Half the Jiuzhaigou travel advice still floating around online describes a 10-hour bus ride that stopped being your only option a while back. The Jiuzhaigou bus is outdated advice The Sichuan-Qinghai high-speed rail line now runs from Chengdu East Railway Station to Huanglongjiuzhai Station in 1.5 to 2.5 hours, for around ¥120 to ¥150 in second class, booked through the official 12306 app or Trip.com. If a blog or a tour operator is still steering you toward a full-day bus, that advice predates the train.

The hop-on hop-off bus looks like the obvious choice until you notice a plain city shuttle does the panda run for a tenth of the price. Skip the tour bus for the pandas Chunxi Road and Kuanzhai Alley both run a direct shuttle straight to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, 35 to 45 minutes, ¥10 to ¥15. A packaged tour bus covers the same stop bundled with extras you probably don’t need and a fare several times higher.