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Guide to China Travel » City Travel » Chengdu » Views
Attractions and Sightseeings in Chengdu
Although many of Chengdu's historical sights have long since disappeared and the skyscrapers are shooting up, this remains a pleasant city to spend some time in. One of the nicest aspects of this city is the atmosphere on the streets.
Markets and street hawkers abound and just wandering around gives visitors a fascinating insight into the old city. The streets and alleys around Wenshu Monastery are a great place to start your exploring. There are a few places of historical or religious interest scattered about the city too.
Chengdu's status as a center for learning is evident throughout the city, not least at the former residence of the great poet, Du Fu. Renmin Park in the southwest of the city also allows for a glimpse into the daily life of the locals here and the city has literally thousands of tea houses which are fabulous places to do some people watching. The tea house in the Wenshu Monastery is one of the very best.
Some of China's best natural scenery is in the area around Chengdu. The Panda, one of China's most famous symbols, can be seen at the Giant Panda Breeding Institute outside the city. Deep and lush bamboo forests are also inviting places to spend a day or two and Shunan Bamboo Forest is a spectacular spot. Qingchengshan is a nice mountain offering pleasant walks and a break from the city
Inside:
The Chengdu Panda Breeding Research Center
The giant pandas are not only a Chinese national treasure but are also beloved by people the world over. They are found only in Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces. In total there are fewer than 1000, of which 80% are distributed within the territory of Sichuan province. Therefore, when visitors from home and abroad come to Chengdu, Sichuan Province one of their main objectives will be to see the giant pandas for themselves.
Located just 10km (6miles) away from downtown Chengdu, the Chengdu Panda Breeding Research Center has been created and imitates the pandas' natural habitat in order that they might have a the best possible environment for rearing and breeding. The Center cares also for other rare and endangered wild animals. The Research Center covers an area of 560 mus (92 acres), 96% of which is verdure. Giant pandas, lesser pandas, black-necked cranes, white storks as well as over 20 species of rare animals are fed and bred there throughout the year. Verdant bamboo, bright flowers, fresh air, a natural hill scene and a beautiful artificial view are merged ingeniously at the base.
The necessary facilities for giant pandas have been completed and include a fodder room, sleeping quarters and a medical station. Additionally there is a Giant Panda Museum together with research laboratories and a training center. A great number of plants and as many as ten thousand clumps of bamboos and bushes have been cultivated to provide for the giant pandas' diet and habitat. The center is planning to expand by another 3000 mus (500 acres) of land on which to simulate a natural environment order to prepare the giant pandas bred at the center for release into the wild.
The Giant Panda Museum was opened in 1993 to further scientific education and to improve public awareness of the protection of both wild creatures and their environment. This is the world's only thematic museum for rare and endangered animal species. The three main exhibitions are in the Giant Panda Hall, the Butterfly Hall and the Vertebrate Hall. The exhibits include all kinds of precious pictures, more than 800 materials and show more than 2140 different samples gathered in Sichuan. These include examples of animals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and insects as well as fossils and models. The resources held in store at the museum include up to ten thousand samples as well as a library of thousands of books and documents. This excellent and comprehensive museum provides a wonderful venue for all who are interested in seeing something of the propagation and protection of the region's natural bio-diversity.
Thatched Cottage of Du Fu
The Du Fu Thatched Cottage located in the west Of ChengDu, besiede of the HuangHua River, is a big poet Du Fu in Chinese Tang Dynasty to live all so residing of the hour.759 A.D. winter, Du Fu is for avoiding the " the confusion of the peaceful history". Du Fu lives four years successively and here, the artistic verse spreads up to now of have more than 240 head.
Du Fu Thatched Cottage is seen as Chinese the " holy land" on the literary history.Five hour of on behalf poet the WeiZhuang looks for the site, heavy knot grass shed, can conservancy that make, a clear and pure in the past all repairs the extension, having turned into a the place gathers the memorial ancestral temple structure and form to is old to reside appearance as the integral whole with the poet, constructing the ancient cultured, nice and secluded and beautiful in park a culture holy land.1961 March, drive State Department announcement is a national point cultural object protection unit,1985 May, establish the Du Fu Thatched Cottage museum, save Du Fu the movements historic relic the inside the scale now biggest, keep the most intact, have most the special features with popularity of a place.
The complete reservation in Thatched Cottage of today the JiaQing celebrates the structure and form of the hour of reconstruction, the total area is near 300 acre.The park is very special" mix with type" Chinese classic park. The museum presses function to classified into:The cultural object view orders to sight-see the area( old 址 in Thatched Cottage), park view order to sight-see the area( plum park) with the service area.( Thatched Cottage temple)Old the inside of 址 in Thatched Cottage, shine on the wall, center door, poem history a arrange in aly the stalk is on-line, both sides go together with to is subsidiary with other to construct with the symmetry curving corridor, in the interval contain flowing water around, the small bridge connects, seem to be since the solemn solemn and peaceful and ancient is cultured but again profound , beautiful and clear and bright.Work a east side is grass shed that" little the Thatched Cottage " stone tablet that marking view, symbolize Du Fu, it make person fancying, having become the Du Fu Thatched Cottage to order with all of a landscape.
The GongBuCi have to describe according to the poem of DuFu behind with the structure and form of Ming Dynasty" grass shed view area" of recovering the reconstruction, re-appearing the pastoral appearance that poet so reside, constructing the thick thick poetry atmosphere;Have to set up in 1999 in flower arrangement park of" DuFu poem calligraphy wood-carved", display more than 100 DuFu's poem calligraphy wood-carved work, choose from the building hides several thousand in the pasts a hand book poem genuine calligraphy, engrave with the wood but, have to appreciate the value rather, its verse, calligraphy, have with the material, craft" four unique" it call;" big the hall" inside that locate the important male in a the third in building in thou in peaceful temple in original treasure , display the up to the present the large colored enamel of the local and biggest area(64 square meter) insets to whet to paint the mural with 12 in the pasts anthologist the person carves, image a development for displaying Du Fu usually with Chinese classic verse history; Building inside of basic display the “poem saint a thousand years”, have the honor of acquiring the fifth" whole country ten big display the exhibition exquisite article" the best creativity prize. The adoption displays the means modernly with fresh and clear but the image displays the language, displaying the generous vehemence of Du Fu's verse with the glorious achievement, expressed the profound influence that Du Fu thought. Still there is" feeling is Thatched Cottage" cultural heritage picture data exhibitting, display the Beijing leadership, foreign well-known persons outside the honored guest, the world arrive picture, signature, a phrase and gifts that Thatched Cottage visit leaves.
" Tang breeze " visitor's service center is for with Du Fu Thatched Cottage special features traveling merchandise development.The Du Fu Thatched Cottage poem calligraphy and painting is close together with" Tang breeze ", gathering the calligraphy and painting exhibit, exchanges, buy collect and keep for integral whole, is a high personal status to develop the traditional excellent culture, development culture industry terrace.
The Tang Dynasty site displays the building locates the northeast of the Thatched Cottage.At the end of 2001 years, dig out in Thatched Cottage the Tang Dynasty of the big area the life the site with the cultural object of a batch of Tang Dynasties, it enriched the history culture content of the Du Fu Thatched Cottage biggest, corroborating Du Fu's that year to the depiction of the living environment and life scene, clarified the thou the of the Thatched Cottage temple position now, increment the history of the Du Fu Thatched Cottage is decorous to feel, and increased the new brilliance for this piece of holy lands, making it made person looking forward to more.
Rebuild in 2005 of ten thousand floor in Thatched Cottage east wood is in the wood, it restored to original the history culture a city all" east contain ChongMingGe, the west has ten thousand the floor" it appearance.Lean on balcony and looking at the distance, the lovely view does to accept the eye bottom, is a Du Fu Thatched Cottage again a the marking constructs to travel with the culture new a little bit bright.
Du Fu of today the grass hall comes with the welcome friend outside the world in feature in all new spirit with its abundant history culture content.
Wuhou (Martial Marquis) Memorial Temple
Near Chengdu Old South Gate, beside Wuhou Avenue, there is a complex of ancient buildings surrounded by red walls. This is the Temple of Marquis Wu described in the poem Prime Minister of Shu written by Dufu "Where can we find the Marquis of Prime Minister, it is outside the Jinguan City among the mass of cypress.”
Wuhou might be translated as 'Minister of War', and was the title given to Zhuge Liang, a famous military strategist of the Three Kingdoms Period (220-80 AD) immortalised in one of the classics of Chinese literature, The Tale of the Three Kingdoms. Curiously, Zhuge Liang is not the main attraction of the temple. The front shrine instead is dedicated to Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang's emperor. Liu's temple, the Hanzhaolie Temple, was moved here and rebuilt during the Ming Dynasty, but the Wuhou Temple name stuck all the same.
Temple of Marquis Wu was first built many years ago at the end of Shu (one of the three kingdoms in ancient China); it has been damaged and removed for many times. When it was rebuilt in early Ming Dynasty, it was moved into Hanzhaolie Temple which is sacrificed to both monarch and minister. Temple of Marquis Wu faces south, with an axis running through the main Gate, the second Gate, Liubei's hall and Marquis Wu's Hall . Among them, Liubei's Hall is in the highest place and its construction is very magnificent, showing the most supreme dignity of the emperor.
Stepping into Hanzhaolie Temple, the visitors can see a tablet corridor on either side. The west tablet corridor displays the Tongming Tablet which is seldom visited by people. In the east tablet corridor, the Tongtang Tablet, composed by the famous Prime Minister Peidu in Tang Dynasty, written by the renowned calligrapher Liugongzhou(the brother of Liugongquan); engraved by the great stonemason is called "Three Perfect Tablet", because its article, penmanship, engraving were made all by famous men. Passing through the hallway, in both sides there are corridors with 14 lifelike statues, these are the corridors for the civil and military officials of Shu.
The civil officials' corridor in the east is headed by Pangtong, while the military officials' corridor is headed by Zhaoyun. Temple of Marquis Wu is a memorial temple in honour of Zhugeliang (181-234A.D.), Wuxianghou, Prime Minister of Shu in Three Kingdoms Period. It began to build the temple at the end of Western Jin Dynasty and take shape in Tang Dynasty. Early in Ming Dynasty, the Temple was merged with Hanzhaolie Temple, which is in honour of Liubei(161-223A.D.). It has got rebuilding in 1672(the 11th year of Kangxi Period of Qin Dynasty). It has been over 1500 years till now.
Wenshu Temple
Wenshu Temple (admission RMB 2, open 6 am - 20h30 pm), a monastery which dates back to the Tang dynasty, is Chengdu's largest and best-preserved Buddhist temple. Originally known as Xinxiang Temple, it was renamed after a Buddhist monk who lived there in the late 17 th century.
Perhaps the best thing about the monastery is the bustling crowd of worshippers who flock to the place. Together with the exquisite relief carvings that decorate many of the buildings in the complex, they render the temple well worth a visit.
On the monastery grounds check out the teahouse, one of the largest and most bustling in Chengdu with what seems like acres of tables. If you want to join in, sit one the west side of the path, closest to the main temple, where tea cost RMB 1. The tea must be greener on the other side of the path where it costs RMB 10. The vegetarian restaurant next door to the teahouse has great food at good prices.
The alley off Renmin Zhonglu, on which Wenshu Temple is located, is a curiosity in itself, filled with joss-stick vendors, foot-callus removers, blind fortune-tellers with bamboo spills, and flower and fireworks sellers.
The Wenshu (Manjusri) Monastery was built in the Southern Dynasty and rebuilt in the Qing Dynasty. Its main buildings include the Hall of Lokapala, the Hall of Three Bodhisattvas, Daxiongbaodian (Precious Hall of Sakyamuni), Shuofatang (The Buddhist Lecture Hall), and the Scriptures Hall. There are in the Monastery over 400 statues of stone, iron, bronze, painted-clay as well as wood, in various size and shape. Among them, 19 bronze statues were cast in the Qing Dynasty, and 10 iron statues in the Song Dynasty. The skull of Xuanzang, a monk of the Tang Dynasty still kept in the Monastery is most precious.
There are numerous Buddhist cultural relics and arts in the Scriptures Hall. They comprise white-jade statue of Buddha from Myanmar, incantations on pattra-leaf in Sanskrit language from India, Japanese gold-plated scripture cylinder of the Tang Dynasty, embroidered picture of Songwen, the Diamond Sutra, calligraphies of the Song, Ming and Qing Dynasties, paintings of Biyan, and Zhuchan, as well as works of famous calligraphers and painters like Heshaoji, Zhengbanqiao and Zhangdaqian in addition to Nanzang scriptures of Ming Dynasty, Zhuangzang scriptures of the Qing Dynasty, and Dade scriptures of Japan. These masterworks of art of both ancient and contemporary China, serve as a testimony to her friendly exchanges with the world.
The newly built Peace Pagoda of A Thousand Buddhas has 11 stories with a height of 22 meters, and decorated with a small yellow bell hung on each of the six upturned corner eaves of every story. Blown by the wind, the bells give out melodious sounds. It is the tallest iron pagoda casted in China.
Wangjianglou Park
Located in Chengdu city of Sichuan Province, and covered with luxuriant forest and bamboo grooves along the bank of Jinjiang River outside the city's eastern gate, Wangjianglou Park encompasses an area of 120,000 square meters. Inside the Park, the paths are hedged in by lush bamboos, while the river shore is lined with willows and fenced off by stone rails. The pavilions and halls mirrored in the gleaming river water set each other off. It's a historic site in memory of Xuetao, a female poet of the Tang Dynasty as well as a famous scenic spot.
Most exquisite and magnificent among its architectures is Chongli Tower. The Tower constructed in the 15th year of Emperor Guanxu' Reign in the Qing Dynasty, has four storeys with a total height of over 30 meters. It is exquisite and beautiful with a square upturned eave on the two lower storeys and an octagonal eave on the upper two storeys, vermilion columns, glazed tiles and gilt cupola. It stands by the side of Jinjiang River, hence the name of the Tower Overlooking the River. Yinshilou (Poem-chanting Tower) built after the tower of Xuetao's lifetime, with spacious rooms on all sides, is silhouetted against the river-side dense bamboo grooves and willows. The group of memorial buildings exquisitely laid out, such as Wuyunxiang Hall, Quanxiang chamber, Pipa pavilion, house a large amount of steles, paintings, calligraphy, inscribed couplets and poems.
Suburb:
Dujiangyan Irrigation System
The Dujiangyan Irrigation System is famed for its fantastic view as well as its history and civilization of long standing.
The System lies on the Ming River in the northwest of Dujiangyan City. It was built over 2200 years ago around 250B.C.under the direction of LingBing, the governor of the Shu Prefecture of the Qin State.
The Ming River running across the vast Chengdu Plain used to do harm to the people down the river in the ancient times. After making careful survey on the spot Li Bing had a channel cut through Mt.Yulei in the west of the city, thus a man-made river came into existence. In the middle of the Min River, a dyke was built to divide the river into two parts: the inner river and the outer river. In order to control flood and charge silt, two spillways were built at the end of water-dividing dyke. Since then there has been a gravity irrigation system which makes the Chengdu Plain a "Land of Abundance" with a bumper harvest every year in spite of any drought or flood.
Over two thousand years, the Dujiangyan Irrigation System has been bringing great benefits to agricultural production and the people's life. The irrigated area has expanded gradually from 126000 hectares to nearly 660000 hectares of land, covering 36 counties.
The headwork of the Dujiangyan Irrigation System consists mainly of three projects: Yuzui, which is a fish-mouth-like water-dividing dyke, Feishayan, which is a spillway for discharging flood and silt, and Baopingkou, which is a channel cut through Mt.Yulei as a water inlet. Yuzui Water-dividing Dyke can divert the water of the Min River scientifically and rationally, 40 percent of flows into the inner river in flood season and 60 percent flows into the outer river, and vice versa in dry season. Besides 80 percent of the silt is carried away by the outer river. Baopingkou is shaped like a inverted ladder to control the water and evacuate excessive water. Feishayan spillway discharges flood and silt from the inner river to the outer river. Working in harmony with one another, the three projects have composed a complete and scientific irrigation and drainage network, which works automatic.
During the long course of maintenance of the Dujiangyan Irrigation System, a set of effective experiences in controlling water has been summed up, such as "Dredging the sand deeper and building the dam lower", "Taking away the capes where the river curves, and digging the middle of the riverbed deep where the river does not curve", and other instructions.
Mt. Qingcheng
In southwest China, Qingcheng Mountain is located in western Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, 48 km away from the city. It features numerous undulating peaks and luxuriant forests. Therefore Qingcheng Mountain is reputed as "the most tranquil place in the earth". Qingcheng Mountain has a long history and is one of the ancient cradles of China's Taoism. It is the fifth among the top ten fascinating Taoist places in China.
There are many famous spots and historical sites in Qingcheng Mountain. The ancient architectures have their distinctive characteristics. Poems, paintings and odes of current and ancient celebrities can be seen here and there. In addition, there are beautiful sights and supernatural legends. Tianshi Cave is the core of all the palaces and temples on the mountain that consist of Jianfu Palace, Shangqing Palace, Zushi Hall, Yuanming Palace, Yuqing Palace, Chaoyang Cave and so on. Qingcheng Mountain has been the resort for bookmen and scholars to adventure or seclude from the earthly world since the ancient times. It was called as the "Dong Tian Fu Di" (the fascinating place and the Happy Land) and the "Shen Xian Du Hui" (the capital of immortals) in ancient times. There were many names for Qingcheng Mountain in the history, such as Wen Mountain, Tiangu Mountain, Du Mountain, Zhangren Mountain, Chicheng Mountain, Qingcheng Capital, and Tianguo Mountain, etc. Qingcheng Mountain is reputed as the Fifth Famous Mountain in China.
The architectural style of the verandas, bridges and pavilions on Qingcheng Mountain is special and unique. Most of them are supported by the logs with barks and knots, roofed with the barks of China firs, and shaded by the roots of the trees. The architectural structure is simple, elegant and vivid.
Mount Emei
Mount Emei literally means "Delicate Eyebrow Mountain" — it derives its name from two peaks which face each other and look like the delicate eyebrows of a Chinese classic beauty.
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