```html
Chongqing, Wulong, Chengdu, Jiuzhaigou, Beijing: 6-Day Independent Travel Guide
I recently completed a solo trip to China that I never thought I could do on my own because I don't speak the language. This trip involved a lot of planning and navigating, but the travel experience was very independent, authentic, and complete. Therefore, I want to share some information for those who want to take this route for reference.
Visa
- I applied for a solo visa in Ho Chi Minh City.
- The visa application is easy; just prepare enough documents as per the embassy's website. Submit at the visa center in District 1 (HCMC) without an appointment. The staff there provide detailed instructions.
- Note: you can choose between financial confirmation or employment confirmation, but all documents should be new copies within 7 days before submission. I submitted a statement of account balance from the beginning of the month, but when I submitted the visa 2-3 weeks later, they asked for an additional document (I submitted an employment confirmation).
Flights, Hotels, SIM Card
All booked through Trip.com
- Flights:
- Round-trip Air China. This is China's national airline. My flight experience was good and the price was okay (5.6 million VND round trip, including 20kg of luggage).
- Outbound flight: direct from Ho Chi Minh City to Chongqing.
- Return flight: Chengdu -> transit in Beijing for 19 hours (enough for a day of sightseeing hehe) -> Ho Chi Minh City.
- Hotels:
- I booked 5 different hotels for 5 nights. The entire check-in/check-out process was very quick, just show your passport + visa page + entry stamp.
- Here are 2 hotels I recommend:
- Chongqing: K·W High Altitude View Hotel (right in the center, about a 5-minute walk from Hongyadong).
- Jiuzhaigou: Yushe Yunshan Designer Hot Spring Hotel (5 minutes by car from the Jiuzhaigou area entrance, with free shuttle service).
- SIM Card:
- Buy on Shopee, 2-3 GB/day is comfortable to use.
- I use a physical SIM for stability and backup with 2 carriers (Joytel & Unicom) because everything is processed via phone.
Transportation
- Within the city:
- Take the MRT or Didi (ride-hailing service).
- Didi is very, very cheap. Moving around the city only costs about 10-20 yuan (less than 80k VND), so I mainly travel by Didi for speed, except in Beijing, where traffic is terrible, so I take the MRT.
- You should book when you arrive at the spot because the drivers stop at the exact point and don't wait too long, about 1-2 minutes after the car arrives. (The app counts down 30 seconds from when the driver arrives, then the driver can cancel.)
- Between cities:
- Book high-speed train tickets via Trip.com.
- At the station, scan your passport to board. There is a separate passport scanning line for foreigners.
- You should book the following routes in advance because they have fewer trips and sell out quickly: Chongqing – Wulong & Chengdu – Huanglong (to get to Jiuzhaigou).
Important Notes:
- Every MRT station or railway station has security checks and luggage scanning. Don't bring spray bottles with a capacity >50ml. Water bottles and power banks should be kept separately for quick inspection by security personnel.
- When taking the high-speed train, arrive at the railway station at least 30 minutes early because each station is huge. Allow time for security checks at the entrance, queuing to scan your passport, moving down to the train, getting to the correct car, and checking your train ticket at the door of each car.
- What if you miss the train? No problem. I missed the trip from Chongqing North Station to Chengdu East Station. Go to the support desk, and they will change you to another trip. If it's the same class and price, you don't need to do anything. If the tickets are sold out and you have to choose a higher class, pay the full ticket price at the counter. The old ticket will be refunded via Trip.
Tickets
Can be booked on Trip.com or purchased on-site, including entrance tickets and internal bus tickets.
- Wulong (Three Natural Bridges): 155 yuan
- Jiuzhaigou (peak season): 280 yuan
- Panda research base – Chengdu: 85 yuan
- Temple of Heaven – Beijing: 34 yuan
Essential Apps (no need to log in with a Chinese phone number)
- Trip.com (book all types of tickets)
- Alipay (payment, book Didi, order food, etc.)
- Google Translate
- Amap (map can be searched by English name or pinyin)
- WeChat (message hotels)
- Dianping (find food)
- Xiaohongshu (find places to visit, take pictures)
- Metroman (MRT map)
Itinerary
Day 1: Ho Chi Minh City – Chongqing – Wulong
- Fly to Chongqing early in the morning > take the high-speed train to Wulong Station (2 hours) > take the bus to the Wulong area (30 minutes)
- Visit the Three Natural Bridges
- In the evening, return to Chongqing, stroll through the center and Hongyadong
Day 2: Chongqing – Chengdu
- City tour: Jiefangbei Street, Shibati Old Street, Kuixinglou Building, Liziba Station
- Move to Chengdu (2 hours)
Day 3: Chengdu – Jiuzhaigou
- City tour: Kuanzhai Alley, People's Park, Panda Research Base
- Move to Jiuzhaigou: take the train from Chengdu East Station to Huanglong Station (2 hours) > take the shuttle bus to the Jiuzhaigou area (2 hours).
- Note: When you get to Huanglong Station, look for coaches that go to Jiuzhaigou. The fare is about 51 yuan/person. The bus departure time will be about 30 minutes after the arrival time of the high-speed train.
Day 4: Jiuzhaigou
- Spend a full day in the Jiuzhaigou area. SO BEAUTIFUL. INSANELY BEAUTIFUL. GO GO EVERYONE!
- Recommended route: In the morning, take the bus straight to the last point of the Rize Valley branch and walk/bus along the way > in the afternoon, go through the Zechawa Valley branch > in the afternoon, if you have energy, walk along the Shuzheng Valley branch back to the main gate. At this point, just enjoy the scenery because you're too tired. I asked the bus driver, and they said the 2 valleys in the morning have better photo views because they are higher up and closer to the mountains.
Day 5: Jiuzhaigou – Chengdu – Beijing
- Move back to Chengdu: take the bus to Huanglong Station (2 hours) > take the train to Chengdu East Station (2 hours)
- Wander around Chunxi Road, IFS
- Fly to Beijing
Day 6: Beijing – Ho Chi Minh City
- Beijing city tour (Temple of Heaven, Tiananmen Square, Hutong Old Quarter) => Highly recommend renting a bike to cycle around Beijing and the Hutong area. Cheap, convenient, and very chill.
- Move to the airport to return to Ho Chi Minh City.
Food
I just ate based on the schedule, so I don't remember the restaurant names. If I crave something, I search for restaurants with high ratings and close to my location on the Dianping app.
The food isn't as hard to eat as I thought. Some dishes are very delicious. When you get to Chongqing, just chant the mantra "Bu la bu la" (not spicy) and you'll be fine =)))))
Costs & Payment
- Costs:
We traveled as a couple, the cost excluding shopping is 18.5 million VND/person
- Plane ticket + SIM: 6 million VND
- Visa: 1.8 million VND
- Hotel: 1.9 million VND
- Food: 3.5 million VND
- Entrance tickets: 2 million VND
- Transportation: 3.3 million VND
- Payment:
- Linking a Visa card with Alipay and paying will incur about 1.5-4% currency conversion fee (depending on the bank) + Alipay fee (if the payment is over 200 yuan).
- I exchanged cash and then asked the hotel to top up the Alipay wallet with yuan. This is the most economical and safest option, but it depends on whether the accommodation supports top-ups or not.
- Keep cash as backup. Some places (buying bus tickets, stores, etc.) only accept WeChat, so you can withdraw cash to use.
Wishing everyone happy travels ❤️❤️❤️
```