Huanglongxi Historic Town & Panda Research Center

Nine hours, two halves. The giant pandas at the Chengdu research base first, while they are awake, then out of the city to Huanglongxi — a historic town of old streets and waterside teahouses about 50 km away in Sichuan.

The base is a research and breeding centre, laid out as bamboo parkland rather than as a zoo, and the enclosures give the animals room. Early is better: pandas eat in the morning and sleep through the middle of the day, so the first hours are when there is most to watch.

Huanglongxi is an old town rather than a reconstruction of one — flagstone lanes, timber shopfronts, temples and a stream running through the middle of it. Teahouses sit along the water, and sitting in one for an hour is the local way to spend an afternoon here.

There is shopping along the main lanes, snacks cooked in front of you, and enough shade to make the walking easy. The pace is the point: it is a slow counterweight to a busy morning.

It is a long day and the panda half depends on an early start, so expect a morning pickup. Huanglongxi is busiest at weekends and on public holidays, when its lanes fill up; a weekday is noticeably quieter. Comfortable shoes — the old town is flagstones throughout.