"Imagine a lake the color of liquid jade, filled with ancient fallen trees you can count from the boardwalk."
Five Flower Lake · Jiuzhaigou · Day 4 of our Best of Sichuan journeyPandas, peppercorns and peaks — led by locals who actually live here. Private & small-group journeys designed for English-speaking travelers who want the real thing, not the tour-bus version.
Big-bus tours herd you through gift shops. DIY travel in China means app, payment and language barriers. We sit exactly in between: local expertise, Western-style service standards.
Your guide grew up in Chengdu or the Ganzi mountains. Ask them anything — where grandmas eat mapo tofu, which alley has the best tea. No shopping-stop kickbacks, ever — it's in our contract with guides.
One clear price in your currency. Hotels, entries, guides, transport and every meal — itemized before you pay. No hidden "optional extras" ambush on day 3. Tipping explained upfront: genuinely not expected here.
VPN-ready eSIM, Alipay set up on your phone on day one, train tickets booked, DiDi rides called for you, orders translated. The adventure of China without the admin headache.
"Imagine a lake the color of liquid jade, filled with ancient fallen trees you can count from the boardwalk."
Five Flower Lake · Jiuzhaigou · Day 4 of our Best of Sichuan journeyEvery journey is built from these blocks. Mix them, or take a curated route below.
Full day
Conservation
Chengdu & Dujiangyan bases, 20 travelers max. Prepare bamboo, weigh cubs' food, clean enclosures — with the keepers who do it every day. Certificate included.
2–3 days
Nature
Turquoise lakes and calcium terraces. We enter at opening time, walk the quiet valleys most groups skip, and stay overnight inside the park zone.
Evening · 4 hrs
Food
Five stops, one mapo tofu masterclass, one "málà" tolerance test. Eat where the queues are all locals — your guide orders, you just say how spicy.
2 days
Heritage
71 meters of 1,300-year-old carved stone, from the river and on foot. Then sleep on the mountain and watch sunrise above the cloud sea.
3–6 days
Adventure
Tagong grasslands, Danba watchtowers, glacier views of Mt. Gongga. Homestay with a Tibetan family — butter tea included, altitude managed by pros.
Half day
Culture
Slow morning in a 100-year-old teahouse — bamboo chairs, jasmine tea — then front-row Sichuan opera: biàn liǎn mask-changing at two meters.
Filmed at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. No filters, no stock footage — this is what your morning looks like.
Giant Panda Breeding Research Base, Chengdu · shared under CC BY-SA
Click any photo to see it full size. Every image is from a place on our routes.
Anshun Bridge, Chengdu — your first night
Golden Summit, Mt. Emei · 3,099 m
Zhonglu village, Danba
Mapo tofu — invented here, eaten here
The other panda
Sichuan opera nightTransparent pricing for private groups of 2–6. Solo? Join a small-group departure (max 8). Customizable at no extra planning fee.
4 days · The greatest hits, unhurried
8 days · Chengdu → Jiuzhaigou → Leshan → Emei
12 days · Everything + Western plateau
Indicative conversion — you are charged in your chosen currency at checkout. Deposit 20%, balance 30 days before departure. Full refund minus card fees if we cancel anything.
Book 60+ days ahead and the early-bird discount applies automatically. Peak season (summer, year-end, Chinese New Year) is +20%. We hold your date free for 48 hours.
All-inclusive per person. No hidden extras, ever.
Nothing is charged yet. We confirm guides and hotels, send your final plan within 24h, and you only pay the deposit after you approve it.
2-minute form or a 20-min video call. Dates, pace, food limits, must-sees, budget honesty — all of it helps.
A day-by-day itinerary with real photos, hotel names, and one itemized price. Two revision rounds free, forever.
20% deposit by card or PayPal in your currency. No wiring money to stranger accounts. Contract in plain English.
Guide meets you at arrivals with your eSIM. Anything comes up mid-trip — one WhatsApp message, we fix it.
Most likely not for a short visit: China's 240-hour (10-day) visa-free transit policy covers citizens of 54 countries, including the US, UK, EU, Canada and Australia — and Sichuan is included. For longer trips, we provide invitation letters and full visa documentation at no extra charge.
Cards mostly don't — but we fix this on day one: we install and verify Alipay International on your phone with your card. Everything we arrange (hotels, entries, transport) is already inside your trip price.
Not with us. Your guide is with you for every activity, and we give you a laminated "point-and-show" card with your hotel, guide's number and key phrases in Chinese. Off-hours, our WhatsApp line has English speakers 24/7.
Sichuan food is spicier than most cuisines, but "málà" is optional — every restaurant has non-spicy dishes. Tell us allergies in your form; we brief every restaurant in advance and carry a translated allergy card for you.
Message your guide or our WhatsApp line. Missed trains get rebooked, sick travelers get taken to the international clinic, and anything we cancel is refunded in full. You're never negotiating alone in a foreign system.
Foreign cards fail on many booking apps, park tickets sell out in peak season, and hidden-gem restaurants have no English menus. After DIY markups and a couple of expensive mistakes, the gap to our price is typically 10–15% — for a local friend, zero admin, and someone to call at 2am.
Tell us when you're coming and what you dream about. We'll send a day-by-day plan with one honest price. If you don't like it, keep the plan with our compliments.
Free 3-day Chengdu mini-guide PDF: what to eat, what to skip, and the exact mapo tofu place locals queue for. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.