Chengdu Solo Trip: A Planner's Dream Itinerary (With Jiuzhaigou Add-On)

Yulin Road CityWalk

Arrived 2 PM at Tianfu Airport. Yulin shops open in the afternoon — perfect timing. Taxi to Fanghua Hengjie by 4 PM, walked the whole strip.

Solo-friendly food picks: Egg cakes (¥5, tried cream-pork-floss AND sour-bean, preferred the sour-bean), Jincheng Laoma Hand-Torn Roast Rabbit (¥35 half — chewy, spicy, addictive 🥵), Tan's Bobobji (36 skewers for ¥28! veggies tastier than the meat!). Evening: Carpark café/bar — tried the "Below Gongga Mountain" cocktail (¥88, grapefruit notes, not strong but gives you a glow).

Morning Pandas → Afternoon Sanxingdui → Evening Train to Jiuzhaigou

Panda Base: 9:30 AM South Gate entry. Store luggage, take the sightseeing car to the West Gate and walk back. 3-hour visit.

Route: 8:50 Star Nursery → Xinghan Hall → 10:00 Villas 1-4 → 11:00 Sightseeing car to Sun Nursery → Moon Nursery → 12:00 Red Panda area → 12:30 exit. The park has accurate GPS maps — follow the in-app navigation!

Sanxingdui: Scenic direct bus or rideshare (~1 hour). Visit time: 2 hours. Route: Century Dream Hall → Majestic Capital → Heaven-Earth-Human-God Hall (the highlight). Dinner at Guanghan Famous Snacks — ¥28 for 10 different dishes! Golden thread noodles and sweet cold noodles were favorites.

🚄 18:56 train to Jiuzhaigou, arrive Songpan 20:50. Buses at the station take you to the hotel by ~11 PM.

Jiuzhaigou Full Day → Return to Chengdu

8 AM breakfast at the guesthouse (fresh handmade rice noodles!). Shuttle to the park entrance in 5 min. Off-season: opens 8:30, closes 6 PM. Luggage lockers available at the gate. Entered ~9 AM, left ~4:30 PM.

Route: Left branch: 10:00 Long Lake → 10:30 Five Color Pool → 12:00 lunch. Right branch: 13:00 straight to Five Flower Lake (forest/swan areas closed). Center: 14:00 Shuzheng Lakes → Spark Lake → Double Dragon → Reed Lake. Loved the center section hike — gorgeous scenery, barely any people!

19:40 train from Songpan → 21:15 back in Chengdu.