Chengdu to Beijing Tour Plans - How to Travel from Chengdu to Beijing

1. Experience Two Leisure Lives in One Trip

Chengdu has long been reputed as the “leisure city” in China. Here you can spend several hours watching the cute pandas, dawdle away an afternoon at Renmin Park, or indulge yourself in all kinds of street food and snacks. Just enjoy the life of Chengdu people instead of worrying about the time.

Beijing, as the capital of China for several centuries, there are many well-built historic sites that were used to be only accessible to the royal members, such as the splendid Forbidden City, pleasant Summer Palace, solemn Temple of Heaven, etc. Every one of them is really spacious, excellent in building craft, and has incredible views. You can imagine yourself as a royal member while casually wandering in these beautiful sites.

2. Convenient Transfer Between Chengdu and Beijing

With the operation of high speed trains, now you can travel from Chengdu to Beijing within 8 hours. If you want to make your trip faster, there are about 35 daily flights for your choice that will take you to Beijing in about 2.5 hours. Besides, both Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport and Beijing Capital International Airport are well connected with many international cities like London, New York, Los Angeles, Sydney, Tokyo, etc. You can easily get to these cities or get to other places from there.

3. Eat to Your Heart’s Content in Chengdu and Beijing

Speaking of Chinese food, how can one forget Chengdu? It is literally a paradise for foodies. Except for the countless snacks like Bang-Bang Chicken, Dandan Noodles, House Special Pancake, baked gluten, baked potatoes, there are even more choices for cold or hot dishes like Sliced Beef and Ox Tongue in Chili Sauce, Boiled Fish with Sichuan Pickles, Chinese dry pot, Maocai (a stew-like dish with sauce), and the famous hot pot!

While in Beijing, you can have a taste of the roasted Duck, Cooked Beef or Sheep Tripe, Fried Liver, Lǘdagunr, Yellow Pea Cake, etc. Actually, there is far more than one hearty meal you will take, just be ready for the treat!

Location: Jichang Road, Shuangliu District, Chengdu (四川省成都市双流区机场路)

Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport is in the southwestern part of Chengdu, about 16km from downtown. It is the busiest airport in western China and available to the 144-hour visa free transit policy. At present, there are more than 270 airlines connecting over 209 cities at home and abroad. Travelers from Europe, Australia, North America, Africa, Middle East, East Asia, Southeast Asia and other regions (Hong Kong, Macau, Taipei, Taichung, Songshan, Kaohsiung) can reach Chengdu directly by flight. Chengdu is also well linked with the hot destinations in China including Beijing, Shanghai, Xian, Lhasa, Guilin, Jiuzhaigou, Guangzhou, Kunming, Lijiang, Zhangjiajie, Huangshan, Guiyang, Urumqi, Xiamen, Luoyang, Hohhot, Qingdao, Lanzhou, etc. Taking a flight from Chengdu to Lhasa is one of the most popular ways to reach the holy Tibet.

To Tianfu Square (downtown): 40 minutes’ drive, or take subway Line 10 to Taipingyuan, then transfer to Line 3 to Sichuan Gymnasium and take Line 1 there, you will need about 50 minutes in total.

To Chengdu Panda Base: 1 hour’s drive. Panda Base is in northeastern Chengdu, an opposite direction of the airport, you will need to take subway first then transfer to a bus, which will take 1.5 hours.

To Jinli Old Street: 40 minutes’ drive, or take subway Line 10 to Taipingyuan and transfer to Line 3, you will need about 50 minutes in total.

>>Read More About Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport

Built in 1958, the largest airport in China offers international flights to major cities in all continents (except sub-Saharan Africa and sub-USA American), and domestic flights to every provincial capital and major cities in China. It is China's air portal and an important window for foreign exchanges. Nearly 1700 flights per day from over 90 Airlines link Beijing closely with 244 cities and regions in 54 countries around the world.

To Forbidden City: 1 hour’s drive, or take an airport shuttle bus to Dongzhimen Station and take subway Line 2 to Jianguomen then transfer to Line 1 which takes about 1.5 hours.

To Tian’anmen Square (downtown): 1 hour’s drive, or take an airport shuttle bus to Dongzhimen Station and take subway Line 2 to Qianmen Station which takes about 75 minutes.

To Temple of Heaven: 1 hour’s drive, or take an airport shuttle bus to Dongzhimen Station and take subway Line 2 to Chongwenmen then transfer to Line 5 which takes about 80 minutes.

>>Read More About Beijing Capital International Airport

Chengdu East Railway Station, one of the largest passenger railway stations in western China, is a main starting and arriving station of intercity railways, Xi’an-Chengdu High-Speed Railway, Chengdu-Chongqing High-Speed Railway, Chengdu-Guiyang High-Speed Railway, etc. It serves most of the high speed trains that pass through Chengdu. From here, people are able to get to Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Lanzhou, Xi'an, Chongqing, Guiyang, Kunming and other major cities conveniently. This railway station has brought Chengdu much closer to other parts of China.

To Tianfu Square (downtown): 30 minutes by car or by subway Line 2.

To Chengdu Panda Base: 25 minutes’ drive, or you can take bus No. g38 then transfer to bus No. 87. The whole trip will need about 1 hour.

To Jinli Old Street: 30 minutes’ drive, or take subway Line 2 then transfer to Line 3, which will need 1 hour in total.

Check more details about Chengdu East Railway Station >>

Beijing West Railway Station is one of the main train stations of Beijing, which runs both high speed trains and normal trains. Besides, it is the starting point of Beijing Guangzhou (High Speed) Railway and Beijing Kowloon (Hong Kong) Railway. If you want to take a Tibet train, you need to go to Beijing West Railway Station. Every day, it delivers 273 daily trains to other cities, and about 200 of them are high speed trains (G trains) to Xian, Chengdu, Chongqing, Taiyuan, Kunming, Lanzhou, Wuhan, Zhengzhou, Changsha and couples of D trains to Shenzhen.

To Forbidden City: 30 minutes’ drive, or take subway Line 9 then transfer to Line 1 which takes about 45 minutes.

To Tian’anmen Square (downtown): 30 minutes, take subway Line 9 then transfer to Line 1.

To Temple of Heaven: 30 minutes by driving or taking subway Line 7

To Beijing Capital International Airport: 1 hour’s drive, or take subway Line 9 then transfer to Line 4, and then transfer to Line 2 to Dongzhimen and take an airport shuttle bus which takes about 75 minutes.

Sichuan cuisine and the giant pandas are two main reasons for traveller to visit Chengdu. So you can take Chengdu Panda Base as your first stop. Here is the paradise for pandas. You will see many pandas at different ages eating bamboos, climbing up the trees, or playing with each other. After that, take a walk at Wenshu Temple. It is a hidden spiritual Buddhist temple in the hustling downtown. In the afternoon, there is no more relaxing thing than drinking a pot of tea in Renmin Park while making a casual chat with your friends and watching locals indulging themselves in mahjong, disco dancing, neck massage, or ear cleaning. When it is about dinner time, Jinli Old Street is a good place to try local snacks. If you have more days and are interested in history, please don’t miss the Jinsha Site Museum. Here you will meet the mysterious ancient Shu Kingdom (approximately 2900 - 3200 years ago) and the original object of the symbol of China Culture Heritage – the Gold Sun and Immortal Bird. If you want to travel a little farther, the nearby Mount Emei and the magnificent Leshan Giant Buddha will make your Chengdu trip much more memorable.

>>1 Day Chengdu Panda Tour

>>2 Days Chengdu City Break

>>3 Days Chengdu Highlights Tour

>>5 Days Chengdu, Leshan & Mount Emei Tour

With the convenient 144 Hours Visa-free for Transit in Beijing, you will have enough time to explore the best highlights of Beijing in many flexible ways. You can start your Beijing trip by visiting Tiananmen Square, now the largest city plaza in the world, and then go to see one of the world’s five most important palaces – the Forbidden City. After lunch, spend an enjoyable time in the Summer Palace. It is the largest and best-preserved royal garden in China. At night, you can watch a wonderful Kungfu Show in the Red Theater or enjoy the classic Chinese art performance of Beijing Opera at Liyuan Theater. On the next day, get ready to a take a hiking trip on the Great Wall, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Then continue your trip to Sacred Way, a 7-kilometer-long passage leading to the Imperial Tombs of 13 Emperors of Ming Dynasty. After that, on your way back to Beijing, you can stop by at the Beijing Olympic Village to view its famous Bird’s Nest and Water Cube. On the last day, pay a visit to the Temple of Heaven, originally a site used to pay homage to Heaven and pray for good harvests. Then get back to the central city to hop on a rickshaw to experience the typical Beijing Hutongs. If you have more days, you can go for an in-depth Great Wall hiking or photography tour, and explore more hidden attractions in the city.

>>3 Days Beijing Essential Short Stay Tour

>>4 Days Classic Beijing Tour Package

>>10 Days Classic China Family Tour with Panda Fun (Beijing / Xian / Chengdu / Shanghai)