Chengdu 成都

1

Three Kingdoms temple of Zhuge Liang and Liu Bei among cypress groves.

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Chengdu's open-air living room: tea houses, ear cleaning, matchmakers' corner.

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Dozens of pandas eating bamboo; arrive 08:00 for feeding time.

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Rebuilt Qing-style shopping street beside Wuhou Shrine; evening lanterns.

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Capital-site ruins of the ancient Shu kingdom from the Shang-Zhou period, discovered in 2001: the Golden Sun Bird ornament (over 90% gold content, openwork rotating pattern) was designated the symbol of China's cultural heritage; the gold mask and the ten-section jade cong are national-treasure artifacts, testifying to the high development of ancient Shu civilization

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The only shrine in China where ruler and minister are worshipped together: Liu Bei's Huiling Tomb and Zhuge Liang's hall were merged into one garden in the late Ming/early Qing; the 'winning hearts' (Gongxin) couplet is a famous maxim on governing Shu; Sanyi Temple and the stone-carved Chu Shi Biao (Memorial on Dispatching the Troops) are must-sees for Three Kingdoms fans; Du Fu's Tang-dynasty verse 'Where is the chancellor's shrine to be found?' has made it a sacred site of Three Kingdoms culture

7

The original site of Du Fu's thatched cottage when he lived in exile in Chengdu from 759: the poet lived here for nearly four years, writing over 240 poems such as 'My Thatched Hut Wrecked by Autumn Wind' and 'Delighting in Rain on a Spring Night'; a memorial shrine was built from the Five Dynasties onward, taking its Gongbu Shrine layout in the Ming and Qing; Zhu De inscribed the couplet 'The poet-sage shines through the ages, the Cottage remains for posterity'

8

Tomb of Wang Jian, emperor of the Former Shu (10th century), the only imperial mausoleum in China built above ground: the domed vault roof raises the tomb's main body above the surface, and the stone carvings of twenty-four musicians on the coffin platform in the underground palace are the sole surviving pictorial record of a Tang-Five Dynasties court orchestra, first-hand material for the study of ancient music history

9

A park on the Jinjiang River commemorating Tang-dynasty woman poet Xue Tao: China's specialized bamboo park, with more than 150 bamboo species collected; tranquil paths flanked by emerald bamboo

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Legendary origins at a Zhou-dynasty market, expanded in the Tang dynasty into the foremost Taoist temple of Southwest China: the Bagua (Eight Trigrams) Pavilion is exquisitely carved, and the one-horned bronze ram, combining features of all twelve zodiac animals, is the temple's guardian treasure — touching the bronze ram for blessings is a tradition kept alive for over a century

11

A Qing-dynastery monastery built on the site of the Sui-era Xinxiang Temple, bearing Kangxi's personal inscription 'Konglin' (Empty Forest): the foremost of western Sichuan's four great monasteries, its halls step up through five tiers along a central axis, solemn and steeped in Zen

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Founded in the Wei-Jin period and hailed as the 'foremost monastery of Zhendan' (ancient China): Emperor Xuanzong of Tang bestowed the plaque 'Imperially Commissioned Dashengci Temple'; Xuanzang received ordination here, and in Tang and Song times it was the center of Chengdu's Buddhism and commerce — 'Monk Street' is one of the birthplaces of Chengdu's commerce

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Three parallel alleys left over from the Qing-dynasty Manchu town (Shaocheng): Kuan Alley (Xingren Hutong), Zhai Alley (Taiping Hutong) and Jing Alley (Ruyi Hutong); renovated and reopened in 2008, they are the only surviving instance of northern hutong culture in southern China

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Sichuan's first park, completed in 1911 (Shaocheng Park): Heming Teahouse has been open since 1923, and its century-old open-air tea seats — 'gaiwan tea + bamboo chairs + ear cleaning' — are a living specimen of Chengdu's slow life; on weekends the seats fill up and sharing tables is the norm

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Commercial street built in 1924, its name drawn from 'spring breeze bringing genial bustle': the century-old shopping street neighbors the IFS (Chengdu International Finance Square) wall-climbing panda, an internet-famous installation, while Taikoo Li is a low-density open-air quarter beside Daci Temple (opened 2015) pairing western-Sichuan courtyard architecture with international flagships, dense with southwest-China first stores and…

16

Jinjiang riverside nightlife belt: the Jiuyan Bridge bar street is a landmark of Chengdu's night economy, with riverside live singers and cocktail stalls creating the evening riverside scene

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A music and arts park converted from the Soviet-style factory buildings of the former state-owned Hongguang Electron Tube Factory (1958), known as “Chengdu's 798”: chimneys, pipes and red-brick factory halls preserve the industrial memory, livehouses, recording studios and exhibition spaces are densely packed, and the steam locomotive at Locomotive Square…

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Tangba Street is one of Chengdu's “most beautiful streets”: a coffee street with a rich neighborhood feel, with the city's highest density of independent cafés and select shops

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Southwest China's largest comprehensive museum: the Zhang Daqian Dunhuang Copies Gallery holds the country's most complete collection of Zhang Daqian's original Dunhuang copies from 1941–43, the Ba-Shu bronzes and Han dynasty pictorial bricks are systematically displayed, and the Tibetan artifacts and ceramics of successive dynasties each have their own strengths

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The “gold-inlaid-jade” building beside Tianfu Square: the stone rhinoceros unearthed beside Tianfu Square in 2013 (a legendary water-suppressing divine beast) is the museum's prized treasure, and displays of Han dynasty pottery figurines and everyday street life vividly tell the story of Chengdu's two thousand years

21

A private museum cluster built by collector Fan Jianchuan (Anren, Dayi): more than 30 branch museums cover three major themes—the War of Resistance, the “Red Era” and the Wenchuan earthquake; “To collect war for the sake of peace” is the founding philosophy, and the Warriors Square sculpture group and the Frontal Battlefield Museum offer a folk historical narrative rarely seen in China…

22

A dam-free water-diversion project built in 256 BC under Li Bing and his son, governors of Shu Commandery: the three main works—Yuzui (Fish Mouth) dividing the flow, Feishayan (Flying Sand Weir) discharging floods and flushing sand, and Baopingkou (Bottle-Neck Channel) drawing water—work with the six-character water-control maxim "dredge the shoal deep, keep the weir low"; for 2,280 years it has continuously irrigated the Chengdu Plain and created the "Land of Abundance", a…

23

One of the birthplaces of Daoism, where Zhang Ling founded the faith in the Eastern Han dynasty: Daoist temples such as Tianshi Cave and the Laojun Pavilion at Shangqing Palace climb the front mountain, whose tranquil air—"Qingcheng, the most secluded under heaven"—is unique among China's famous mountains

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China's largest giant panda ex-situ conservation and research institution, established in 1987: the Moon Nursery (newborn cubs), Sun Nursery and Panda Villas open in separate zones, with the Red Panda Area and Swan Lake as secondary stops

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A giant panda rewilding-training base in Dujiangyan: far fewer visitors than the breeding base, it offers close-up observation of the pandas' pre-release transition training in a quiet valley setting

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The "First Hakka Town of Western China" in Longquanyi: named after a Three Kingdoms "dropped belt" legend, it grew into a Hakka settlement through migration from the early Qing; the four guild halls of Guangdong, Jiangxi and Huguang are well preserved, tangible testimony to Qing-dynasty migration history

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A 1,700-year-old river-wharf town on the Fu River in Shuangliu: seven ancient banyan trees several centuries old, a well-preserved "one street, three temples" layout, and fire-dragon performances (national intangible cultural heritage) staged during festivals

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An ancient town at the foot of Fengqi Mountain in Chongzhou: hometown of Tang Qiu, the Tang dynasty "One-Ladle Poet"; the Ziku Pagoda (a physical testament to the belief in cherishing written words) is a rarity in western Sichuan, and Guangyan Chan Monastery (an ancient temple) is famed for its Buddhist scripture collection

29

The "Little Chengdu" river-port ancient town of Chongzhou: where the Wenjing, Wei, and Bo rivers converge; a key river port and trading hub of western Sichuan in the late Qing and early Republican era, with stately mansion residences such as the Huang Family Compound and Luo Family Compound, while the Xizi Palace keeps the cultural lineage alive

30

Dayi County's "China Museum Town": Republican-era Mansion Street links 27 old mansions in a row; the Liu Family Manor and the Rent Collection Courtyard clay sculptures are a textbook scene of modern social history; the Jianchuan Museum Cluster's 30-plus halls take a full day to tour

31

An ancient town on the banks of the Baimo River in Qionglai: the first post station of the Southern Silk Road; Leshan Bridge (a Qing dynasty seven-arch stone bridge) is one of the longest surviving stone arch bridges in western Sichuan; bamboo weaving and the bamboo-hemp work chant are intangible heritage highlights

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A water town on the banks of the Baitiao River in Pidu: named after the three stone dams of a thousand-year-old water-diversion project, whose bamboo-cage pebble-dam wisdom lives on today

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The mountain of Du Fu's famous line "my window frames the Xiling's snow of a thousand autumns": Mt. Daxuetang (5,364 m), Chengdu's highest peak, lies within; the ski resort is the largest in southwest China (open November to March, with extended night skiing); Yingxue Square and the Riyueping sea of clouds are the two major viewpoints; summer retreat, winter skiing…

34

A celebrated mountain of the Qionglai Mountains, hailed as "the first mountain of the Chengdu Plain": known for water play in the high mountains, its "Thirty-Li Long Shoals" summer all-comers water fights on the shallows are a pastime unique to Sichuan, and its firefly-viewing spots (multiple emergence bursts April-October) are the top summer-night draw

35

The "Eye of the City" observation deck in Longquan Mountain City Forest Park: a spiral viewing building overlooking Sancha Lake and Chengdu's new eastern districts; sunrise with a sea of clouds and the city night view are the two best times to visit

36

An 11-square-kilometer ecological lake in Tianfu New Area: the trendy lakeside underwater bookstore (a reading space half-submerged in the water) forms a striking scene with the Science City skyline; the lakeside running track is Chengdu's mecca for runners, and the wetland habitat attracts waterbirds

37

A chain of artificial lake islands in Luxelakes Eco-City: the A4 Art Museum (LUXELAKES·A4) is a key venue for Chengdu's contemporary art scene (free at certain times), and lakeside boardwalks and community parks link up the waterfront

38

A "super greenway" forming a 121-km green ring along both sides of the Ring Expressway: it links 100 square kilometers of country parks and, once fully connected, became one of China's longest closed urban greenway loops; the primary greenway totals about 100 km

Snack crawl under red lanterns beside Wuhou Shrine.

Silken tofu in numbing-pepper and chili-bean sauce, born in Chengdu.

Sichuan hotpot chain with butter-rich broth.