• Provided by: Gemma Garner

Our travel guides are free to read and explore online. If you want to get your own copy, the full travel guide for this destination is available to you offline* to bring along anywhere or print for your trip.​

*this will be downloaded as a PDF.

Price

€4,95

Purchase
Passport / Visa

Passport / Visa

Chengdu is one of the Chinese cities that supports the 72-hour transit visa on arrival program, which means that selected nationalities (all citizens of the European Union, as well as several other countries including Albania, Argentina, Australia, Belarus, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Iceland, Japan, Macedonia, Mexico, Monaco, Montenegro, New Zealand, Qatar, Russia, South Korea, Switzerland, Ukraine, and United States) are eligible for a transit visa. For longer stays, a visa must be pre-arranged in advance, so consult your local embassy for details. You must bring your passport at all times, and all hotels will insist on seeing it for check-in. It is now mandatory to present your passport when buying train tickets or using internet cafes that accept foreigners.
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Internet Access and VPN in China

Internet Access and VPN in China

Due to the Internet policy of China, certain websites and applications are not accessible from the mainland, which includes those very commonly used in the west (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google, Skype and more). Some travellers have been able to gain access to those via a VPN service (installed prior to arrival in China). Make sure you comply with local laws and regulations when deciding on whether or not to employ a VPN, and which one to choose (if you do, only use those explicitly allowed by the Chinese government, and only use them for authorised purposes to avoid any trouble). There have been reports of foreigners in China getting their cell service cut off in response to unauthorised use of VPN being detected; restoring cell service required a trip to the local police station where contents of the device were investigated and certain apps removed. Giving that Google is banned in China, Google Maps might not be the most accurate and reliable source of information. Some local apps such as Baidu Maps and AutoNavi tend to work better than Google Maps.
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Best Time to Visit

Best Time to Visit

The best periods to visit Chengdu are from March to May, and September to November. Spring weather in Chengdu often begins early, starting in March, and lasts until early May. As the temperature rises, colourful flowers bloom one after another. It is the best time to see the peach blossom at Longquan Mountain and the cuckoo at Wawu Mountain. Autumn usually starts from September and lasts till the end of October or early November. The temperature drops quickly, and there may be a lot of rain. It's best to pack long-sleeved shirts and thin overcoats, plus a thin sweater.
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