Historic places in Chengdu

72 historic buildings, sites and memorials in Chengdu.

Ranked with the travel guide's picks and well-known places first. Showing the top 40 of 72.

SeePerson museum
Du Fu's Thatched Cottage
杜甫草堂; dù fǔ cǎo táng
Du Fu was a renowned poet during the Tang Dynasty. The thatched cottage was where he lived from 760 to 765 and wrote many of his best works. The cottage eventually fell into ruin and had to be rebuilt. The current buildings date mostly from the Ming and Qing dynasties.
May to September: 08:00-20:00, October to April: 08:00-18:30¥60
See
Sanxingdui
三星堆
The ruins of an ancient Chinese city where archaeologists discovered remarkable artifacts that radiocarbon dated circa 12th-11th centuries BCE. Sanxingdui (Three star mound) is the name given to this previously unknown Bronze Age culture. First excavated in the 1930s, the site continues to yield surprises to the present day. Between 2020 and 2022, archaeologists working on the site discovered six sacrificial pits containing a treasure trove of artefacts. So numerous were the artefacts that a new museum had to be constructed. The new museum is now open. Be warned that the museum is extremely popular and often booked out, so it's best not to come here without first making a booking. Bookings can be done online (in Chinese only) on the museum's WeChat account. If you come here on an empty stomach, you should get something to eat at one of the food stalls outside the gate. The museum cafe does not serve food. After entering the gate, you can head straight to the new museum, as the two exhibition halls that made up the old museum have been closed. However, if you have time, you can still visit the Restoration Hall (修复馆) and see the archaeologists working to restore the artefacts. The restoration hall closes at 17:00, which is one hour earlier than the museum.
08:30-18:00, no entry after 17:00¥72 (¥36 for students)
SeeArchaeological site
Jinsha Archaeological Site
金沙遗址; jīn shā yí zhǐ
Site featuring various tools and art pieces from around 3,000 years ago. The amount of unearthed items is just massive. They include pottery, blades, jade items, building foundations and various golden art pieces. There are two main buildings: the hall constructed over the centre of the excavation site and the modern exhibition hall with various artifacts on display.
May to October: 08:30-20:00, November to April: 08:30-18:30, no tickets sold in last 60 minutes, closed on Mondaysadults¥66children¥35 · Heritage listed
SeeHistoric site
Anshun Bridge
安顺廊桥; ān shùn láng qiáo
A scenic, historic bridge crossing the Jin River in the middle of Chengdu. A bridge at this location was mentioned in the writings of Marco Polo. However, in the 1980s the bridge was destroyed by flooding, and was rebuilt in 2003. There is a restaurant on top of the bridge.
SeeArchaeological museum
Chengdu Museum
成都博物馆, chéng dū bó wù guǎn
A 6 floors museum containing different interesting things about Chengdu civilization from ancient times to modern times. Recommended to start the visit from the second floor upwards. The visit should take 2.5 hours.
May to October: 09:00-20:30, November to April: 09:00-20:00, no entry in last 30 minutes, closed on MondaysFree, Foreigner needs to register from the opposite side of the entrance to get ticket
SeeArchaeological museum
Sichuan Museum
四川博物院 (sì chuān bó wù yuàn)
3 floors museum containing artifacts (bronze, pottery, carving, etc.), including coverage of different tribes in Sichuan. Visit can be completed in about 2 hours.
Summer: 09:00-21:00, winter: 09:00-20:00, no entry in last 30 minutes, closed on MondaysFree, foreigners must go through the 'Foreigner' entrance and register
SeeHistory museum
Wuhouci Temple
Wuhou Temple, 武侯祠; wǔ hóu cí
This temple is built to commemorate Zhuge Liang (诸葛亮), who was the minister of Shu (蜀) in the Three Kingdoms Period. He is famous through the Chinese novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. There are dozens of dust covered statues of obscure historical figures behind glass and not much else. The gardens are attractive, but not extensive.
May to October: 08:00-20:00, November to April: 08:00-19:00, no tickets sold in last 60 minutes¥60 · Heritage listed · Built 1672
SeeHistoric site
Wenshu Temple
Wenshu Monastery, 文殊院; wén shū yuàn
This Tang Dynasty Buddhist temple is the most impressive, and perhaps also the most used, temple in Chengdu. It is dedicated to the Buddhist representation of Wisdom, Wenshu Pusa (Manjusri Bodhisatva), and contains more than 450 Buddha statues and other precious relics. In addition to the halls and gardens, the temple also has a charming tea house that offers an insightful window of Chengdu life as it is frequented by locals who engage in games of chess, reading, knitting and just chatting with family and friends. The temple also has a delightful vegetarian restaurant with seats offering views over the gardens. There are many shops around the temple, including some of the best street food in the city, such as a sweetwater noodle shop.
Closed · opens 9 amFree · Heritage listed
SeeAttraction
Jinli Ancient Street
锦里古街 (jǐn lǐ gǔ jiē)
This neighborhood is part of the old city of Chengdu; it features hotels and small stores built in an old-fashioned style. Antiques are sold in a variety of different stores. It is very popular among both tourists and locals, especially at night, with many bars, restaurants, and nightclubs. You will find a lot of famous local snack food over there, prices ¥1-10. Restaurants and bars in Jin Li are more expensive than outside. There are also antique hotels in there. Some consider Jin Li is to be tourist trap, which is partly true. However, this 'new old street' offers regional and fairly affordable street food specialties as well and can be combined with a visit to the Wuhouci Temple (entry fee ¥60, unless you are the holder of a Panda Card). Don't forget to take your camera.
SeeAttraction
Yongling Mausoleum
永陵, 王建墓; yǒng líng, wáng jiàn mù / Wang Jian's Tomb
Yongling is the tomb of Wang Jian, the founding emperor of the Shu Kingdom, also known as Great Shu or Former Shu, which ruled over much of Sichuan during the early 10th century during a period known as the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. The burial chamber has been excavated and is open to the public. An on-site museum displays artefacts that have been excavated from the tomb.
Tomb and museum: 08:30-18:00, Gardens: 06:30-22:00¥20
See
Luodai Ancient Town
洛带古镇
The town is especially famous for the national key cultural relic protection unit - the Four Conference Halls (Guangdong Hall, Jiangxi Hall, Huguang Hall, Sichuan North Hall) and the Hakka Museum and Hakka Park. It is one of the wonders in China's ancient architecture "Daguan Garden", with a total area of more than 20,000 square meters. Luodai Hall is a condensed history of Hakka immigration.
Entrance: free
Buy
Chunxi Road area
春熙路
A street and a contiguous shopping district. More than 700 shops in the area including shopping malls, department stores, boutiques and street stalls.
EatRestaurant
Veranda Bridge Restaurant
This restaurant is actually a historic bridge over Funan River. Sichuan food. Very good reputation within Chengdu.
See
Chengdu Natural History Museum
成都自然博物馆
One of the largest natural history museums in western China. The museum has around 70,000 items, of which around 10,000 are on display, including many fossils. As of November, visitor numbers are limited to 5000 people per day and bookings are essential. Bookings can be made on the museum's public WeChat account. The WeChat account name is "成都自然博物馆成都理工博物馆".
09:00-17:00, no entry after 16:30, closed on Mondays¥20
See
Jianchuan Museum Cluster
建川博物馆聚落
Industrialist Fan Jianchuan built this campus of museums to explain the history of 20th century China. This is the first privately owned museum in Sichuan (privately operated museums in China have only been permitted since the year 2001). The Museum campus contains four buildings about World War II in China - one explaining the Communist Party role, one about the Kuomintang, one about the American volunteer group "Flying Tigers", and one about Sichuan volunteers. There is also the modestly named "New China Porcelain Museum", which actually tells the story of the Cultural Revolution through porcelain of that era. A museum that more directly addresses that era is under construction. You will also see buildings explaining the practice of foot-binding and one about prisoners of war. Nearby, you can also walk through a landlord's manor. Make a day trip out of it; the Museum is in the historic town of Anren about an hour's drive from downtown Chengdu. Get around the museum cluster by walking, renting a bicycle or paying ¥10 to ride the sightseeing car; a tea-house and restaurant is located on site.
Closed · opens 9 am¥60 for a one-day pass to visit all museums, ¥100 for a three-day pass, ¥20 to visit just one museum
See
Sichuan University Museum
四川大学博物馆; Sichuan Daxue Bowuguan
Excellent display of local artifacts and is worth while way of spending an hour or two. The museum is one of the better in China and there are four floors of well lit, air conditioned displays with decent English translations. Starting in the basement, enter the first room where dozens of stone carvings dating from the Han dynasty to the Tang are on display. The room next door has a moderately interesting display on the museum's history and numerous examples of ancient bronzes and stone age artifacts. The first floor is mostly artifacts from the Ming and Qing dynasty, including furniture, silk clothing, and an interesting display of leather puppets. The second floor has the perhaps the most engaging display: artifacts and daily use items from ethnic minority groups in China's southwest, including Tibetans, Miao, Yi, Qiang, Jianpo and Naxi. The third floor has a decent display of calligraphy scrolls, paintings, and ceramics.
09:00-17:00, no entry after 16:30, closed on weekends¥30 (students ¥10)
See
Anren Ancient Town
安仁古镇; ān rén gǔ zhèn
Also called China's Museum Town (中国博物馆小镇) due to the large number of museums, including the Jianchuan Museum Cluster (see below).The entire scenic area west to Liu Xiang riding statue, east to the Convention and Exhibition Road, north to the road around the town, south to the Xiejiang River, the core scenic area of 3 square kilometers, including the old street of the Gongguan, Liu's Manor Museum, Jianchuan Museum, three core resources. Anren Ancient Town is 39 kilometers away from Chengdu downtown, 36 kilometers away from Shuangliu International Airport, 10 kilometers away from Dayi Station of Chengya High-speed Railway, 8 kilometers away from Dayi South Exit of Chengya High-speed Railway, and 8.5 kilometers away from Dayi County.
Free (Tickets are required for the museums)
See
Huanglongxi Ancient Town
黄龙溪古镇
The core area of Huanglongxi Ancient Town preserves Ming and Qing dynasty residences, ancient temples, and key cultural relics, covering approximately 31,200 square meters, with 13,700 square meters of Qing-era wooden structures. The town has rich folk culture, including traditions such as the Fire Dragon Festival and floating river lanterns. It has been designated a Sichuan Provincial Scenic Area, a National AAAA-level Tourist Attraction, and selected as one of the "New Ten Scenic Spots of Chengdu."
24hoursFree
See
Jiezi ancient town
街子古镇
25 km northwest of Chengdu, in Chongzhou, the Fengqi mountain, the mountain connected with Qingcheng.
See
Qingyang Temple
青羊宫; Qingyanggong; lit. Palace of the Black, Green or Blue Ram
This Taoist temple is the oldest and biggest of its kind in the area, located in the west of downtown. A large and still-active temple that takes into consideration Taoist philosophy in its construction, and with both a park next door and a number of relaxed courtyards inside. While it has a long history, the buildings are modern, cheaply-made concrete constructions, and it quite frequently shows. The statues inside are also cheap modern constructions of no real interest. A teahouse and a vegetarian restaurant can be found within the temple complex.
Closed · opens 8 am¥10
SeeAttraction
West Pearl Tower
Tianfu Panda Tower (Chinese: 天府熊猫塔), also known as the 339 TV Tower, is a 339-meter (1,112 ft) radio and television tower in Chenghua, Chengdu, Sichuan, China. It stands at 168 Mengzhuiwan Street, by the Jin River. The tower serves as a broadcasting transmission hub for Sichuan and is one of the most prominent landmarks on Chengdu's skyline.
Eat Not mapped
Huang Cheng Lao Ma
Elaborate restaurant featuring hot pot followed by live entertainment, including Sichuan face-changing. Don't miss the diorama scene of ancient Chengdu built into the restaurant lobby's floor. A separate section on the ground floor of the restaurant also features a pan-Asian buffet with contemporary entertainment. Child care is available on premises. Prices are in the range of ¥100 per person for dinner and one drink.
Eat Not mapped
Wenshu Temple Vegetarian Restaurant
文殊院素餐馆
In the grounds of a monastery and run by monks. Offers a huge selection of traditional vegetarian dishes, including some containing imitated meat.
SeeHistoric site
Chairman Mao statue
The Mao Zedong Statue is a marble sculpture located in Tianfu Square, Chengdu, Sichuan, China. The monument stands 30 m (98.4 ft) tall and depicts Mao Zedong with an outstretched arm. Before 1967, the site was occupied by an ancient palace from the Shu Kingdom of ancient Sichuan.
SeeHistoric site
Qingyang Taoist Temple
9 一环路西二段
SeeHistoric site
Jinsha Site Museum
SeeViewpoint
成都杜甫草堂博物馆-观景台
外西草堂路28号
DoPark
Liu Xiang Cemetery
Heritage listed
SeeAttraction
合江亭
四川省成都市锦江区滨江东路
SeeMemorial
Monument to the Martyrs of the Railway Protection Movement
SeeArchaeological site
十二桥遗址
SeeHistoric site
成汉墓
SeeArchaeological site
成都东华门遗址
SeeHistoric site
成都十二桥烈士墓
SeeArchaeological site
江南馆街街坊遗址
SeeMemorial
Sun Yat-sen
Wheelchair accessible
SeeMemorial
武担山
Heritage listed
SeeMonument
Confucius
SeeHistoric building
Guangyitang
SeeHistoric building
Han Zhao Lie Temple

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Chengdu (CC BY-SA 4.0). Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Place data from Overture Maps. Some descriptions from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).