China with Rui
Sichuan

Destination Guide

Sichuan

Epic mountains, Tibetan culture, road trips and some of China's most dramatic scenery.

Back to Explore

Sichuan is best known abroad for pandas and spicy food, but the province is far bigger than its capital basin. Chengdu is a soft entry point — teahouses, hotpot, nearby panda bases — while the western half rises onto the Tibetan Plateau.

That western edge is where the real drama is: deep glacial valleys, Tibetan towns and monasteries, grasslands, and some of the most photogenic mountain roads in the country. It's the reason so many of my road-trip routes spend time here.

Why go

  • Chengdu's food scene and giant-panda bases
  • Jiuzhaigou's coloured lakes and waterfalls
  • Western Sichuan's Tibetan villages and high passes
  • Mount Siguniang, Mount Yala and views toward Mount Gongga
  • Some of China's best overland driving

Best for

Food loversMountain road tripsTibetan culture without the altitude extremesPhotographyWildlife

Good to know

The basin around Chengdu is humid and grey in winter. The western mountains are best from late spring to early autumn, though autumn colours are spectacular.