Why visit Panzhihua
Townapedia lists 9 museums and landmarks, 10 parks and trails, 20 places to eat, 14 places to stay and 16 attractions in and around town.
Weather in Panzhihua
Forecast from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0). Full forecast
About Panzhihua
Panzhihua (Chinese: 攀枝花; pinyin: Pānzhīhuā), formerly Dukou (渡口), is a prefecture-level city located in the far south of Sichuan province, China, at the confluence of the Jinsha and Yalong Rivers. It has an administrative area of 7,423.42 square kilometres (2,866.20 sq mi), and a population at the 2020 census of 1,212,203. 806,395 lived in the built-up (or metro) area made of 3 urban districts.
From the Wikipedia article Panzhihua (this version), under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Travel tips from other travellers: Panzhihua on Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Things to do16
4 more on the map.
Museums and landmarks9
Parks, trails and playgrounds10
Restaurants and cafes20
New Yue Coffee
Restaurant · International · 9.6 km
International Cuisine from Pizza to grilled Meats. Recommendable
8 more on the map.
History
The construction of Panzhihua occurred during China's Third Front construction, a Mao Zedong-era campaign to develop basic and national defense industry in China's rugged interior in the event of foreign invasion. Mao viewed the building of the city as so important that he repeatedly told other party leadership that until it was built he would "not sleep well a single day." Speaking figuratively, he routinely emphasized the importance of developing Panzhihua by stating that if party leaders would not develop the city, he would "ride a donkey and hold a meeting" to build it himself.
Southwest Third Front Commission Vice Director Cheng Zihua was among the first to investigate the Panzhihua site, traveling there in mid-1964 when only eight households lived in Panzhihua. In his memoirs, Cheng highlights Panzhihua's suitability for a strategic industrial rear because its "lofty mountains and steep hills" would make it difficult for enemy infantry to access or for enemy airplanes to bomb.
Meeting with Panzhihua leaders in October 1964, Bo Yibo emphasized that while it was critical to increase production in the area, doing so had to avoid the mistakes of the Great Leap Forward, a time when the emphasis on industrial production resulted in many people lacking "grain to eat."
From the History section of Panzhihua on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where to stay14
Churches and places of worship5
Shopping6
Gas and EV charging18
Schools, colleges and libraries45
Healthcare13
Map of Panzhihua
156 places. The map loads OpenStreetMap tiles when you open it.
Getting there and nearby towns
Panzhihua Bao'an'ying Airport (PZI) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 10 km away.
- Shilongba 35 km west, about 35 min by car
- Zhongxin 44 km west, about 44 min by car
- Rongjiang 46 km west, about 46 min by car
- Renhe 72 km west, about 1 h 15 min by car
- Zhanhe 85 km west, about 1 h 30 min by car
Drive times are estimates from straight-line distance, not routes.
Local news
Headlines from INDB.
Reviews, tips and questions
Loading what members have shared...
Sources and licences
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, coordinates, regions and time zone
- OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0): places, airports, map data
- Wikidata (CC0 1.0): elevation, founding date, time zone, website
- Wikimedia Commons (see each image): photos
- Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0): overview and history text
Photo credits
- 攀枝花市中心全图（炳草岗）chaselei - panoramio, chaselei雷厚取, CC BY-SA 3.0
Page built November 3, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us or suggest a place.