Locations:
Wenshu Temple
https://j.map.baidu.com/9c/lD Entrance is free, walk around the streets surrounding the temple as well. Lots of touristy shops and fun things to look at. https://j.map.baidu.com/bb/Uif is a vegetarian restaurant inside the temple; it’s surprisingly good and has a set menu.
Tianfu Square
https://j.map.baidu.com/a3/gcd is both a transit center and a very large underground mall. There’s a good restaurant section (and a dominoes pizza with weird flavors if you’re into that). If you’re waiting to get to/from Jiuzhaigou then this could be a good place to chill.
Panda Base
https://j.map.baidu.com/a9/Uv is the best place to see pandas; it’s a bit hard to get to by train so try calling a cab. Go as early as possible.
Eastern Suburb Memory
https://j.map.baidu.com/de/Pw is a trendy mall/shopping area with lots of boutique shops. Kind of out of the way, but a fun place to walk around.
Night markets
Lots of them around the city, see https://j.map.baidu.com/b0/FyPk as an example. Use the Chinese term (夜市) when searching on Baidu, but they’re all mostly the same I think? Go check one out, but be mindful of the hours.
Getting around
- Download Wechat, Baidu maps and Railway12306. Alipay is optional (all places take both Alipay and Wechat Pay). Make sure you register and make accounts for them before you leave. Linking a credit card should be straightforward, but if you don’t have access to your phone number it might be hard to do verification SMS. So set it up before you leave as well.
- Dianping is good for finding recs, but you can also just search on Baidu maps if you want. I’m not sure if English is well supported…
- I like using Airalo for a travel ESIM; it should be easy to set up. There might be reasonably priced physical SIM vendors at the airport as well.