With a lot of time in the Dujiangyan area, and the panda bases of course only open until the early evening, I had plenty of afternoon/evening time to explore Dujiangyan City properly for the first time. I loved doing this and really got my bearings and the geography of the city – my visits in 2016 and 2017 were very brief and with groups/being taken around to places so it was hard to get a feel for it then. Overall, it felt like a lovely laid back city, and not super large – easy to walk around the main tourist sights and also explore the local way of life there. I really enjoyed it and would definitely return again for a stay. It’s a great place to base yourself for a few days of panda-viewing, with the Dujiangyan Panda Base and Panda Valley both 20-30 minute drives away from the main city centre, and the Wolong Shenshuping Base just an hour into the mountains. Plus it’s only an hour from Chengdu (and the Chengdu Panda Base) by car, or a quick 20 minute train ride (although the station for this train is a little outside the Chengdu city centre) – so it’s very convenient for fellow panda fans!