This place takes the award for least appropriate architecture - the old Tibetan houses above Kangding blend with their environment, Kangding is a raw, ugly, depressing eyesore. New Kangding is being developed fast on equal tabula rasa lines. The main Tibet-Chengdu highway runs through the middle and all trucks love to use those big new airhorns. The atmosphere is tense with a heavy handed police and army presence. Immediately next to an old Tibetan temple is a modern PLA base whose shouted slogans drown out the formers prayers.

This review is about Kangding Ancient City, NOT the surroundings of Kangding. So the city is not particularly interesting, but it's an excellent place to stop in between or start a journey to the interesting places outside the city. There's nothing particularly interesting in the city, and it doesn't feel ancient, it's just another modern rural county (expect ugly architecture, and people overusing their car horns). There's a nice coffee shop where you could ask about your next destinations, and there's a museum. The museum (the building itself) is interesting, and the thankgas inside are not bad. So if you have some free time or you are particularly interested in Thangkas, go there. It's difficult to find a good restaurant, however we were lucky enough to be guided to a place by the coffee place owner. Finally, the cable car looked nice but i didn't experience it s i cannot give a proper review on this one. i think it's worth a shot.