Outline:

Day 1. Arrive in Chengdu. (D)                                                                  
The airport pick up. Overnight: Chengdu (Attitude 500m)

Day 2. Chengdu-Panda Habitat. 350km 6h (BLD)                                   
Drive to Panda Habitat. Overnight: Panda Habitat (1,400m)

Day 3-4. Visit inside Panda Habitat. (BLD)                                              
Wildlife safari in Panda Habitat. Overnight: Panda Habitat (1,400m)

Day 5. Panda Habitat-Pingwu. 120km 3h (BLD)                                      
Drive to Pingwu. Overnight: Pingwu (1,200m)

Day 6. Pingwu-Jiuzhaigou. 210km 5h (BLD)                                           
Head to Jiuzhaigou. Overnight: Jiuzhaigou (2,000m)

Day 7. Jiuzhaigou. (BLD)                                                                         
Visit Jiuzhaigou. Overnight: Jiuzhaigou (2,000m)

Day 8. Jiuzhaigou-Tiebu Sika Deer Nature Reserve. 280km 6h (BLD)   
Drive to Diebu for Sika Deer. Overnight: Diebu (2,400m)

Day 9. Tiebu Sika Deer Nature Reserve-Ruoergai. 120km 3h (BLD)      
Searching for Sika Deer. Overnight: Ruoergai (3,400m)

Day 10-11. Ruoergai. (BLD)
Wildlife safari around Ruoergai. Overnight: Ruoergai (3,400m)

Day 12. Ruoergai-Wenchuan. 340km 6h (BLD)                                     
Drive to Wenchuan. Overnight: Wenchuan (1,400m)

Day 13. Wenchuan-Wolong (80km, 2h)-Chengdu. 130km 3h (BLD)     
Visit Wolong Panda Base before drive back to Chengdu. Overnight: Chengdu (500m)

Day 14. Depart Chengdu. (B)
Airport see off.


Details:

Day 1.  Arrival in Chengdu. Meals: D
The airport pick up. Based on the time you arrive, we can plan some free city tour programs such as visiting People’s Park to experience the typical laid-back lifestyles of Chengdu or taking you to Jinli Street to feel the bustling shopping street with all types of shops selling unique local souvenirs and food stands offering delicious local take-away food.

Overnight: Chengdu (Attitude 500m)

Day 2. Chengdu-Panda Habitat. 350km 6h Meals: BLD
In the morning, we will drive to Panda Habitat via Qingxi Ancient Village. Qingxi Ancient Village served as an important strategic point in defending Sichuan and trade post between Muslims and Han Chinese in history. With a history of more than 1700 years, Qingxi used to be the county seat of Qingchuan County with a city wall going around the village. The existing buildings inside the Qingxi Village are Ming and Qing dynasties' style. We will spend about 30 minutes exploring this quiet ancient town and feel the harmonious coexistence of Muslims and Han Chinese under the same roof of traditional Chinese architecture.

Overnight: Panda Habitat (1,400m)

Day 3-4. Visit inside Panda Habitat. Meals: BLD
During our stay in a hotel inside the Panda Habitat, our group will be able to explore Giant Panda habitats with great convenience. This scenic reserve is one of the first reserves set up in China to protect wildlife and is one of the most successful reserves set up in China to protect wildlife and is one of the most successful reserves to achieve this goal. It is home to a great variety of species of wildlife including plants, fishes, insects, and amphibians living under the umbrella of Giant Panda protection. We will spend two days exploring different parts of the reserve in search of mammals, birds, and fishes. The animal species we may come across based on our knowledge from past trips include Takin, Golden Snub-nosed Monkey, Asiatic Black Bear, Tibetan Macaque, Golden Pheasant, Wild Boar, Chinese Goral, Reeve's Muntjac, Chinese Serow, Masked Civet, Eurasian Otter, Tufted Deer, Yellow-throated Marten, and Rhesus Macaque. At the end of the day, we can have a night walk around the hotel to search for some nocturnal animals such as Civet Cat and Leopard Cat.

Overnight: Panda Habitat (1,400m)

Day 5. Panda Habitat-Pingwu.120km 3h Meals: BLD
This morning we will depart from the Panda Habitat and drive to another reserve to search for a kind of unique animals called Golden Snub-nosed Monkey. Golden Snub-nosed Monkey has a rich golden brown to golden red fur with a black and golden patch on the back. In Sichuan province, the Minshan Mountain range is home to the largest population of these beautiful and lovely primates. They usually live in high mountainous, deciduous broadleaved and coniferous forests and share the same habitats with Giant Pandas. We will take you to a place where you have the highest chance to see those shy but photogenic animals endemic to China. After photographing the monkeys, we will drive back to Pingwu. 

Overnight: Pingwu (1,200m)

Day 6. Pingwu-Jiuzhaigou. 210km 5h Meals: BLD
In the morning, we will leave our hotel and visit Bao’en Temple and nearby local food market before continuing on our drive to Jiuzhaigou. Bao'en Temple is known as "The Forbidden City hidden in mountains". It is one of the largest and the best-preserved ancient architectural complexes of the Ming Dynasty (about 600-year-old) in Sichuan province. It was said the architecture was first built by Wang Xi, a local tribe head in Pingwu as his palace, by imitating the royal Forbidden City in Beijing after paying his visit to Emperor. In ancient China, however, this was regarded as the most serious violation of the law. When Wang got to know that the Emperor was infuriated by his action and the investigation officials were already on the way. He immediately turned this architecture into a temple to pray for the longevity of the Emperor as a way to express his thanks to all the great kindness he has received from the Emperor. That is why this building is called "Bao'en Temple". " Bao'en", in Chinese, literally means to "requite royal kindness". After visiting the temple, we can walk to the nearby food market where local farmers bring their agriculture produce to sell. It is a great place to understand the lives of locals. After early lunch, we will head to Jiuzhaigou, en route, we will drive through another nature reserve called Wanglang Nature Reserve and stop for some scenery shots.

Overnight: Jiuzhaigou (2,000m)

Day 7. Jiuzhaigou. Meals: BLD  
Today we will spend the whole day in the Jiuzhaigou National Park, the most beautiful place and most popular tourist destination in the whole of China. As early as in 1992, Jiuzhaigou has been listed as a UNESCO World Nature Heritage Site because of its stunning sceneries and abundant natural resources. Once we get into Jiuzhaigou, we will be amazed by its beautiful virgin forest, magnificent waterfalls, snowcapped peaks, green lakes, numerous birds, and colorful Tibetan villages. You will understand why this place is known as "Fairyland in Tibetan Culture". It is said there are 108 lakes of different sizes in Jiuzhaigou National Park. Local legend holds that these lakes were created when a goddess of the mountains dropped her mirror from heaven to earth. The shattered pieces changed into the stunning lakes we see today.

Overnight: Jiuzhaigou (2,000m)

Day 8. Jiuzhaigou-Tiebu Sika Deer Nature Reserve. 280km 6h Meals: BLD
Today we will head to Tiebu Sika Deer Nature Reserve. We will search for wildlife when we drive through different kinds of habitats for wildlife. At the edge of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, we can search for Blue Eared Pheasant and on the plateau, we will search for local endemic birds such as Black-necked Crane, Ruddy Shelduck and mammals like Himalayan Marmot, Wolf, Tibetan Gazelle, and Sika Deer. The vast Tibetan Plateau we are going to drive through is a very important nomad area in Sichuan province, so we will see lots of yaks and sheep owned by local Amdo Tibetan. After we arrive Diebu, we will drive to the reserve and have our afternoon search in the reserve for Sika Deer.

Overnight: Diebu (2,400m)

Day 9. Tiebu Sika Deer Nature Reserve-Ruoergai. 120km 3h Meals: BLD
We will spend the morning in search of Sika Deer today. After breakfast, we will drive you to Tiebu Sika Deer Nature Reserve where local Tibetans and Sika Deer coexist peacefully together for hundreds of years. The beautiful Tibetan villages scattered on the mountain slopes with farmlands around them are always the best places where we can start our search for Sika Deer and get some excellent shots of the mountains stretching out in distance. The beautiful conifer forests on the top, the Tibetan villages in the middle part of the mountain and their cattle graze in the bushes around the village farmlands. It will not be difficult to spot small Sika Deer herds from those bushes, always not far away from those grazing cattle. In lots of places in China, we always face the conflict between conservations and local villagers. People here provide the best answer, people and the wildlife can coexist together harmoniously and peacefully. After Tiebu Sika Deer Nature Reserve, we will head back to Ruoergai County and continue our search for wildlife on the plateau again en route.

Overnight: Ruoergai (3,400m)

Day 10-11. Ruoergai. Meals: BLD
Ruoergai is a paradise for wildlife thanks to its vast land size of 10,436 square kilometers and a variety of habitats including well-protected forests located around the edge of the plateau, wetlands, and lakes. Those different habitats are home to a good number of wildlife species such as Palla's Cat, Himalayan Marmot, Upland Buzzard, Lammergeier, Himalayan Griffon, Blue Eared Pheasant, Black-necked Crane, Saker Falcon, and Blood Pheasant. In the following two days, we will focus on our search for wildlife in different habitats for target species.

Overnight: Ruoergai (3,400m)

Day 12. Ruoergai-Wenchuan. 340km 6h Meals: BLD
After leaving Ruoergai, we will head to Wenchuan via Songpan Ancient Town which used to be a military garrison station in Tang Dynasty due to its strategic location. Songpan was an important post for Tea-and-Horse Trade Route between Han Chinese and Tibetans. Due to its proximity to the Muslim areas in western China, Songpan also has a significant number of the Muslim population. It is a place mingling with Tibetan, Han Chinese and Muslim culture. After Songpan we will drive along Minjiang River to Wenchuan, going through the only Qiang ethnic minority area in China.

Overnight: Wenchuan (1,400m)

Day 13. Wenchuan-Wolong (80km, 2h)-Chengdu. 130km 3h Meals: BLD
In the early morning, we will drive to Wolong Panda Base (Wolong Shengshuping Panda Base) before we drive back to Chengdu. Wolong Panda Base is located within panda habitats and has the best natural temperature for the pandas. This panda base was relocated here after the 2008 Earthquake with donations from Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Because it is relatively far away from Chengdu, there are many fewer visitors here so it is an excellent place for people who want to see active panda cubs with fewer crowds and better backgrounds. After seeing pandas at different ages here, we will drive on to Chengdu.

Overnight: Chengdu (500m)

Day 14. Depart Chengdu. Meals: B
On the final day of this tour, our team will escort you to the airport in Chengdu so that you may board your flight on time. This will conclude the scheduled itinerary for this tour.
 
Notes:
1. If you need help in arranging a flight to Chengdu from Beijing, Shanghai, Xian, or the trip out of Chengdu, please feel free to contact us. 
2. This trip ventures into a remote area that features high altitude. Follow the advice from your doctor on altitude sickness before deciding to join this trip. In some events, high elevation can cause severe health complications for those with cardiovascular diseases or other poor cardiopulmonary function. 
3. If you prefer a better chance for searching Red Panda, here is a Three-Day Extention Tour for your reference:
Day 1. Chengdu-Labahe. 230km 4h
Day 2. Labahe. 
Day 3. Labahe-Chengdu. 230km 4h