No — and not on an International Driving Permit either. Driving in China requires a Chinese driving licence. Getting one means sitting the Chinese test, which is set in Chinese; the process is slow, and it is not something you arrange inside a holiday. There are narrow exceptions on paper, but none of them help a visitor who flies in and wants to rent a car.
Is my home licence valid here?
Not as authority to drive, no. A foreign driving licence is not recognised for driving in China — this is the part people find hardest to believe, because the same licence works across most of Europe and in plenty of other countries. China is not one of them.
I have met foreigners who drive here. Every one of them had passed the Chinese driving test, like anybody else. It is possible. It is also rare, and it takes months rather than days.
Does an International Driving Permit change anything?
No. An IDP only has standing where both the country that issued your licence and the country you are driving in are party to the same international conventions. China is not party to those conventions, so an IDP means nothing here. If you were thinking of buying one for this trip, don't — it will not be accepted, at a rental counter or anywhere else.
Can I rent a car in Chengdu?
No. No rental company here will hand a car to a driver who does not hold a valid Chinese licence. The staff are not being difficult — they are checking a document, and without it the answer is the same at every counter in the country.
So realistically: self-driving is not on the table for a visitor arriving on a foreign passport.
So how do people see this part of the country?
With a car and a driver, or on public transport. The routes on this site are written from a car, because that is how these roads want to be travelled — stopping where the light is, not where the timetable is. A driver costs more than a bus seat; what it buys is the ability to change your mind, and on the plateau that is most of the point.
There is more on both options on the getting there page.
Questions I get on this one
Could I get a Chinese licence if I really wanted to?
What if I bring my own car in?
Can I use a notarised translation of my licence?
Does that mean nobody else can drive me around?
From what I have seen on the road and at rental counters in Chengdu, not from a policy summary. Rules on foreign licences are adjusted from time to time — if this point decides your trip, check it again before you travel. Related: getting there · permits · all essentials