Day trips from Chengdu

Top picks

• ●Leshan Giant Buddha — 71 m Buddha carved in a cliff. Train ~1h. Go early to avoid the queue to the foot of the Buddha.
• ●Sanxingdui Museum — mysterious 3,000-year-old bronze masks. ~1h by car/bus; book online with passport.
• ●Dujiangyan Irrigation System + Mount Qingcheng — 2,000-year-old engineering and a Taoist mountain. Train 30–60 min.
• ●Mount Emei — sacred Buddhist mountain, 1–2 days.
• ●Jiuzhaigou — fairy-tale lakes, needs a flight or long bus; not covered by 240-hour transit.