Green Tree Inn (Chengdu Renmin Park)

The Sichuan Opera is quite...

by nileshk

The Sichuan Opera is quite famous and you will find touts outside almost all the budget hotels trying to sell you tickets for it. Try and ensure that these tickets are not for some show that has already past. Check the writing on the tickets from a trustworthy person.

Wuyou Temple

by albaaust

While visiting the complex that contains the Leshan Buddha I would recommend if you take time to have a look at Wuyou Temple. Follow the signs. As you can see from the photos the view of the temple is quite surreal. This is not really that much in the temple itself just a nice view of it. Make sure if you arranged for a bus/taxi pickup that you go back to the original point of entry, (see warning).

Entry Cost 70 Yuan.

First stop: Chengdu

by dutchboycalledjan

"Arriving in China"

The four us have booked a trip through China. Dragon Explorer arranged for us the hotels and transfers and the rest is up to us. KLM flew us to Chengdu, where we arrived around noon.

Our first impression was the tropical heat. The driver was waiting and drove us first to the Bank of China - opposite the terminal - to draw some money. The traffic was busy, but not as chaotic as we expected (we've been to Cairo). The streets were very clean: even the express way was being swept by hand. We also didn't have problems with the air: it wasn't as polluted as the Lonely Planet suggested. Perhaps because of the recent rains. But also, i think, because there are a lot of electrical bikes and scooters.

We travelled a lot using taxi's and never had any problem, except for the directions. We used to ask the hotel staff to write down the address in chinese and used a map with chinese print. The print was too fine for some drivers. The names used in the Lonely Planet seemed usually wrong. What was called a temple in LP was a monastery with another name etc. . After the first two drivers refused a tip i stopped offering. Some time they even didn't bother the last yuan.