Chengdu
We land on Sunday 6 December and settle into an apartment near Taikoo Li, which is our base for the whole trip.
Pandas, hotpot, the metro and Taikoo Li.Trip 3 · December 2026
China in December: Chengdu, Chongqing and Xi'an
Our third China trip. Three cities, high-speed trains between them, and a Christmas in Chengdu. This page is the plan, and it fills in with videos and guides as I film them.
The route
Chengdu, Chongqing, Xi'an, back to Chengdu
We fly from Ireland on 5 December and come home on 29 December. Chengdu is our base the whole time, and we take the side trips from there.
Chongqing
Hotel Indigo Chongqing Chaotianmen for five nights, with the drone show on Saturday 12 December.
Hotpot, the cableway, Liziba and the old town at night.Xi'an
Han Tang House for four nights. The Muslim Quarter, the Bell and Drum Towers, the Great Mosque and the Terracotta Warriors.
The food streets and the city wall.Chengdu again
Back to the apartment, with Christmas at the InterContinental Chengdu Global Center on 24 and 25 December.
Hotel review, the Global Center and a proper rest.Train tickets between the cities are not booked yet. When they are, the guide for that route goes up with the screenshots.
Planned films
What I will film and write up
- Hotel reviews for the stays above, including what the IHG status actually gave us.
- Xi'an and the Terracotta Warriors, step by step.
- Chongqing after dark, the drone show and the hotpot.
- Trains and metro between the three cities, with the tickets and the apps.
The plan can change. I only write a guide after I have done the thing.
Read these first
The guides that make any China trip easier, from the first two trips.
Follow the trip
Videos land on YouTube first. Short clips go on TikTok and Instagram while we are there.