What's on in Chengdu (Sichuan), China through the year

Busy — Winter break (around Chinese New Year) in China, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  Spring Festival

  15–23 FebLunar New YearClosuresCrowded

  Nine days in 2026, the longest run yet. The Wuhou Shrine temple fair fills with lanterns, small restaurants shut for a week, and every train out of the city is booked. Source ↗

Still on: Winter smog (15 Nov – 28 Feb)

Peak crowds — Spring Festival, Winter break (around Chinese New Year) in China

• Nature

  Rapeseed fields

  20 Feb – 25 Mar · usuallyWildflowers & blooms

  The plain west of the city goes yellow for a few weeks before the tea hills do anything, and the villages around Chongzhou and Xinjin run buses out to it at weekends.

Still on: Spring Festival (15–23 Feb), Winter smog (15 Nov – 28 Feb)

Busy — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Rapeseed fields (20 Feb – 25 Mar (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in April.

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in May.

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in June.

Peak crowds — Panda cub season, Summer break in China

• Nature

  Panda cub season

  15 Jul – 30 Sep · usuallyWildlife seasonCrowded

  Most cubs are born in the second half of summer, and the nursery is the one part of the breeding base with a queue. Go at opening; the animals sleep through the afternoon heat. Source ↗

Peak crowds — Panda cub season, Summer break in China

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Panda cub season (15 Jul – 30 Sep (usually))

Busy — Panda cub season, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Panda cub season (15 Jul – 30 Sep (usually))

Peak crowds — National Day Golden Week, National Day Golden Week in China

• Holiday

  National Day Golden Week

  1–7 OctCrowdedBook early

  Seven days with the whole country travelling. Chengdu is the staging post for Jiuzhaigou and the Tibetan highway, and both the airport and the buses west are at capacity. Source ↗

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

• Hazard

  Winter smog

  15 Nov – 28 Feb

  The basin holds its own air all winter under an inversion. It is not the cold that decides whether a day outside is pleasant here, it is what the reading says that morning. Source ↗

Shoulder season — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in December.

Still on: Winter smog (15 Nov – 28 Feb)