Long-distance driving in Sichuan splits into two very different experiences. The expressways around Chengdu have proper service areas every reasonable interval, and the mountain highways toward the plateau do not. Everything you plan for should assume the second case.
The practical rule is simple: never let fuel drop below half a tank, use every toilet you pass even if you do not need it, and build the day around towns rather than around distances. Drivers who work these roads do all three automatically.
Chinese expressways have formal service areas with toilets, fuel, a shop and usually a food counter. They are signposted well ahead, and most are acceptably clean. Everything changes the moment you turn onto a mountain highway.
Expect fuel pumps, a convenience store, hot water dispensers and toilets at the back of the lot. They get crowded around mealtimes during holidays. They are also your best chance to buy drinks, bread and fruit at predictable quality.
Facilities here are informal. Toilets may be a roadside block behind a restaurant, a pit shelter at a viewpoint, or nothing for an hour and a half. Fuel exists only in towns. The pullouts that do exist are frequently occupied by parked trucks whose drivers are sleeping.
This is the question everybody actually asks. The answer depends on lowering expectations slightly and preparing properly, after which it stops being a problem.
Squat toilets dominate outside major expressway stops, though Western-style cubicles appear at better scenic sites and newer service areas. Paper is usually not provided, and running water is not guaranteed. Truck stops are often the worst-maintained and also the most numerous.
Western Sichuan has fewer stations than travellers expect, and the gaps are longest exactly where the scenery is best. Treat the fuel gauge as a planning tool rather than a warning light.
County towns have stations, sometimes several. Between them there may be one small pump or none at all. Refuel whenever you stop for food in a town, whether or not the tank looks low, because the next opportunity may be three hours away or closed.
Foreign-issued cards are often refused at small stations. Cash works, and domestic mobile payment works best of all. Tell your driver your payment situation at the start of the trip so that refueling stops are planned around it.
Charging networks exist along major corridors and in Chengdu, and they are expanding. On the western plateau and across high passes they remain sparse and sometimes offline. Do not plan a mountain route in an EV on the assumption that the next charger will be working.
| Segment type | Typical gap between services | Planning note |
|---|---|---|
| Chengdu ring expressways | Signposted service areas at regular intervals | Normal highway habits apply |
| Chengdu to Ya’an corridor | Frequent, modern stops | Last easy refuel before the mountains |
| Mountain approach roads | Towns only, with occasional roadside blocks | Refuel and eat together in each town |
| High plateau main routes | One town every couple of hours at best | Never pass a working pump below half a tank |
| High passes and their approaches | No services at all | Go before the climb, not during it |
| Scenic valley access roads | Toilets at the gate, little beyond it | Sort everything out before entering |
Between towns you will often find clusters of roadside restaurants wherever traffic naturally slows: where a side road joins, at the foot of a long climb, or just past a checkpoint. Food there is simple and fast.
Carry water in volume. Two liters per person per day is reasonable at altitude in dry wind, plus something for the car. Buy fruit and bread at a supermarket rather than relying on whatever the next village stocks.
Local drivers stop early, and this is not timidity. Mountain roads have unlit curves, animals on the carriageway, cyclists, slow trucks, and afternoon rain that leaves surfaces slick well after dark.
Roadworks also tend to run at night in summer. Add rockfall risk after rain, described elsewhere in this series, and the sensible plan is always to reach your overnight town before dusk.
Navigation apps estimate accurately for good highway and badly for mountain roads. Add roughly half again to whatever they tell you on plateau routes, then add more for photo stops, checkpoints and weather.
Plan the day around three anchors: a morning refuel town, a midday food town, and the overnight stop. If anything goes wrong, you will be near a town rather than stranded on a pass, which is the whole point.
On expressways, at every signposted service area. On mountain roads, plan around towns and take whatever informal option appears in between, rather than assuming nothing will.
Yes. Better service areas provide it, but the majority of roadside toilets do not, and running out at an inconvenient moment is a memorable experience nobody wants.
Sometimes at large branded stations in cities, rarely at small county pumps. Carry cash as a standing backup and let your driver plan stops accordingly.
Mostly yes, but download offline maps before leaving a city. Coverage disappears in valleys and across passes, exactly where alternative routes are fewest.
Generally yes, particularly busy ones with high turnover. Choose hot food over anything sitting cold on a counter, and you will be fine.
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