Why this route
These four days form one coherent arc through Chengdu rather than a list of disconnected sights. The first two days stay inside the city’s historic fabric: a gentle opener at Kuan Alley and Zhai Alley, then a full day that links the Temple of Marquis, Jinli and the Chengdu Dufu Thatched Cottage Msm. The back half then widens the lens to the experiences the city is known for, with three hours among the giant pandas at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, three more in Huanglongxi Ancient Town, and a final day that pairs Dujiangyan Scenic Area with Mount Qingcheng. Old lanes and shrines first, then pandas, an ancient town and two scenic areas: one theme, steadily widening scope.
The day split does deliberate pacing work. Day 1 carries a single stop on a one-to-three-hour budget, leaving the rest of the day free as a soft arrival window. Day 2 concentrates the heritage sightseeing into the densest block on the route, with three stops each budgeted at one to three hours. Day 3 switches to two firm three-hour blocks, one for the panda base and one for the ancient town. Day 4 is the only day with no fixed durations at all, leaving Dujiangyan Scenic Area and Mount Qingcheng open-ended and giving the route a flexible finish after the tightly budgeted days before it.
Day by day
Day 1 - Kuan Alley and Zhai Alley. The route opens gently with a single stop. Kuan Alley and Zhai Alley takes one to three hours, and nothing else is scheduled, so the day doubles as a soft arrival day with plenty of slack around the visit.
Day 2 - Temple of Marquis, Jinli, Chengdu Dufu Thatched Cottage Msm. The heaviest of the four days runs three stops back to back, each on a one-to-three-hour budget: the Temple of Marquis first, then Jinli, then the Chengdu Dufu Thatched Cottage Msm. At the upper end of every budget that is up to nine hours of sightseeing in a single day, the largest load anywhere on this route.
Day 3 - Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding and Huanglongxi Ancient Town. The only day built on fixed durations: three hours at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, followed by three hours at Huanglongxi Ancient Town. Two firm blocks, six hours in total, and the day is complete.
Day 4 - Dujiangyan Scenic Area and Mount Qingcheng. The finale pairs Dujiangyan Scenic Area with Mount Qingcheng, and the plan sets no duration for either stop. How the hours divide between the two scenic areas is left entirely open, which makes this the most adaptable day of the four.
Trade-offs
The obvious pressure point is Day 2. Three stops at one to three hours each can add up to nine hours, the biggest single-day load on the route. The cleanest fix is to drop the Chengdu Dufu Thatched Cottage Msm. and keep the Temple of Marquis and Jinli, which caps the day at six hours; alternatively, because Day 1 holds only one one-to-three-hour stop, the cottage museum can simply be moved into Day 1’s open remainder rather than cut altogether.
Day 4 is where the schedule flexes in the other direction. With no fixed durations on Dujiangyan Scenic Area or Mount Qingcheng, travellers short on time or stamina should pick just one of the two and give it the whole final day instead of squeezing both; anyone who found Day 2 heavy is the natural candidate for that simplification. The single-stop first day is light enough that it can also absorb a stop pushed forward from anywhere later in the route.
