雅安市

Why this place

Ya'an is where the tea that was traded to Tibet was produced and where the old horse-and-tea road to Lhasa began — bricks of dark tea were carried from here by porters. It is also one of the places where the giant panda still lives wild, and the first panda was recorded here.

What to see

• The Mengding Mountain tea terraces — the earliest recorded tea cultivation in China
• The Bifengxia panda base, in the forest north of the city
• The Shangli ancient town and the old tea-road staging posts
• The Erlang Mountain and the beginning of the road into the Tibetan plateau

What to eat

• Ya'an is known for its 'yayu' (fish in a sour broth) and its dark brick tea
• Sichuan cooking with more mountain meats and preserved vegetables

Best time

April–June and September–November