How to Spend a Layover in Chengdu?

Chengdu, presented with the ‘International Tourism Logo’ in May 2015, has many popular tourist attractions and historical buildings. It’s not only the home of cute panda bears but is one of the liveliest cities in China. From parks to teahouses, you can feel its laid-back lifestyle in every corner of Chengdu. If you stuck on a layover at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport (CTU), this guide presents you with how to spend a layover in Chengdu from the following parts.

• 144-hour Transit Visa Application
• Top Things to Do During a Layover
• Transportation from the airport to downtown Chengdu

144-hour Transit Visa Application 

144-hour Transit Visa Application Chengdu complies with the 144-hour visa-free policy since 2019. Here are the conditions you need to be informed:

• 1. Eligible port: Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport (CTU).
• 2. You must transit between China and a third "international" destination (Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan are included). Your itinerary should be departure country-Chengdu-"international" destination. For example, USA-Chengdu-Australia is eligible while USA-Chengdu-USA doesn’t qualify.
• 3. You must already have your confirmed ticket to a third country (region) when landing in China to be eligible for visa-free transit.
• 4. The locality covered under the policy: Chengdu's 144-hour visa-free transit policy has been extended to 10 more surrounding prefectures (including Leshan) covering more Sichuan attractions to the south: the Giant Buddha, etc. Travelers from the 53 eligible countries, with valid international travel documents and onward flight tickets, can visit Chengdu for up to 144 hours without a visa. 

Fairly conveniently, it’s now available to apply for the transit visa online and just do as the steps given below.

Top Things to Do During a Layover

If your layover is no less than 6 hours, you’re recommended to leave the airport and explore this charming city.

6 hours: 

It takes about 2 hours for the round-trip transportation between the airport and downtown Chengdu, which means you’ll have only 2 hours to do sightseeing. We recommend you visit one site of these: Jinli Ancient Street, People’s Park or Tianfu Square.

Jinli Ancient Street is one of the typical representatives in the leisurely city Chengdu. You can have a relaxing walk and find various local snacks and all kinds of trinkets here.

People’s Park is located in Qingyang District, the urban area in Chengdu. It’s a comprehensive park which integrates heritage preservation with entertainment. There’re famous teahouses where you’ll be served the authentic tea and offered a traditional-style ear cleaning. In the park, you can see people dancing, singing karaoke, drawing caricatures, fortunetelling as well as matchmaking for their older children. 

Tianfu Square, the largest city square in southwest China, is the symbol of Chengdu. It’s the center of economics, culture as well as commerce. Tianfu Square enjoys a similar reputation in Sichuan as Tian’anmen Square in Beijing. There are many attractions, shopping malls and many hotels around Tianfu Square.

8 hours: 

If you have an 8-hour layover, you’ll have half a day to do sightseeing in Chengdu. Here we list 2 recommendations:

1. Half-Day Chengdu Pandas and Hot Pot Tour

• As the most well-known and adorable residents in Chengdu, pandas are always the most looked-forward-to and eye-catching superstars. For animal lovers, you can’t miss the chance to immerse yourself in the pandas’ world and learn fascinating insights about their behavior and history as well as some fun facts. There’s a Panda Base in Chenghua District which is about a 1-hour drive from the airport.
• After saying goodbye to the cute pandas, you’re recommended to return the downtown of Chengdu city and stop at a popular local restaurant to enjoy the most popular local food in Chengdu – Hot pot.

2. Half-Day People’s Park and Hot Pot Tour

• You’ll see how Chengdu locals spend their free time and the unique culture and leisurely lifestyle in People’s Park, people gathering in tea houses, drinking tea, and playing mahjong. Old ladies sing and dance, and parents put advertisements in the marriage market for their adult children. Earwax-cleaning service is available in the park. Slow down and let go of your burdens. Have a cup of tea and enjoy life just as these Chengdu locals do. 
• After that, go ahead to a local restaurant to have a hot-pot lunch!

12 hours: 

For a longer layover with 12 hours, we also recommend 2 popular itineraries.

1. One-Day Chengdu Highlights Tour 

• Locals in the People's Park In the morning, you can visit the Chengdu Panda Base in Chenghua District. After seeing the adorable pandas, enjoy a hot-pot meal in a local restaurant. 
• In the afternoon, you can visit a local Chengdu Opera Tea House and explore the backstage. In the grass-root style opera house, lots of old fans gather round there every day, meet up with friends and enjoy the show. You can be one of them, watching the performance and drinking tea. But the most interesting part of this place is backstage, you will have a chance to see how the actors and actresses make up and rehearse. After the opera show, you can be head to People’s Park to relax.

2. One-Day Leshan Giant Buddha and Tea Terrace Tour in Lost Town 

• Leshan is 150 km south of Chengdu and it takes about 2 hours there. It’s renowned for the Giant Buddha. With 71 meters (233 feet) high, it holds the record as the largest Buddha sculpture in the world. It has a long history of over 1300 years since the Tang Dynasty. It is said that a Buddhist monk called Haitong conceived the project in AD 713, hoping that the Buddha would calm the swift river and protect fishermen from lethal currents. Go there and find out!
• After visiting Buddha, there will be 40 mins drive to a laid-back old town. Take a walk around the town where traditional lifestyles still survived from the modernization. Along the way you'll see many traditional workshops such as blacksmith's shop, bamboo workshop, barbershop, etc.  A short drive can take you up to the tea plantation in the small town, where you can learn about Chinese tea and about how to pick tea sprouts or buds.

Transportation from Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport to Downtown

The airport is located about 20 km southwest of downtown Chengdu. Transport from the airport to downtown Chengdu is extremely convenient.

• By airport bus or taxi: Airport bus No.1 can take you directly to the city center. It takes about 40 min. Be noted that you may meet heavy traffic congested during rush hours.
• By metro: There is no direct metro line linking the airport and the city center. You need to take Line 10 and change to lines 3 and then line 1, and get off at either Tianfu Square (天府广场) or Luoma Market (骡马市).
• Private Transfer (highly recommended): We offer private transfer services with a friendly and experienced driver. To save time and energy, it’s more convenient and flexible.

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