The Perfect 10-Day Chongqing & Chengdu Itinerary

Chongqing and Chengdu are the two most talked-about cities in China right now — and they couldn't be more different from each other. Chongqing is vertical, neon-drenched, dramatic: a mountain metropolis built on cliffs above two rivers, with a monorail that passes through the floors of a residential building. Chengdu is horizontal, relaxed, green: teahouse culture, giant pandas, and the most famous street food in western China.

They are 90 minutes apart by high-speed train. Together, they make one of the best 10-day itineraries in the country.

Here is how CTS Tours structures the time, and why.

The Structure: 4 Nights in Chongqing, 3 Nights in Chengdu

Four nights is the right allocation for Chongqing. There is enough here for three full days: the viral attractions (Liziba Station, Hongyadong), the UNESCO site (Dazu Rock Carvings, a full-day excursion), the historic districts (Huguang Guild Hall, Ciqikou Ancient Town), and a free day for the Yangtze River Cableway, the night river cruise, and dinner at a proper Chongqing hot pot restaurant.

Three nights in Chengdu works well because the core day — the giant panda base — is the morning of one full day, and the afternoon and evening fill naturally with People's Park, Jinli Street, and Chunxi Road. A second full day (often a free day) covers the optional excursions: Leshan Giant Buddha, Sanxingdui Museum, or a Sichuan Opera face-changing performance in the evening.

Day-by-Day

Day 1: Auckland → Beijing (overnight flight)

Evening departure from Auckland. Overnight flight, arriving Beijing the following morning.

Day 2: Beijing → Chongqing

Connecting domestic flight to Chongqing. The city's reputation as a mountain metropolis is immediately apparent from the airport approach — it is built on cliffs and hills in a way that makes flat Chinese cities feel like a different country. Guide meets at the airport. Transfer to hotel, orientation walk.

Day 3: Huguang Guild Hall, Liziba Station, Ciqikou

Morning at the Huguang Guild Hall — a beautifully preserved Qing Dynasty merchant complex (1759) on a terraced hillside above the Yangtze River. This is one of the best-preserved examples of guild hall architecture in China, and its setting alone justifies the visit.

Afternoon: Liziba Station. Take the metro to the platform, ride through the building once (Line 2 passes through floors 6–8 of a 19-storey residential block), then exit and watch from the street-level plaza. Allow 30–60 minutes. You will want multiple views.

Late afternoon: Ciqikou Ancient Town, a Song Dynasty market street with flagstone lanes and Sichuan street food stalls. Good evening walking territory.

Day 4: Dazu Rock Carvings (full day), Hongyadong evening

Early start for the drive to Dazu (approximately 1.5 hours). The Dazu Rock Carvings are a UNESCO World Heritage Site with approximately 50,000 Buddhist, Taoist, and Confucian stone sculptures carved between the 9th and 13th centuries. The Baodingshan site is the main visit: the 31-metre reclining Nirvana Buddha, the large-scale narrative carvings, the extraordinary preservation of 800-year-old detail.

Return to Chongqing mid-afternoon. Evening visit to Hongyadong after dark — the 11-storey stilted complex on the cliff above the Jialing River is lit in gold and red from sunset. Cross to the Qiansimen Bridge for the panoramic view. Free to enter; restaurants and tea houses inside.

Day 5: Free Day — Chongqing

Suggested options: the Yangtze River Cableway (a commuter aerial tramway opened in 1987, one of the last of its kind in China), Jiefangbei pedestrian square and street food, a Yangtze and Jialing River night cruise after dark, or a proper Chongqing hot pot dinner with the full beef tallow and Sichuan peppercorn broth.

Day 6: Chongqing → Chengdu by Bullet Train

Board the high-speed train for the 90-minute journey across Sichuan Province. Smooth, fast, the scenery transitioning from Chongqing's dramatic river valleys to Chengdu's wide agricultural basin. Guide meets at Chengdu station.

Day 7: Giant Panda Base, People's Park, Jinli Street

This is the day everyone remembers. Arrive at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding between 8 and 9am — the window when the pandas are active and feeding on bamboo. The base has over 200 giant and red pandas across 3,500 acres of bamboo forest habitats.

After the panda base: People's Park and the Matchmaking Corner — where parents and grandparents of unmarried adults gather on weekends to display handwritten profiles of their children and search for suitable partners. It is funny, touching, and completely unique.

Afternoon: Jinli Ancient Street for Sichuan snacks, then Chunxi Road for Chengdu's modern shopping district.

Day 8: Free Day — Chengdu

Option A: Leshan Giant Buddha day trip (35 minutes by high-speed rail, then boat for the best view of the 71-metre Buddha carved into a cliff face — the largest stone Buddha in the world).

Option B: Sanxingdui Museum (a Bronze Age civilisation 3,000–5,000 years old, with bronze masks unlike anything else in Chinese art — widely described as China's most surprising museum).

Option C: Sichuan Opera face-changing performance in the evening — the masks switch in fractions of a second, the technique is a state-protected trade secret, and you will attempt to catch it in slow motion. You won't.

Days 9–10: Chengdu → Beijing → Auckland

Transfer to airport, connecting flight via Beijing to Auckland.

Practical Notes

Pricing: CTS Tours China Discovery — Fire & Fuzz covers this itinerary from NZD $2,999 per person (twin share), including international airfares from Auckland. Single supplement NZD $400. Departs 1 November 2026.

Hotels: Pagoda SASA Design Hotel (or similar 4-star) in Chongqing; Holiday Inn Express Chengdu Gulou (or similar 4-star) in Chengdu.

Visa: Many NZ passport holders qualify for visa-free entry for short leisure visits. Confirm current rules before booking.

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