Sightseeing in Chengdu

 

Main Sights

 

Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding   (大熊猫繁育研究基地)

This is without a doubt the major tourist attraction in a city that is, at least from a tourist’s perspective, synonymous with the panda. The number of pandas existing in the wild is estimated to be around only 1000, spread across three provinces of China with the overwhelming majority of them living in Sichuan. The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding (ie. the panda zoo) is home to around 60 giant pandas as well as a number of less interesting red pandas. There are several enclosures on site, with adult pandas separated from adolescents and cubs. Feeding time at 9:30am provides the best photo opportunities. There are limited opportunities to have your photo taken with a panda – but it’s pricey at ¥400. Also of interest at the base is the Giant Panda Museum which holds detailed information and displays about the panda’s history, habits and habitat as well as a cinema where pro-panda propaganda is screened. There is also a restaurant, snack bars and souvenir shops on site. But what makes the Giant Panda Base really great is the atmosphere. Unlike zoos that hold pandas elsewhere in China or the world, the dense bamboo forests and mist of the panda’s home province give an authenticity to the experience that couldn’t be found anywhere else. And for that reason, the Giant Panda Base can make Chengdu worth visiting by itself.

It’s best to visit the base in the mornings as early as possible. You’ll see most action from the pandas between 8am and 11am – after that they’re likely to be sleeping. And, while you might not want to plan your whole trip around it, if you visit the base in September or October you’ll be able to see newborn pandas in the nursery.

Admission: ¥30. Open: 7:30-18:00.

Tel: +86 (028) 8353 3816. Website: www.panda.org.cn.

Directions: It’s best to get there by taxi – the fare from central Chengdu will be about ¥40. Hostels and hotels run tours starting at ¥80 (including transport and entrance fee), which works out cheaper if you’re traveling alone. But with two or more people it’s cheaper to get a taxi.

 

 

Wenshu Monastery   (文殊院)

This sprawling Buddhist monastery and temple is a truly fascinating place due principally to the amount of activity going on here. In addition to the hordes of worshippers and tourists, you’re also likely to see groups of monks in active worship and students attending lessons. The Wenshu Monastery is quite an important one – one of the top-ranking Zen Buddhist temples in China. Originally known as Xin Xiang Monastery, it was first built in the Sui Dynasty (581-618) and variously prospered and stagnated over the following centuries before being destroyed completely at the end of the Ming Dynasty. The present-day monastery took shape at the very end of the 17th Century when the temple was rebuilt under the guidance of prominent Buddhist monk Cidu Haiyue. It was renamed Wenshu Monastery in honor of the monk who was believed to carry the spirit of the Manjusri (Wenshu) Bodhisattva. While many of the buildings are quite exquisite and are adorned with lovely, intricate relief carvings, the monastery is also renowned for housing an impressive range of precious relics including old statues, paintings, scriptures and calligraphy by some famous artists. There are beautiful, tranquil gardens around the periphery of the temple complex and interesting information about Buddhist philosophy is posted around the temple. But ultimately it is the hustle and bustle of the Wenshu Monastery that makes it a must visit. The tea house and vegetarian restaurant in the complex provide perfect vantage points to take it all in.

Admission: ¥5. Open: 8:00-18:00.

Address: 15 Wenshu Yuan Jie (east off Renmin Zhong Lu). Tel: +86 (028) 8693 2375.

 

 

Tomb of Wang Jian (Yongling Mausoleum)   (王建墓)

Wang Jian (847-918) was a general who established the Shu Kingdom at the fall of the Tang Dynasty in 907 as one of the 10 Kingdoms of the Five Dynasties period. The Shu Kingdom (comprising roughly of Sichuan and parts of neighboring provinces) was apparently quite a prosperous place under Wang Jian, but his son managed to run it into the ground within 7 years of succeeding his father. The remarkably well-preserved, dome-shaped Yongling Mausoleum stands 15 meters high and has a diameter of 80 meters. Excavated in 1942, the mausoleum has a number of noteworthy features. Firstly, it distinguishes itself from other ancient tombs in China by having an above ground burial chamber. Inside the tomb, of principal interest are the carvings of a Tang Dynasty musical troupe around the coffin platform. The 24 musicians and dancers depicted here are significant both for their artistic value and for their historical importance – giving an insight into Tang Dynasty culture. Only traces of the actual coffins (emperors were generally buried inside 5 coffins) and the body still remain. Of similar value to the musician carvings is the stone statue of Emperor Wang Jian at the rear of the burial chamber. Finally, among the relics held in a small museum outside the mausoleum proper are a jade belt and jade scroll of high artistic quality. Unfortunately many of the other burial objects were pilfered by grave robbers over the centuries. The Tomb of Wang Jian isn’t the most fascinating ancient mausoleum you’ll find in China, but is definitely worth a look if you get the time.

Admission: ¥30. Open: 8:00-17:00.

Tel: +86 (028) 8778 9003.

Directions: 10 Yongling Lu (just inside the 1st Ring Road in the north-west [West Section 3]).

 

 

Wuhou Shrine   (武侯祠)

The Wuhou Memorial Shrine is perhaps Chengdu’s most popular tourist attraction for Chinese visitors. However, most foreign visitors will probably be unimpressed and somewhat bewildered by this sprawling complex of halls and temples. Basically, the Wuhou Shrine is a memorial to Zhuge Liang (181-234), a general and prime minister of the Three Kingdoms period who was renowned and respected as much for his wisdom and loyalty as he was for his military brilliance. Receiving equal billing at the shrine is Liu Bei, the benevolent Emperor of the Shu Kingdom who had enlisted Zhuge Liang as his ‘Minister of War.’ On the grounds of the Wuhou Shrine is a mausoleum, said to be the final resting place of Liu Bei. The exact date that the shrine was founded isn’t known, but it was apparently a tourist attraction as early as the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Most of the buildings in the complex date from 1672 when a massive reconstruction took place. The exploits and endeavors of Zhuge Liang and Liu Bei were immortalized in the Chinese classic “The Romance of the Three Kingdoms”, which helps to explain the appeal the Wuhou Shrine has to Chinese tourists. Foreigners who haven’t read the novel probably won’t get a lot out of a visit, but some of the halls are exquisitely decorated and there are plenty of interesting statues around.

Admission: ¥60. Open: 8:00-18:30 (later in summer).

Address: 231 Wuhouci Dajie. Tel: +86 (028) 8555 2397. Website: www.wuhouci.net.cn

 

 

Green Ram Temple (Qingyang Taoist Temple)   (青羊宫)

One of the most atmospheric and fascinating Taoist temples you are likely to find in China, the Green Ram Temple appears mysterious and almost other-worldly underneath Chengdu’s perennial mists. A number of legends are associated with the place and it is also known as the Temple of Two Immortals as Taoist Immortals Lu Dongbin and Han Xiangzi apparently once descended here. Although the temple dates all the way back to the Northern Zhou Dynasty (557-581), it really hit the jackpot some 300 years later in the Tang Dynasty when Emperor Xizhong (873-888) took refuge from a spot of civil unrest there. Once the upheaval was crushed, the Emperor threw wads of cash at the temple to expand its buildings and had it renamed Qingyang Palace. Naturally, the temple buildings from that time were eventually destroyed and most of the structures that stand today date from around 1670 (Qing Dynasty) though many are based on the designs of old. One of the most impressive buildings in the temple complex is the stunningly beautiful Eight Trigram Pavilion, which stands at 20 meters, is supported by 16 stone pillars, decorated with 81 dragons and houses a statue of the Supreme Venerable Sovereign Laotzu. Meanwhile, the main Hall of Three Purities is another striking edifice and houses massive statues of the supreme Taoist lords. Attracting much tourist attention are the two bronze goats that stand outside the main hall. One of them is actually a combination of all animals of the Chinese zodiac, making it a very popular photo attraction. There is also a teahouse and vegetarian restaurant at the Green Ram Temple.

Admission: ¥10. Open: 8:00-18:00.

Directions: The Green Ram Temple is on Qingyang Lu, just east of where it meets the 1st Ring Road, West Section 2.

 

 

Shopping Streets, Squares and Parks

 

Jinli Street

Opened in 2004, although this is essentially a prefab strip of faux Qing-era buildings, there is still something very charming about Jinli Street. And the area does have a lot of history, renowned as a commercial center even before 200 BC. Located just east of Wuhou Shrine, Jinli Street is well worth a wander and is a great place to pick up local handicrafts and other souvenirs. At times both wide and narrow, the street stretches some 350 meters and along with shops is lined with a number of cafes, bars, restaurants, teahouses and even a couple of hotels.

Directions: Jinli Street runs basically along the east side of the Wuhou Shrine, off Wuhouci Dajie.

 

 

Qintai Street   (琴台路)

Another of the prefab strips that appear to be so popular in Chengdu, Qintai Street is another successful venture into Qing-era architectural ensembles. With the Brocade River providing a peaceful barrier at the south end of the strip and each building prettier than the last, Qintai Lu is a great little shopping street offering shops selling traditional clothes, souvenirs and handicrafts as well as restaurants, cafes and a couple of hotels. The only problem with the street is that it’s open to traffic, making it more stressful than the pedestrian streets by the Wuhou Shrine and and Wenshu Monastery.

Directions: Qintai Lu is just east of the Green Ram Temple. From the temple entrance, head east along Qingyang Jie until you see Qintai Lu on the left.

 

 

Tianfu Square   (天府广场)

Surrounded by the Soviet-style Chengdu Municipal Government Building to the north and by department stores on just about every other side, the spacious and audacious Tianfu Square makes for a dignified city center. Recently spruced up, the square now boasts regular shows where a litany of fountains shoot water high into the sky in time with rousing revolutionary-style music. Beneath the square are shopping arcades and the center of the soon-to-be-revealed Chengdu subway system. But perhaps the most famous feature of Tianfu Square is the gigantic statue of Chairman Mao which stands on the north of the square waving hello to all the passers-by. Mao statues are disappointingly rare in China, so this one is a real treat.

Directions: Tianfu Square is in the very center of Chengdu.

 

 

Chunxi Lu   (春熙路)

Chengdu’s biggest and brightest pedestrian shopping mall, Chunxi Lu is a surprisingly upmarket strip of shops and department stores. Something about Chunxi Lu makes it seem classier than its counterparts in other Chinese cities: it might be the tasteful architecture, or the wide, well-paved street, or perhaps that they have shown some restraint in their use of neon. Whatever the case, this is a pleasant place for shopping or strolling, with a number of nice cafes for rest stops. Be sure to check out the statue of Sun Yatsen at the southern end of the street, which is always a photo favorite.

Directions: Chunxi Lu runs on a slight north-east to south-west angle between Zongfu and Shangdong Streets. To get there: walk east along Renmin Dong Lu from Tianfu Square, keep going as this street makes a slight turn and changes its name to Zongfu Lu. Chunxi Lu is on the right.

 

 

People’s Park   (人民公园)

The central park of Chengdu is beautifully landscaped with plenty of eye-catching activity and a few secluded areas of respite. While the lakes, rockeries, dense shrubs and stone bridges create a picturesque scene, probably the best part of People’s Park is the people. Playing cards or checkers, dancing, singing, playing music, imbibing at the teahouse or rowing on the lake, this park provides a perfect point for people watching. Founded in 1911 and originally know as Little City Park, People’s Park also holds the towering Monument to the Martyrs of the Railway Protection Movement. Erected in 1913, the obelisk honors those who died in an uprising against corruption with regards to the building of the Chuan-han Railway line just three years earlier.

Directions: People’s park is located just west of Tianfu Square. Walk west from either the north or south end of the square to get there.