Chengdu Two Years Later

I'm a lot braver than I was in 2015. I tackled Chengdu on my own this time due to its expanded Metro service.


In my first visit to Chengdu I had a guide and car to take me around the city. The other reason was the 2015 hotel was closer to the Panda Base than the city proper. Only on my last two days did I brave using the public bus service to get from my hotel to the zoo and the panda base.

Two years later, a hotel in the city proper and a greater developed metro system, I did away with the guide and the private car. That saved me a quite a bit of money and let me be more self reliant. A guide would still be helpful for language purposes, but as I was only staying for 2 1/2 days, I felt it was unnecessary.

Here's how you can visit these tourist spots yourself that I did on this trip.

• Tianfu Square - my hotel was close enough that I was able to walk there and back. If you are not so lucky, get on Metro Line 1 or 2 for Tianfu Square. Other sites you can visit that I saw are two museums, north and west of the square.
• IFS Panda and Chunxi Road Shopping District- again I was within walking distance. Get on Metro Line 2 or Line3 for Chunxi Road. Something I did not know but know for next time I visit. You can go into the IFS building and get face-to-face to the Panda.
• Chengdu Panda Base Reserve - Metro Line 3 for Panda Avenue (Xiongmao Ave), take one of the shuttles outside of the station for the rest of the way. If you don't want grab a shuttle (about 2RMB), you can walk about 2 miles (3.5k) to the base.

If you look at the Metro map, you will see there are many other sites you can visit that is mentioned by many as worth seeing. Therefore, I will be back. It just takes some research and planning :)

As luck would have it, the Metro line going to/from the airport opened up on Sept 6. I would have used the Metro to go to the airport, but I felt the service did not start early enough for me to get there 2 hours before my scheduled departure. I wound up taking a cab. At least I know when I come back, I can save more money.

This is an app I made sure I downloaded before I left home -- Metro China Subway by WuQiuPing. Besides the Chengdu Metro Map, it contains many others in China like Shanghai, Chongqing, Beijing and Hong Kong. It also provides you the links to get other Asian and European Metro maps.

As Google really is prohibited in China and if you do not plan on using an international plan, be sure to download any apps that you need before leaving for China. I happen to have an Android and you cannot use the Google Play Store when you are in China, even over wi-fi. Yes, it was a lesson I learned during my stay in China.