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Chengdu & tibet
  • Steve Catterall
  • Steve Catterall

Chengdu & tibet

I planned and booked all this trip myself, opting for a flight with Air China flying direct, over Russia, to Beijing. Trip highlights include a day as a panda keeper in Wolong and a train journey across "the roof of the world" to Lhasa in Tibet. Leggi altro
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  • Inizio del viaggio
    25 marzo 2026
    Steve CatterallChengdu & tibetSteve Catterall

    Day 1, start of my trip

    22 marzo, Inghilterra ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    Start my trip today, my flight is at 06:00 tomorrow and it's cheaper and more convenient to travel and stay at Manchester airport rather than to get a taxi.
    Already booked in for my flights so setting off at 15:00 then drop my bag off and chill in hotel overnite.Leggi altro

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  • Steve CatterallChengdu & tibetSteve Catterall
    Just as we get over Russia cabin crew made everyone close their blinds lol

    Day 2 the journey starts

    25 marzo, Inghilterra ⋅ 🌬 5 °C

    A full day of travel today, set off 6am to Frankfurt then a 5 hour layover before leaving at 2pm on air china flight to bejiing.
    Up to now everything is going to plan , chilled and relaxed waiting for next leg 😎🐼
    Well confusion ruled, got told my bags would be offloaded at Bejiing for customs, luckily I went to desk before flight, my e tickets would have been no good as they need printed boarding passes, the guy was really helpful now I have 2 boarding passes and my case is going to Chengdu so no need to worry about collecting it in Bejiing and rechecking in 😊
    Love it when things come together 😎
    It's 16:14 UK time and I feel like a stick of forced rhubarb since the blind were closed the lights have been slowly dimmed to darkness, so I guess it's their way of saying time to sleep lol, well when I wake up it will be 8 am in Bejiing, or midnite UK time, so on to tomorrow.    Leggi altro

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  • Steve CatterallChengdu & tibetSteve Catterall
    Beijing to chengdu

    Day 3 flying over russia

    26 marzo, Russia ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    Well 8am Bejiing time things went too well, it's taken me one hour fifty minutes to change from one terminal and get to the next one and that's without my bag! Immigration took 45 minutes to get thru (and that was fast track channel) . Had to re do the security to get into domestic terminal and it took an age AND they confiscated my power bank, my power bank has been ok for international travel but china domestic flights have now decided CE mark isn't good enough - all have to have a CCC rating 🫣
    Anyhow my Chengdu flights delayed by 30 minutes so I managed to get it with 15 minutes to spare, now a quick couple of hours until Chengdu, then when I've met my driver and been taken to the hotel I've the rest of day and night to myself.    Leggi altro

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  • Steve CatterallChengdu & tibetSteve Catterall
    1And then it was lunchtime , crispy duck and spicy beefStopped for a green tea and chill before heading off to the hotel in emei

    Day 4

    28 marzo, Cina ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    All sorted and rested now, 8:30 am start and the plan is to head to Leshan to see the tallest stone Buddha in the world. After that the aim is to drive to Emei city for an overnight stop.

    ROFL, first thing my guide said, "have you tried rabbits head yet, it's delicious, we will have to have some while you are here" ...there's a first for everything I suppose.

    Well the Buddha was cool, think it's about 70 metres high with lots of steps up and down, after we had lunch of crispy duck and spicy beef then headed to leshan old town for a stroll round.    Leggi altro

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  • Steve CatterallChengdu & tibetSteve Catterall

    Sunday Day 5 emei mt & golden summit

    28 marzo, Cina ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    8 am start today, heading up mount emei to the golden summit, absolutely no idea what Ive let myself in for with this lol .
    Fantastic experience, unfortunately the golden summit wasn't above the cloud but actually in them!
    It involved a meandering coach journey through the mountains and we ended up part way up mount eimi, then climbed god knows how many steps and took a cable car across part of the mountain then more steps up to the golden temple.
    The temple is at the top of the mountain which is 3077 metres high, the golden statue is 48 metres tall and when you could see it through the cloud it was magnificent.
    As an extra surprise on the way down we came across loads of wild monkeys , same as the Japanese snow monkeys so another one ticked off my list 😊    Leggi altro

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  • Steve CatterallChengdu & tibetSteve Catterall

    Day 6. Pandas 🐼

    29 marzo, Cina ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Another 8 am start and today it's time to visit the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Base, then after that we head for the Wolong Giant
    Panda Museum to learn a little more then on to a homestay for the night before day 7 🐼

    Change of plan we spent so long strolling round this massive site that we have moved panda museum till later.

    The research centre is really like a giant zoo filled with loads of pandas
    Luckily my guide took us into the newer section first where there were less people and we had good views of the pandas early on while they were having breakfast as most of the panda simply go to sleep after their. Meal 🥹🎂    Leggi altro

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  • Steve CatterallChengdu & tibetSteve Catterall
    A map of this enormous site which has shuttle busses to get from one section to anotherDavid bailey in actionI was tempted 🥴Lunchtime and just about getting used to chopsticksA Sichuan "hot pot" busA view from the tower of one side of the parkThe hotelAnother view of hotelLooking down from the hotel yardMust be high up as the air is expanded in all the crisp packets 😳

    Day 6 continued

    30 marzo, Cina ⋅ 🌧 4 °C

    More from today and some from arriving at wolong ready for tomorrow's panda keeper assistant.

    We headed to Wolong which is set in a rural area in the mountains. I have never been in such really long tunnels as the ones on the way through the mountains, the tops of the hills are shrouded by clouds.

    The hotel is quite out of the way but is literally next door to the Wolong Shenshuping Panda Base ideal for tomorrow 😊    Leggi altro

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  • Steve CatterallChengdu & tibetSteve Catterall
    Early morning cloud
    Snow capped tree line of the reserveOne size fits allMaking the panda cake supplement, ready to be steamedLook what I made1I even had to prepare the bambooBaby panda against the reserveLook I earned a certificate 😳On the way out, cloud disappeared and glorious sunshineAshley my guide for the tripMy driver with his motor

    Day 7 panda keeper assistant

    31 marzo, Cina ⋅ 🌫 5 °C

    Well into the unknown today and, a panda keepers assistant !
    OMG I woke up in the clouds this morning, what a beautiful place as the cloud disappeared you could see the snow line on the trees

    Had an educational video about how the centre aims are to put pandas back into the wild, and how females are released into the wild to mate and then with GPS brought back to have their babies.

    Went on a tour before helping the keeper and went behind the scenes while young and baby pandas were fed. We weren't allowed to take photos and had to keep one metre from the pandas as the keeper individually fed them, it was mind blowing.
    Afterwards we smashed bamboo for the pandas to eat and then made some panda cakes which supplement their diet.    Leggi altro

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  • Steve CatterallChengdu & tibetSteve Catterall

    Day 7 my final day in chengdu

    31 marzo, Cina ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    It's my final day in Chengdu, I've a few more things to see today but I need to be back at the hotel to pick my bags up at 6:30 pm then my driver will take me to the rail station as my train leaves just after 9pm
    Went to daci temple, then walked to the people's park via some shops and the obligatory panda climbing the outside of building.
    Ended up in a tea house in people's park, lots to do here, bonsai garden, lake, gardens and a couple of tea houses. After this I decided it was time to chance my arm on the metro and so back to the hotel to await my pick up for the next stage of my trip.    Leggi altro

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  • Steve CatterallChengdu & tibetSteve Catterall
    Railway across roof of the world
    Top bunk for me

    Day 7 Roof of the world

    1 aprile, Cina ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    Rather than take the easy way to tibet I decided to take the overnight sleeper leaving Chengdu at 9:00 pm on the first April and arriving in Lhasa at 11:00 am on the 3rd !

    I saw a programme where Joanna Lumley took this trip and it looks different lol. It's a scenic 34-hour journey covering ~3,360 km, on the highest railway in the world covering 3,360 km, and at its highest point it reaches 5,072 meters.
    It only operates every other day from Chengdu and tickets are literally sold out 3 months before travel !

    What's more the train is equipped with an oxygen supply, and 2 doctors due to the high altitude.

    I've bagged a soft sleeper which is a compartment with 4 berths 2 up 2 down so I hope the others don't mind my rattling at night 🥹

    The views are meant to be epic so here's hoping 🤞

    Well getting through the station was a nightmare but I managed to get on the train, so far so good    Leggi altro

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  • Steve CatterallChengdu & tibetSteve Catterall
    First thing when I got upLanzhao pit stop and shop1Changed to a diesel change carriages with oxygen supply too 😳Nearly at the top, eventually it was just over 5000 metresThis lass talked the hind legs off 2 donkeys for nearly an hour bless her heart

    Day 8 Train journey

    2 aprile, Cina ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    Had a good night's sleep, up at 8, first stop is lanzhao at 08:30. Ive had to change trains at Xining according to one of the crew " we need a different horse for the next part, no electricity." Lo and behold we go from electric train to diesel.
    We have just arrived at Ge,'ermu station and I just love how the platform staff stand to attention as the train rolls in, certainly not something Avanti or NW rail would do 🤣    Leggi altro

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  • Steve CatterallChengdu & tibetSteve Catterall
    This might be tea tonight

    Day 9 Lhasa

    2 aprile, Cina ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    Finally arrived in lhasa at 7:15 am, the sun hasn't shown its face yet. There's nothing planned for today it's more about acclimatising to the altitude so let's see.
    Lovely hotel, about up market for me but hey ho, had a lie down for a while then took a short stroll, my head's not too bad just a bit woozy but not as bad as 3 or 4 pints lol.taking my time walking as it's easy to get breathless.Leggi altro

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  • Steve CatterallChengdu & tibetSteve Catterall
    Monks debatingHad my first taste of Yak meat todayCheap Adidas shopI made some incense to burnCalligraphy setOur instructorStephen in TibetanMonks debatingWriting my nameThe circle of life explained by our guide

    Day 10 group tour

    4 aprile, Cina ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Today's my first group tour of the holiday, no idea what or where at the moment 😜
    Well what a day for those that think one monastery is the same as another think again.
    Our guide is a devout Buddhist and explained loads as we visited first the drepung monastery and then the Sera monastery where we had the chance to see the monks debating, it looked a bit random but our guide explained it really good.
    After that we went to the nini cultural centre and took part in 4 workshops workshop. The first explained about how to meditate and it blew me away, so relaxing, then we made some incense sticks and at another we made a printed prayer flag then had a lesson in Tibetan writing and had our names written out onto bookmarks.
    All in all a really good day.    Leggi altro

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  • Steve CatterallChengdu & tibetSteve Catterall
    1
    A flock of sheep !

    Princess wencheng drama

    5 aprile, Cina ⋅ 🌙 9 °C

    Saw something about this so got a taxi out to see it. It's a show but the stage is like a giant amphitheatre set at the base of three mountains and includes sound and light and moving scenery.

    Wow, I've never seen anything like it, the scenery was massive and kept changing, a flock of sheep , yaks and a massive cavalry charge of horses also took part with a massive cast, with some up on the mountains

    Music was good and two massive screens one at each end of the set with subtitles in Chinese , tibetan, and English 😊

    What a fantastic way to round off my birthday. 🎊🎉    Leggi altro

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  • Steve CatterallChengdu & tibetSteve Catterall
    A new concept of taking the dog for a walk

    Day 12 yamdrock lake

    6 aprile, Cina ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    I had a free spare day for today and scrounged a seat on a trip to yamdrock lake,
    The drive itself was different, four of us in a minibus through winding mountain roads, we stopped at
    Kamba La Pass (4,790 meters), and past traditional Tibetan villages. Along the way there were some fantastic views of the snow-capped peaks, rolling grasslands, and the shimmering turquoise water of the lake.
    We stayed a while then went to a farmhouse for lunch before returning to Lhasa.    Leggi altro

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  • Steve CatterallChengdu & tibetSteve Catterall

    Day 13. Time to go

    7 aprile, Cina ⋅ ☀️ 4 °C

    It's been a blast of a holiday, I never ever thought I'd achieve my wish to see pandas in as near to a free state as I did on this trip.
    How lucky I feel to have been here to breathe the air, have some great food and to make some fantastic memories to take away, not everyone gets such chances, and to be only one metre away from a two year old panda being hand fed by a keeper was immense.
    Chengdu has so much more than I realised it was an incredible city.
    My train journey across the roof of the world was fantastic,such friendly people all willing to say hello and welcome me.
    Tibet, well it was far more than expected, loved the temples, scenery and breathtaking show as well as the 5000 metre sight of the lake and glacier, breathless in so many ways 🤣
    Sad to go but another dream fulfilled and on I go 😘    Leggi altro

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    Fine del viaggio
    8 aprile 2026