Six Senses QingCheng Mountain Resort (Chengdu, China)

When we started planning my three-year-old son Kenzo's birthday trip this April, there was only one thing he cared about: pandas. That search eventually led us to Six Senses Qing Cheng Mountain, a sprawling luxury resort tucked away at the foot of Qingcheng Mountain in Sichuan Province. Part wellness retreat, part family getaway, and conveniently the closest luxury hotel to Panda Valley, it turned out to be an excellent base for exploring the region.

BUT, before I get into the hotel itself, let's talk about something equally important.

DOWNLOAD these before you leave:

WeChat

Essential for communication and payments. We ended up using it constantly, including communicating with our hotel butler.

Alipay

The most important app on your phone. Set up your payment methods BEFORE travelling. I didn't take out a single note or coin during my trip - every transaction relies on Alipay or Wechat pay.

Dianping

China's equivalent of Yelp. Unless you can read Chinese, I wouldn't bother though.

Meituan

For food delivery, anything delivery, and local services. I relied heavily on Google Translate and managed perfectly fine. I ordered a swimsuit for Kenzo and makeup remover for myself that I had forgotten to pack! Crazily arrived to my villa doorstep within 30 minutes of ordering on the app.

Didi

China's version of Uber. We used it for almost every journey outside the hotel.

*Note about payment: My bank verification wasn't instant and required overnight approval before my cards could be linked successfully. Give yourself at least a few days before departure to get everything working properly.

Getting to the hotel

I ordered a Didi to the pick-up floor of Chengdu Tianfu Airport. We arrived at night time, since there are irregular flights to Chengdu from Hong Kong. The total car journey took around 2.5 hours to arrive to the hotel.

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About Six Senses Qing Cheng Mountain

Located in Dujiangyan, around an hour from Chengdu, Six Senses Qing Cheng Mountain sits at the doorstep of the UNESCO-listed Qingcheng Mountain, one of the birthplaces of Taoism. The property follows the broader Six Senses philosophy of wellness, sustainability and connection to local culture. Unlike some luxury hotels that can feel detached from their surroundings, this resort is heavily integrated into the natural landscape, with low-rise villas, extensive gardens, waterways and walking paths spread across the grounds. What initially attracted us was its location. It's the closest luxury hotel to Panda Valley, making it an obvious choice for families wanting to see giant pandas without sacrificing comfort.

One of the hotel's greatest strengths is its butler service. While English proficiency varies across departments, the reception team communicated easily and efficiently, and everyone we encountered was genuinely warm and eager to help. Our butler, who communicated with us primarily through WeChat, became invaluable throughout the stay. Whether arranging medical assistance after Kenzo fell off a swing and cut himself, helping us reserve the sauna in advance, or coordinating our daily activities, nothing ever seemed too much trouble. For international travellers, having WeChat downloaded before arrival is almost essential, as it becomes the easiest way to communicate with the hotel throughout your stay.

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The Room

We stayed in the Garden Twin Suite (1,300 sq ft). The difference between that room and the Six Senses Twin/King Suite is firstly size (850 sq ft) due to the outdoor terrace space and also, the latter is located on the second floor, which is not so ideal, especially if you have a toddler. The bed was comfortable enough but the shower kept filling up and not draining properly.

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The Food

Food was another highlight, particularly breakfast, which quickly became our favourite meal of the day. The buffet was extensive and consistently excellent, offering a combination of Chinese (Sichuan cuisine❤️) and Western dishes that easily surpassed expectations. Beyond breakfast, the hotel has three dining venues: a Chinese restaurant, a Thai restaurant and a Western lounge and bar. Of the three, I would wholeheartedly recommend the Chinese and Thai restaurants. The Thai restaurant in particular was exceptional, serving genuinely authentic dishes under the direction of a Thai chef and quickly becoming one of our most memorable meals of the trip (sit outside for a beautiful mountain view).

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The Tours

During our stay we participated in three hotel-organised excursions: the Giant Panda experience at Panda Valley, the Red Panda Volunteer Experience, and a guided visit to Yuantong Ancient Town. All three were accompanied by a hotel guide whose English was excellent and whose warmth and professionalism genuinely made the experience better. HOWEVER, speaking honestly, I struggled to justify the premium charged for all three experiences.

The giant panda visit was enjoyable, but much of the value simply came from knowing when the pandas would be awake and fed. With some advance research and independently purchased tickets, I suspect most travellers could recreate the experience themselves.

The Red Panda Volunteer Experience was similarly enjoyable but less interactive than its name suggests, largely because red pandas are highly protected animals and visitor interaction is understandably restricted. We were able to offer a 2-3 slices of apple and 1 young bamboo shoot before walking through a protected area where the red pandas roam freely, even witnessing a brief scuffle between two of them. Ironically, Kenzo was most captivated not by the red pandas but by a muddy enclosure filled with adorable baby rabbits near the entrance, along with a group of raccoons that visitors were allowed to feed carrot sticks. But it's hard to ignore the insane mark-up we paid through the hotel.

Yuantong Ancient Town was charming in its own right, with centuries-old bakeries, traditional shops and atmospheric alleyways that provided a fascinating glimpse into local life. While our guide offered useful context and the hotel car was certainly comfortable, the town is compact and easy to explore independently, and Didi is readily available throughout the area.

In retrospect, all three experiences were enjoyable, but none felt particularly difficult to organise without the hotel's involvement. In fact, some of our favourite moments came when we ventured out on our own. One afternoon we simply took a Didi to a nearby local town around twenty minutes away and spent a few hours wandering through the streets and night market without any fixed agenda (location on DiDi: Tuanjie Alley). Once you become comfortable using Didi and paying with Alipay or WeChat, travelling independently around this part of China feels surprisingly straightforward, and often more rewarding than following a structured itinerary.

Providing the below so you can be fully informed on prices, and make your own choices. Obviously there are plenty of guests who are more than willing to shell out for the convenience, and to get the most out of their stay in China without any of the hassle!

The total damage:

• Yuantong Ancient Town: RMB 798 per adult, RMB 399 per child (half price child fee waived due to an issue we had regarding a restaurant bill, but usually applied)

• Giant Pandas at Panda Valley: RMB 688 per adult, RMB 344 per child

• Red Panda Experiences: RMB 1,888 per person (same for adults AND children)

Compared to local prices:

• The standard entrance ticket to Panda Valley is usually around RMB 55–60 per adult, with discounted children's tickets

• Yuantong Ancient Town itself is free to enter. DiDi would have only cost approximately RMB 150.

• Not more than RMB 100 per person for the red panda experience at the place we visited.

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A Night in Dujiangyang:

One of my favourite evenings of the trip was also the one we put absolutely no planning into. After several days of hotel-organised activities, we decided to just get in a Didi and head into Dujiangyan for the evening. We put Tuanjie Alley (团结巷) into the app, around the Nanqiao area, and about twenty minutes later found ourselves in a completely different world from the quiet grounds of Six Senses.

This was exactly what I had been craving: busy little streets, tables spilling outside restaurants, street-food stalls, shops and families out eating late into the evening. We had no reservations and no real idea where we were going. We just walked, stopped whenever something looked good and ate.

It ended up being one of my favourite nights in Sichuan. It was also the moment I realised how surprisingly easy it was to explore independently. Once we had Alipay and Didi figured out, there really wasn't much stopping us from getting in a car and going somewhere on a whim - even with a three-year-old. Search on Didi: 团结巷 (Tuanjie Alley), Dujiangyan If you're going in the evening, I'd also search 南桥 (Nanqiao/South Bridge), which is right by Tuanjie Alley and particularly lively at night.

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Takeaways

Six Senses Qing Cheng Mountain is a fantastic choice with a three-year-old. It has all the comforts and service you'd expect from a luxury hotel, but there is also so much for young children to do that it never felt like we were dragging Kenzo along on an adults' holiday. Between the farm, chickens, playground, bicycles, swimming pool and ice cream rituals, he was genuinely happy just spending days at the resort.

If you're travelling to this part of Sichuan primarily to see the pandas but don't want to compromise on comfort, I also think Six Senses is probably the best choice. Panda Valley is only around 15 minutes away, and after a morning of sightseeing, it was incredibly nice to come back to a quaint room surrounded by greenery, good food, and a team who could help us with practically anything.