Chengdu: book the pandas before you book the flight
Chengdu is the easiest city on this list to enjoy and the hardest to walk into unprepared. Every headline sight is reservation-only — the panda base above all — the city's famous Jinsha Site Museum is shut until May 2027, and the senior and student discounts you will read about are written for Chinese ID holders. Foreign adults should budget the full price everywhere. The numbers below are the official ones.
Adult ticket ¥55 (student ticket ¥27). Entry is split into morning (7:30–12:00) and afternoon (12:00–17:00) sessions; the base closes at 18:00, with a winter schedule that opens at 8:00 and clears the park at 17:30. EVERY visitor must pre-book a real-name ticket online — bookable up to 14 days ahead, one ticket per ID per day, 1 person/1 ticket/1 ID — via the official WeChat account/mini-program or authorized platforms (Meituan, Ctrip, Douyin, Tongcheng, Chengdu Scenic Shuttle). Passports are accepted at the entry gates. Foreign visitors without a Chinese mobile number can buy on Trip.com or at the on-site 'Cash and Cards service window' when tickets remain. Daily cap 85,000 visitors (45,000 morning / 40,000 afternoon); entry pauses when 36,000 are on site. Visitors aged 60+ and children under 6 or 1.3 m may skip booking. Sightseeing bus ¥30 (summer 7:30–17:30, winter 8:00–17:00).
Source:
成都大熊猫繁育研究基地官网游客服务页及2026年国庆节/春节假期参观公告（panda.org.cn）；门票价格经成都市发改委票价公示确认 门票55元与成都市发改委2026-06-29公示一致（OTA曾有58元报价，以官方55元为准）。⚠️ 季节边界：夏季7:30开园/18:00闭园，冬季8:00开园/17:30清园——官方春节公告（2026-02-07）与国庆公告（2026-09-16）口径不同即为例证；观光车夏季7:30-17:30、冬季8:00-17:00。⚠️ 国庆/春节等假日全线上实名预约+分时限流，85,000/日上限，官网明确建议从西大门入园缩短排队（南大门拥堵、西大门无自驾停车场）。⚠️ 外籍观众：国庆公告明确护照在“有身份证件原件验票通道”刷证入园；春节公告附英文说明——无中国手机号者可 trip.com 购票或线下现金/银行卡窗口。⚠️ 学生票27元为学生优惠价，按中国学生证件规则执行，无中国学籍的外国游客按全价预算。Reviewer notes (conflicts, traps, old values)
Full ticket ¥50 (half-price ¥25 for eligible enrolled students; annual pass ¥100). Open 9:00–18:00, last entry 17:00. Buy via the museum's official website or official WeChat account; the museum warns it never authorizes third-party online resellers. Foreign adults pay the full ¥50: the free-entry policy for ages 60+ applies to mainland-Chinese seniors only (foreign permanent-residence holders aged 60+ may exchange a free ticket at the service window), while minors under 18 of any nationality enter free — foreign minors exchange the free ticket at the service window with a passport. Student half-price requires a valid student certificate together with a mainland ID, HK/Macau/Taiwan travel permit, or foreign permanent-residence ID, so a foreign passport holder on a tourist visa should budget the full price.
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成都武侯祠博物馆官网票务信息页（www.wuhouci.net.cn/pwxx）及2026成都大庙会参观公告；门票价格经成都市发展和改革委员会票价公示（2026-06-29）确认 门票50/半价25与成都市发改委2026-06-29公示页一致（cddrc.chengdu.gov.cn 旅游景区门票价格）。⚠️ 季节边界陷阱：每年春节大庙会期间（2026年为2月13日-3月3日）实行活动票价全价40元/半价20元，开放时间延长为9:00-22:00（21:00停售大庙会门票，18:00关闭文物区塑像馆及展厅）——大庙会票价≠常规票价，2-3月来访的读者不要按50元预期。⚠️ 外籍老人不免费：官网明确60+免费限于中国内地（大陆）观众，外籍护照持有者（非永居）不适用，需购全价票。⚠️ 学生半价对持旅游签证的外国护照持有者基本不适用（证件清单为身份证/港澳台通行证/永居证+学生证）。旅行社团队提前1天官网注册审核后可享全票九折。票务咨询028-85535951（09:00-17:00）。Reviewer notes (conflicts, traps, old values)
Free admission — the Chengdu municipal government confirms the museum is a public-welfare museum open to the public free of charge. Open Tue–Thu and Sun 9:00–17:00 (last entry 16:30), Fri–Sat 9:00–20:30 (last entry 20:00, weekend children's museum), closed Mondays except public holidays. Free real-name reservation is required through the official WeChat account: a 14-day booking window with day-14 tickets released daily at 19:00, 20,000 online tickets per day, and anti-scalping limits (one account may book twice per visit day for up to 3 people each; more than 3 bookings in 7 days or 10 in 30 days triggers an account ban). Foreign visitors without WeChat or a Chinese phone number can reserve by email through the museum's English/Chinese booking page; visitors who booked with a passport exchange it for a paper ticket at the service window. Visitors aged 60+ with a mainland ID may enter without a reservation.
Source:
成都博物馆官网（cdmuseum.com：开放时间、2024-07-08票务调整公告、清明延时公告）；成都市人民政府官网对市文广旅局答复（免费开放确认） 本馆为金沙遗址博物馆闭馆期间的官方推荐替代（金沙见下条）。⚠️ 周一闭馆（法定节假日除外）是最常见跑空原因；周五周六夜场至20:30。⚠️ 外籍观众友好度全市最高：官网明确“针对境外观众推出邮箱预约方式，方便没有微信或国内手机号码的观众预约”，界面支持中英文双语；护照预约后需到窗口换票。⚠️ 节假日（如清明、国庆）常额外延时开放并动态放票。⚠️ 防黄牛机制严格：短时间多次预约会封号，勿用第三方代预约。2026-10-14起负一层至二层扶梯更换施工（预计12-15完成），期间乘直梯。Reviewer notes (conflicts, traps, old values)
Chengdu attraction tickets at a glance
Official published prices. Where a season boundary exists it is named in the catch column — boundaries differ from site to site across China, and an official "off-peak" window can still be a crowded one.
| Attraction | Ticket (official) | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| Panda Base | ¥55 adult / ¥27 student | Real-name online booking mandatory, up to 14 days ahead |
| Wuhou Shrine | ¥50 full / ¥25 half; annual ¥100 | 9:00–18:00; 60+ free entry excludes foreign passports |
| Du Fu Thatched Cottage | ¥50 full / ¥25 half; annual ¥100 | 9:00–18:00; passport works at the service window |
| Chengdu Museum | Free, reservation required | Closed Mondays; email booking for foreign visitors |
| Jinsha Site Museum | CLOSED until 2027-04-30 | Reopens May 1, 2027 — do not plan around it |
The Jinsha Site Museum shut on 5 December 2025 for a heritage upgrade and reopens on 1 May 2027. Swap in the Chengdu Museum (free, book 14 days ahead, and one of the few Chinese museums with an official email-booking channel for visitors without WeChat) or the Sichuan Museum.
Getting around
The panda base sits well north of the city — allow 40–60 minutes each way by metro plus shuttle, and treat the morning session (7:30–12:00) as the one worth planning around. Wuhou Shrine, Du Fu Thatched Cottage and the Jinli street district cluster in the south; the Chengdu Museum is dead centre at Tianfu Square.
Almost everything else is one metro ride away, and the city is flat and walkable by Chinese standards. Budget an afternoon for a teahouse — People's Park is the classic, and the entry price of the tea is the whole point.
The discounts are nationality-restricted. Wuhou Shrine's free entry for ages 60+ covers mainland-Chinese seniors; the student half-price needs a mainland student certificate. Foreign adults pay full price at every Chengdu site — only minors under 18 (any nationality) enter free, exchanged at the service window with a passport. The panda base has no reliable walk-up. Without a Chinese phone number, buy on Trip.com or try the on-site "Cash and Cards" window only if tickets remain.
A day count that works
- Day 1: Panda Base morning session (booked ahead), then Wuhou Shrine and Jinli street in the afternoon.
- Day 2: Du Fu Thatched Cottage in the morning, Chengdu Museum after lunch (closed Mondays), teahouse in the evening.
- Day 3: Sichuan Museum or a day trip to the Leshan Giant Buddha — both easy without a car.
Chengdu guides on this site
The first Chengdu guide is in production — the fact library for all 5 documented sites above is already verified.
The full attractions index shows which guides are live and which are in production.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I book the Chengdu Panda Base without a Chinese phone number?
- Yes, with planning. The official channel is the base's WeChat account, but the holiday announcements explicitly allow foreign visitors without a Chinese mobile number to buy on Trip.com, or at the on-site "Cash and Cards service window" if tickets remain. Book up to 14 days ahead; peak-season slots sell out.
- Is the Jinsha Site Museum open?
- No — it closed on 5 December 2025 for a heritage-protection upgrade and is scheduled to reopen on 1 May 2027. Most English guides still list it as open. Visit the Chengdu Museum or the Sichuan Museum instead.
- Do foreign visitors get ticket discounts in Chengdu?
- Almost never. Senior and student concessions are written around mainland ID cards and student certificates; a foreign passport on a tourist visa pays the full adult price at every site. The exceptions are children under 18 of any nationality (free at Wuhou Shrine, exchanged at the window) and height-based rules at the panda base.
Page last reviewed: 2026-10-17.