Culinary Discovery & Giant Pandas
Flavor Trail │ Chengdu · Chongqing
Trip Overview
Taste your way through the Bashu region, and meet China's most famous residents while you're there. This route pairs two great food cities, one unhurried and one relentless, and a morning at the Chengdu Giant Panda Base makes it an especially easy sell for families with young children. Sample dozens of Sichuan snacks at the Sichuan Cuisine Museum and cook a dish from scratch. Get face to face with giant pandas and red pandas. Then trace the roots of "spicy and numbing" at Chongqing's Dezhuang Hot Pot Museum before a night cruise past the neon skyline. Every stop is a new flavor, and every flavor comes with a story.
Destination
Chengdu, Chongqing
Duration
12 days, including international travel
Price
$2,500 per person (international flights not included)
Group Size
Departs once 35 travelers have signed up, or with a school/group of 35+
Suitable for All
Open to students, families, individuals, and groups
Itinerary Highlights
Cultural Exchange Day
A full day of China-U.S. cultural exchange activities, plus the Chengdu Archaeological Center and tea tasting at People's Park, where locals have been drinking tea and playing cards for a century.
Sichuan Cuisine Museum
Sample your way through Sichuan's snack canon, then cook a dish from scratch under instruction, wok, chilies, Sichuan peppercorns and all. Afternoon: a hands-on pottery workshop.
Giant Panda Base
Visit the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding and Research Base, arrive early, while the pandas are awake, hungry, and at their most ridiculous, then the Red Panda Camp.
Bipenggou & Tibetan Village
Trade the city for altitude: the Bipenggou Scenic Area's glaciers and alpine lakes, then the Jiarong Tibetan village of Ganbao.
Eco Hot Pot & High-Speed Rail
A hands-on eco-farm hot pot experience, you build the broth, you pick the ingredients, you eat the results, then high-speed rail to Chongqing.
Shancheng Lane & Imperial Banquet
Climb the stairways of Shancheng Lane for the best views back over the city, then sit down to a Tang-dynasty-style banquet with Hanfu and dance performances. Afterward, the Yangtze River Cableway strung high above the water.
Chongqing Hot Pot
The Dezhuang Hot Pot Museum explains how "spicy and numbing" took over a city, then Kuixing Tower and Jiefangbei, and an evening Liangjiang river cruise beneath the neon.
Free Time in Chongqing
A free day in Chongqing.
Why Choose FIA Global Experience?
Learning That Connects You to the Real China
FIA Global Experience brings language learning and cultural experiences together to help people understand China through connection, participation, and firsthand experience.
Learning Through Experience
Learn by doing—through conversations, workshops, cultural activities, local schools, family experiences, and encounters with people who know and live the culture.
Meaningful Local Connections
Meet local families, educators, artists, students, and community members and experience China through genuine human connection.
Thoughtfully Designed Experiences
Every experience is carefully planned to balance learning, exploration, comfort, and fun, with the support you need along the way.
Ready to Start Your China Journey?
Whether you are looking for an educational experience, a meaningful family journey, or a deeper connection to the Chinese language and culture, FIA Global Experience offers immersive opportunities to experience China through its people, communities, traditions, and everyday life. Travel beyond the typical tourist experience. Learn through connection. Build lasting memories. Discover China firsthand.