the fish. Ear cleaning (¥30-100). On holidays arrive early for a good spot.

Afternoon: Kuanzhai Alley — enter from subway Line B exit. Walk Broad Lane → Well Lane → Narrow Lane → Shaocheng Memory → 52Toys Giant Panda → Binsheng Street → Dongsheng Street.

Evening: SKP mall's Light Tower installation — the kids loved it.

Day 5

Panda Souvenir Shopping → Departure

Morning: Panda merch shopping at Chunxi Road. Must-know hack: Go to the office building for wholesale prices — insanely cheap. ¥1.7 knitted bags, ¥1.5 fridge magnets, ¥4 for two bracelets, plus panda keychains and plushies.

📍 Chunxi Road Times Square Building A, 31st Floor

Afternoon: head to airport/station. Trip complete!

Transport Tips

Within the city: Subway + Didi (ride-hailing) is easiest
Dujiangyan: Take the high-speed train — cheap, fast, no traffic jams
Sanxingdui: Taxi or hire a car for the day. With two adults and two kids, a day rental for the round trip saved us a lot of hassle.

ℹ️

The Sichuan Opera and the wholesale panda building were the two biggest hits of the whole trip. Don't skip either one.