2025 Road to Shu Itinerary
Day 1, March 10, Monday – Leave the USA on overseas flight to China
Day 2, March 11, Tuesday – Arrive Chengdu, Jinjiang Hotel
We will be flying into the Shuangliu Airport in Chengdu which handles domestic flights not the Tianfu International Airport which is too far out of town. I will meet you when your flight arrives if you arrive between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. Otherwise, you can take a cab directly to the Jinjiang Hotel. Ask at the desk for the rooms reserved for the Shu Dao Tour. Dinner at the hotel is included if you arrive by 6 p.m.
Day 3, March 12, Wednesday – Sightseeing in Chengdu, Jinjiang Hotel
After breakfast our bus will pick us up at 9 a.m. for a visit to the Temple of the Martial Marquis (pp 90-92 in my book). The original temple on this site dates from the 6th century and was built to honor the Three Kingdoms strategist, Zhuge Liang and his ruler Liu Bei, who both played an important role along the old road in the 3rd century A.D. We'll have lunch at a "Little Eats" restaurant by the temple and have a half-hour to stroll the nearby newly constructed old-style alley. We will then check return to the Jinjiang Hotel for a rest before dinner at a famous hot pot restaurant on Qintai Road where all the buildings have recently been rebuilt in the traditional imperial style. After dinner we will watch a performance of famous excerpts from the Sichuan opera just down the street. You can read about Chengdu in my book, pp. 75-80. We’ll return to our hotel about 10 pm.
Day 4, March 13, Thursday – Hikes in Wulian
After breakfast our bus will head north to Wulian, first on an expressway and after we reach Zitong along a two-lane highway called the Green Cloud Corridor, a highway built over the old road and still shaded by the ancient cypress trees which once lined the road (pp 100-105). Our bus will drop us off in the hills outside of Wulian (pp 133, 135-6, 138-9). Here we will take a short hike down the hill into town on the only stretch of the old flagstone road that was spared by the highway construction. After lunch in Wulian we will hike another small stretch of the old road heading uphill to the highway. This and the morning hike are the only remains of the old flagstone in this area. Then we will continue to drive north along the Green Cloud Corridor to our next destination, Puan, (pp 106-111), arriving in about 45 minutes. Dinner in our hotel.
Day 5, March 14, Friday - Exploring Puan
We will spend the morning exploring the market and the Old Town which includes the old south gate with a stretch of flagstone street and a bit of city wall on either side, the old bell-drum tower, and some of the old wooden houses which still line the original narrow street, now paved over but never widened (pp 116-117). After lunch and a rest at our hotel, our bus will take us up into the mountains overlooking the town to visit the Hemingshan Pagoda (pp 122-123). We will return to our hotel on foot, hiking down the mountain on a brief stretch of the old flagstone road. Dinner at our hotel.
Day 6, March 15, Saturday - Liangshan Hike
Miss Li, a local lady who helped me find the Road to Shu, will meet us at our hotel after breakfast. Our bus will then take us south of Puan on Route 108 to Liangshan were the old road is preserved all the way into Puan. We will all hike the old road lined with beautiful cypress trees for about four to five hours back into Puan for a late lunch. If anyone wants to return halfway I will accompany them while Miss Li joins those who hike all the way into Puan. Diner in our hotel
Day 7, March 16, Sunday - Hanyang Hike
After breakfast our bus will take us north again on Route 108 until we reach Hanyang, a half-hour ride out of Puan. We will disembark here and hike south back toward Puan along one of the prettiest remaining stretches of the old flagstone road which is lined with more than 400 old cypress trees and winds its way past small villages and along the crests of hills with long views into the valleys below. The hike will take five to six hours and involve some climbing of stone steps up hills, but with lots of rest stops and climbing will be intermixed with many level and downhill stretches. After a picnic lunch, if anyone wants to return to Puan I will accompany them on our bus. Miss Li will accompany those who hike all the way back into Puan. Lunch will be a picnic on the trail and we will all meet for dinner at our hotel.
Day 8, March 17, Monday - Sword Gate Pass, Jianmenguan Hot Springs Hotel
Today we will head north again through the Green Cloud Corrider (p 118) all the way into Jianmenguan (pp 140-142), the next post station along the old road. On the way we will stop to visit the official Green Cloud Corridor tourist site (p 145-146), where a special fenced in section of the old road is lined with more than 100 ancient cypress trees some close to 2000 years old. Lunch in Jianmenguan at one of the local restaurants that specialize in excellent doufu dishes. After lunch we will spend the rest of the day exploring Sword Gate Pass, (pp 147-150), the site of a famous Three-Kingdoms battle where a small Shu army held off a much larger Wei force. The site has been much improved by building a tunnel to divert the highway that in the 1930s was built over the old road right through the pass. We will hike down the hill below the pass to the lower parking lot and drive to Jiange about a half hour away. Dinner at our hotel, the Jianmenguan Hot Springs Hotel, After dinner enjoy the hot springs in your hotel room or in the several large pools out back.
Day 9, March 18, Tuesday - Dachao Hike - Jianmenguan Hot Springs Hotel
After breakfast our bus will take us up into the mountains to the next post station along the old road, Dachao. This is a very, very small town that when I first passed through hadn't changed much since the 19th century. We will hike the old road down the mountain back to Jianmenguan, a long hike of about eight miles. If anyone wants to return to the hot spring after two hours of hiking, I will accompany them. Miss Li will guide those who want to continue to hike to Jianmenguan where our bus will meet them and return them to Jiange for dinner at our hotel.
Day 10, March 19, Wednesday - Sightseeing in Zhaohua Old Town Hotel
Breakfast in our hotel and then our bus will drive to Dachao and we will resume our hike on the old road but also on many stretches of highway as well, passing though the famous Tianxiong Pass before reaching the ancient town of Zhaohua. After lunch time to explore Zhaohua on your own and dinner at a fish hotpot restaurant.
Day 11, March 20, Thursday - Sightseeing in Guangyuan, Phoenix International Hotel
After breakfast we will tour Zhaohua on foot. After lunch in Zhaohua, our bus will drive us to Guangyuan, the last post station on the old road that we will visit which is now a very large and prosperous city. Our bus will drop us off at our hotel which is on an island in the Jialing River and built in Chinese traditional style. We will have dinner at a local hot pot restaurant.
Day 12, March 21, Friday – Sightseeing in Guangyuan, Phoenix International Hotel
After a buffet breakfast at our hotel, our bus will take us north along the Jialing River to visit the site of a famous ancient plank road (pp 176-80) which once stretched along the side of a cliff above the river. A long section of the original plank road has been reconstructed by inserting new wood into the old holes. We can walk along the cliff (this is about a mile) on this rebuilt road and then take a cart ride through the Tiger’s Mouth, a section of half-tunneling directly above the plank road blasted out of the solid rock in the 1930s in order to run the highway along the cliff. A new highway has been built farther inland, leaving the old highway as a tourist area with no cars. Our bus will then take us to nearby Chaotien for lunch and after lunch for a visit to the Thousand Buddha Cliff, once one of the most treacherous spots along the Road to Shu. It is also a famous site of early Buddhist carvings and has recently been improved by rerouting the highway that once passed right next to it. It is a hike of about a mile along the cliff, and you can also climb up steps for a closer look at the Buddhas. Dinner at our hotel.
Day 13 March 22, Saturday – Bus to Chengdu, Jinjiang Hotel
After breakfast at our hotel, our bus will take us south on the new expressway back to Chengdu, about a three-hour to four-hour ride. We'll have lunch in Chengdu and visit an open-air antiques market before returning to our hotel. Our hotel will be at the Shuangliu Airport as there is a liquor festival in Chengdu and no rooms available at the Jinjiang
Day 14, March 23, Sunday – Fly Home
There will be a shuttle bus to the airport from our hotel every half hour.
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