Yaan Travel Guide and Tour Packages

Importance News - Yaan and the parks within are currently open to foreign visitors including expats in China. You are welcome to contact us for detailed travel requirements on foreign visitors.

The city of Ya’an locates 120km southwest of Chengdu and close to the Tibetan area in western Sichuan Province. It was an important town on the ancient Tea Horse Road. As a place shared by both Chinese and Tibetans, Ya’an has not only a unique geological feature but also a history of the combination of Chinese and Tibetan people. Ya’an is a rainy place; it rains over 200 days in a year, which made it a perfect place for growing tea. Mount Mengding is one of the most significant tea places in China. It is also the hometown of the giant pandas; the first panda was found in a place in Ya’an. The three extremes of Ya’an are: the Rain is plenty in Ya’an, the Women are good-looking in Ya’an and the fish are delicious in Ya’an.

Hometown of Pandas

Bifengxia Panda Base

Bifengxia can be three different meanings. A, Bifengxia Gorge is a nature attraction. It is a small and lush gorge with a nice walking path. It is 13kms’long and shaped a big V. B, Bifengxia Wild Life Park is a place where wild animals are kept including lions, tigers, ostriches, alpacas, etc. C, in Bifengxia, there is a panda base as well. It is the head office of China Panda Preservation Center. It is a very important protection center for pandas as in and around Ya’an is natural habitat for giant pandas.

Mengdingshan Tea Plantation

Mengdingshan is located in Ya’an and close to Bifengxia. It is home to Mengdingshan Green Tea. A drive takes 30 minutes from the town of Ya’an. At Mengdingshan, there is a tea museum providing knowledge of tea in China, tea terraces where tea farmers working during spring and well-preserved ancient tea trees.

Shangli Old Village

Shangli Old Village is located 27km north to Ya’an and close to Bifengxia. Shangli was once one of the 10 major towns in Sichuan Province. It was first named Luosheng and was a main post used by caravans on the Southern Silk Road. It was also the head office of the Tea Officer in Tang Dynasty. Five big families have dwelled here for generations, so these five families are somehow the people of the town: Han, Yang, Chen, Xu and Zhang.

Mount Niubeishan

Mount Niubei is a 3600-meter mountain in Ya’an that lots of active travelers like to visit. It separates Qingyi River and Dadu River and provides very good views of Minya Konka.

Recommended length of visiting: 3-4 hours to 2-4 days;

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  Bifengxia Panda Base

  Bifengxia Panda Base is part of the Bifengxia Park which include also a zoo of other wild animals, a Bifeng Gorge that is also very beautiful. Bifengxia Panda Base is part of the China Giant Panda Protection Center, it was funded by 2003 in Bifengxia of Yaan.

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  Mt. Mengding

  Mengdingshan is a well-made tea plantation in Yaan. It is located 110km southwest to Chengdu and 10km away from the city of Chengdu. Mengding is the origin of tea in China the first place in China ever started to use tea as a drink and planted tea.

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  Dawa Gengza

  Dawa Gengza means "beautiful mountain" in Tibetan. From here one can see around the famous mountains such as Siguniang Mountain in the north, Pagla Mountain in the south, Gongga peaks in the west, Emei Mountain in the east.

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  Shangli Old Village

  Shangli is an Old Village located in Yaan. It is a cultural and historical village in Sichuan. Shangli is known as a point on the Long March by the former Red Army and also a hub of the Tea-horse Road in ancient times.

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