Southern Sichuan Cultural Exploration Tour: Complete Guide to 6 Must-See Highlights
🌟 In-Depth Southern Sichuan Cultural Tour|6 Must-Visit Attractions Guide
Trip Highlights: Connect the "Liquor City, Lantern City, Salt City, Bamboo Sea" to experience intangible cultural heritage crafts, millennia-old salt industry, baijiu brewing, and natural wonders. Core sightseeing can be completed in 3-4 days.
🏮 1. China Lantern World (Zigong)
- Highlights: The world's largest lantern festival venue, featuring thousands of lantern sets blending intangible heritage tie-dye and digital technology, with dazzling night light shows like a galaxy.
- Tips: Recommended to enter in the evening (ticket about 100 RMB) to avoid peak crowds; must-see "Lantern Celebrates China" main lantern group, experience immersive light and shadow show.
- Advice: The park is large, wear comfortable shoes; stay in Zigong city and try cold rabbit snacks and Huobianzi beef.
🍶 2. Luzhou Laojiao Tourist Area (Luzhou)
- Highlights: Explore the "1573 National Treasure Cellar," a living display of dual national treasures (cellar group + brewing techniques), with original baijiu tasting.
- Tips: Follow the guide on the tour route (ticket 70 RMB) to learn about baijiu fermentation; interactive area offers DIY cocktail mixing.
- Advice: Zhangba Longan Forest in Luzhou (free) is 15 minutes by car, where you can pick longans in summer.
🎋 3. Shunan Bamboo Sea (Yibin)
- Highlights: A secret 70,000-acre bamboo forest, filming location of "The Knot," featuring the Emerald Corridor, Xianyu Cave Hanging Temple, and bamboo raft drifting.
- Tips: Spend one day in the core area (ticket 100 RMB), watch the sea of clouds early morning; try the full bamboo feast (bamboo fungus egg, bamboo tube rice).
- Advice: Stay at local farmhouses in the scenic area, recommended Wanling Town; visit Xingwen Stone Sea (karst landscape) nearby.
🏺 4. Shenhai Well + Salt Industry History Museum (Zigong)
- Highlights: The world's first salt well over 1,000 meters deep, preserving ancient salt brine drawing methods; museum exhibits the rise and fall of the thousand-year salt industry.
- Tips: Combined ticket 50 RMB, watch salt workers boil salt on site; museum holds authentic Qing Dynasty "Salt Well Illustrations@replace=10002."
- Advice: Combine with a visit to Xianshi Ancient Town (Salt Transport Wharf) to experience the birthplace of "Salt Gang Cuisine."
🪦 5. Longchang Stone Archway Group (Neijiang)
- Highlights: The largest Ming and Qing stone archway group in China, 13 archways carved with stories of "Virtuous Governance and Filial Piety," a three-dimensional history book.
- Tips: Visit Beiguan Archway + Nanguan Ancient Town together (free), recommended birdwatching at Guyu Lake; try Longchang mutton soup.
- Advice: Direct high-speed rail to Longchang North Station, suitable for a half-day cultural slow tour.
⛩️ 6. Lizhuang Ancient Town (Yibin)
- Highlights: Famous Anti-Japanese War cultural town, former residence of Liang Sicheng and Lin Huiyin, intangible heritage white meat knife skills performance, Ming and Qing architecture along the Yangtze River.
- Tips: Free admission, focus on Xuanluo Hall and Zhang Family Ancestral Hall; must-try "Lizhuang Three Whites" (baijiu, white cake, white meat).
- Advice: Direct bus from Yibin city, combine with Wuliangye Scenic Area (liquor culture experience).
📍 Practical Tips
- Transportation: High-speed train from Chengdu to Zigong/Neijiang in 1.5 hours; self-driving loop is more flexible (Chengdu - Zigong - Yibin - Luzhou - Neijiang).
- Accommodation: Many quality hotels in Zigong/Yibin city (200-400 RMB), unique homestays inside Bamboo Sea scenic area.
- Food Highlights: Zigong Salt Gang Cuisine (fresh and spicy), Yibin Ranmian noodles, Luzhou Huangba, Longchang Dougan.
- Best Season: April to October (cool and refreshing in Bamboo Sea, extra lantern festival shows on holidays).
This route condenses the essence of Southern Sichuan culture, balancing nature and humanities, suitable for culture lovers and family trips. If time allows, visit Yibin Wuliangye Scenic Area and Luzhou Fangshan Buddhist relics to deeply experience the charm of the "Liquor, Bamboo, Salt" cultural triangle.