7-Day China Incentive & Team Building Retreat: Chengdu & Shanghai

Afternoon — Jinli Ancient Street
Explore Jinli Ancient Street, a pedestrian thoroughfare that recreates the atmosphere of traditional Sichuan streets with wooden architecture, red lanterns, and bustling craft shops. Your team participates in a scavenger hunt that encourages interaction with local artisans, sampling street food, and working together to solve cultural puzzles — setting the tone for collaborative learning throughout the retreat.

Evening — Welcome Sichuan Hotpot Dinner
Enjoy a welcome dinner at a restaurant specializing in Sichuan hotpot, where your team cooks fresh ingredients at the table in bubbling broth. This interactive meal naturally encourages conversation, cooperation, and shared discovery as you navigate the array of meats, vegetables, and dipping sauces that characterize Sichuan cuisine.

Accommodation
• 4-Star Hotels: Crowne Plaza Chengdu, DoubleTree by Hilton Chengdu, Novotel Chengdu MixC. • 5-Star Hotels: The Temple House Chengdu, Shangri-La Chengdu, Waldorf Astoria Chengdu.

Meals
Welcome dinner.

Morning — Dujiangyan Panda Base Volunteering
Travel to the Dujiangyan Panda Base for an unforgettable volunteer experience. After orientation and donning work uniforms, your team splits into groups to assist keepers with daily tasks: cutting and weighing bamboo, cleaning enclosures, and preparing supplemental foods such as panda cakes. The hands-on work offers not only a once-in-a-lifetime encounter with pandas but also lessons in cooperation and attention to detail.

Afternoon — Conservation in Action
Continue volunteer activities by observing panda behavior and assisting with enrichment that stimulates the animals mentally and physically. Your team learns about the challenges of wildlife conservation in modern China and how the panda has become a symbol of international cooperation and environmental stewardship.

Evening — Debrief & Sichuan Dinner
Return to Chengdu for a debrief session in which your team reflects on the day's experiences, drawing connections between conservation work and business challenges such as sustainability, long-term thinking, and teamwork. Dinner features Sichuan cuisine at a restaurant that emphasizes farm-to-table ingredients and traditional cooking methods.

Accommodation
• 4-Star Hotels: Crowne Plaza Chengdu, DoubleTree by Hilton Chengdu, Novotel Chengdu MixC. • 5-Star Hotels: The Temple House Chengdu, Shangri-La Chengdu, Waldorf Astoria Chengdu.

Meals
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are included today.

Morning — Sichuan Cooking Class
Participate in an intensive Sichuan cooking class led by a professional chef trained in Chengdu's renowned kitchens. Your team will learn to prepare classics such as Kung Pao Chicken, Mapo Tofu, and Dan Dan Noodles, mastering the balance of mala (numbing and spicy) flavors that define Sichuan cuisine. The collaborative act of prepping ingredients, timing dishes, and plating the final meal builds natural teamwork and communication.

Afternoon — Sichuan Cuisine Museum
Visit the Sichuan Cuisine Museum in Pixian, the world's only 'edible museum,' where more than 6,000 artifacts trace over 4,000 years of culinary history. Interactive exhibits demonstrate traditional fermentation, pickling, and cooking methods, including the centuries-old craft of making Pixian doubanjiang (broad bean chili paste), a cornerstone of Sichuan flavor. This context shows how regional cuisine reflects broader cultural values and business practices.

Evening — Traditional Tea Ceremony
Experience a Gongfu tea ceremony at a historic teahouse, a ritual style that originated in Fujian and Taiwan and is widely practiced across Sichuan. A tea master guides your team to appreciate tea through sight, aroma, and taste, while your guide explains how the ceremony embodies respect, patience, and attention to detail — principles equally relevant to leadership and team dynamics.

Meals
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

Accommodation Options
4-Star: Crowne Plaza Chengdu | DoubleTree by Hilton Chengdu | Novotel Chengdu MixC.
5-Star: The Temple House Chengdu | Shangri-La Chengdu | Waldorf Astoria Chengdu.

Morning — Strategic Workshop
Engage in a strategic workshop facilitated by a China business consultant who will help your team synthesize insights from your Chengdu experiences into actionable plans. The session draws connections between Chengdu's 'slow life' (man huo) philosophy — rooted in the city's teahouse culture and relaxed pace — and modern challenges of work-life balance, innovation culture, and sustainable business practices. Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province and one of China's fastest-growing tech and innovation hubs, provides a fitting backdrop for reflecting on how regional culture shapes management thinking.

Afternoon — Free Time in Chengdu
Enjoy free time to explore at your own pace. You may visit the Wuhou Shrine (Wuhou Ci), a temple complex dedicated to Zhuge Liang (181–234 AD), the revered chancellor of the Shu Han kingdom during the Three Kingdoms period and one of China's most celebrated strategists. Alternatively, stroll through People's Park (Renmin Gongyuan), opened in 1911 on the site of the former Manchu garrison, where locals practice tai chi, play mahjong, and gather at riverside teahouses; or simply relax in a traditional teahouse absorbing the city's unhurried atmosphere. This unstructured time allows for individual reflection and informal team bonding.

Evening — Flight to Shanghai
Fly to Shanghai, China's largest city and its leading financial and commercial center, where energy and ambition create a striking contrast to Chengdu's relaxed pace. Upon arrival, transfer to your hotel and gather for a brief orientation to Shanghai and the team challenges ahead over the coming days.

Meals
Breakfast, Lunch.

Accommodation Options
4-Star: Courtyard by Marriott Shanghai Pudong | DoubleTree by Hilton Shanghai | Novotel Shanghai Clover.
5-Star: Grand Hyatt Shanghai | Waldorf Astoria Shanghai | The Peninsula Shanghai.

Morning — Team Challenges Begin
Begin a full day of team challenges designed to build collaboration, communication, and creative problem-solving. Activities might include navigating Shanghai's metro system to complete cultural missions in different neighborhoods, negotiating with vendors in local markets to acquire specific items, or working together to decode clues scattered across the city's historic and modern districts.

Afternoon — Challenges Continue
Continue team challenges with activities that leverage Shanghai's unique character — perhaps a design-thinking workshop in a creative district, a scavenger hunt in the French Concession that requires teamwork and cultural knowledge, or a collaborative project in a maker space that reflects Shanghai's innovation ecosystem.

Evening — Celebration Dinner in Xintiandi
Celebrate the day's accomplishments with dinner in Xintiandi, the restored shikumen district where stone-gate lane houses now hold restaurants and courtyards. The setting is a table indoors rather than a waterfront view, which suits the purpose: a long dinner at which the team can go back over what worked, what did not, and what to carry into the next working day.

Accommodation
• 4-Star Hotels: Courtyard by Marriott Shanghai Pudong, DoubleTree by Hilton Shanghai, Novotel Shanghai Clover. • 5-Star Hotels: Grand Hyatt Shanghai, Waldorf Astoria Shanghai, The Peninsula Shanghai.

Meals
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are included today.

Morning — Company or Innovation-Hub Visit
Visit a Shanghai-based company or innovation hub that showcases the city's role as one of China's foremost centers for business creativity and technological advancement. Shanghai's Pudong district — anchored by the skyscrapers of Lujiazui — was farmland just a few decades ago and is now a global financial and technology corridor, making it an ideal place to observe how established enterprises and start-ups alike approach digital transformation. Through interactive sessions with local entrepreneurs or innovation teams, you will learn about Shanghai's start-up ecosystem, see real R&D labs or product demos, and discuss practical approaches to fostering innovation within your own organization.

Afternoon — Team Visioning Session
Participate in a facilitated visioning workshop where your team applies the insights gathered across the entire retreat to imagine future scenarios for your organization. Drawing on lessons from Chengdu's philosophy of balance, Xi'an's heritage-led innovation, and Shanghai's entrepreneurial energy — as well as the stronger relationships your group has built — you will develop concrete strategies and a short action roadmap for navigating upcoming challenges and opportunities back in the workplace.

Evening — Farewell Dinner on the Bund
Gather for a farewell dinner at a restaurant overlooking the Bund and the Huangpu River. Across the water, Pudong's illuminated skyline — including the Oriental Pearl Tower and Shanghai Tower — frames a cityscape that captures Shanghai's blend of ambition and heritage; on your side of the river, the Bund's row of preserved early-20th-century European-style buildings recalls the city's international past. Raise a toast to the friendships strengthened, the insights gained, and the collaborative spirit developed during the retreat. A LinkedTours representative will help your team capture key takeaways and commitments for applying what you have learned at work.

Accommodation Options
• 4-Star: Courtyard by Marriott Shanghai Pudong | DoubleTree by Hilton Shanghai | Novotel Shanghai Clover
• 5-Star: Grand Hyatt Shanghai | Waldorf Astoria Shanghai | The Peninsula Shanghai

Meals
Breakfast, Lunch, Farewell Dinner.

Morning — Final Breakfast & Farewell
Enjoy a relaxed final breakfast together, with unhurried time for last-minute reflections and goodbyes after an inspiring retreat. Your LinkedTours guide will assist with any final arrangements — confirming transfer times, offering packing tips, and making sure every team member's departure runs smoothly. As you prepare to leave Shanghai, take a moment to recognize not only the stronger professional relationships you have built, but also a fresh perspective on how cultural diversity and innovative thinking can elevate your organization's performance.

Departure Transfer
At the time that best suits your flight or train, your private vehicle and English-speaking driver will transfer you and your group from the hotel to Shanghai Pudong (PVG) or Hongqiao (SHA) airport, or to the high-speed railway station, for your onward journey. Your guide will help coordinate luggage and point you toward the correct terminal or check-in area, so you can head home with ease and confidence.

Meals
Breakfast.