Here are five must-see spots.

1. Bifengxia Panda Base

The Bifengxia Panda Base is part of the Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries, set up to keep the country's giant pandas from becoming extinct. Located within the Wolong Nature Reserve about 130 kilometers from Chengdu, the Bifengxia Panda Base's pandas are housed in large enclosures where visitors can watch them going about their normal daily activities.

There's a panda nursery, which is home to the baby pandas recently born to the sanctuaries' adult pandas.

The Bifengxia Panda Base is easy to get to. Just take a bus from Chengdu's Xinnanmen bus station to Ya. At Ya, you'll be able to get a mini bus that will take you straight to the giant panda sanctuary. The entire journey takes less than two hours.

2. Wenshu Temple

This incredible 3,000-year old temple is right in the middle of the city and is a sight to behold.

Wenshu Temple is Chengdu's largest and best-preserved temple, and is home to several hundred wooden buildings, 400 statues, Buddhist cultural relics, and ancient relief carvings.

There are flower and firework sellers, joss stick vendors, a fantastic vegetarian restaurant and an immense teahouse on the temple grounds.

You can go to Wenshu Temple yourself, or take one of the many city tours that will include a stop at the famous temple.

3 Jinsha Site Museum

The Jinsha Site Museum covers 300,000 square meters and consists of archaeological sites of buildings and relics going back more than 3,000 years. So far, hundreds of tombs, palaces, houses, and thousands of artifacts have been uncovered and visitors can get a close inspection.

The Jinsha Site Museum is a little bit like a park. Split up into several areas, it is lush with green trees, and the exhibit buildings blend well into the atmosphere. You'll find multimedia displays, thousands of ancient relics, jade, bronze, pottery, and ivory. Visitors can inspect the ongoing archaeological digs.

4.Great Buddha of Leshan

This 1,200-year-old UNESCO site is one of the most spectacular monuments you'll ever see. It's the largest carved stone Buddha statue in the world, and it's worth going there just to sit on the Buddha's big toenail: it will accommodate you plus one other person.

A 70-meter high Buddha is carved out of solid rock and was created between 713 and 803. Take a tour to see the Great Buddha of Leshan. You'll get a boat ride down the Minjiang River too.

5. Sichuan Puppet Drama and Sichuan Opera

While in Chengdu, you must not miss seeing an authentic and traditional Chinese singing, music, comedy and dance performance. Sichuan Puppet Drama is a centuries-old performance with large stick-supported puppets. The puppets can play musical instruments, smoke cigarettes, drink, dance and much more. The costumes and the puppets are spectacular and the performance is unique.

Sichuan Opera is a style of Chinese opera that is performed in various masks while wearing elaborate make up and clothing. Masks are put on and pulled off in quick succession so the actor can show changing emotions, a famous part of the opera.

Tricks like fire breathing and with burning candles are also part of the performance. You can see Sichuan Puppet Drama and Opera at Shufengyayun Operatic Circle daily. It is a temple where Sichuan Opera has been happening for almost a hundred years. Performers come from all over China to act here and the performance really is powerful.