Parks and the outdoors in Chengdu

Parks and the outdoors in Chengdu

1. 
   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.
2. 
   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
3. 
   SeeScience museum

   Sichuan Science and Technology Museum

   四川科技馆 (sì chuān kē jì guǎn)

   This huge four-storey museum is filled with interactive exhibits about science, aerodynamics, space, mathematics, robotics and physics. Children will love the interactive displays and indoor playground on the 4th floor. Adults will appreciate the descriptions in both English and Chinese. Everyone will love the crowd-pleasers like the robotic orchestra and walk-through maps of Sichuan's waterways. During weekdays this museum can either be overrun by local school groups or be so deserted it's almost creepy. Overall, quite good value for money, especially on a rainy day.

   09:00-17:00, closed on Mondays (except during the summer holiday period)·Free
4. 
   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 am·Free · Heritage listed
5. 
   Do

   Happy Valley

   欢乐谷; Huanlegu

   Moderate size amusement park with 3 main roller coasters, Water Rides, Kids zone and water park (in Summer). Overall Good day out for both adults and families, makes a nice break from the city and has enough attractions to fill a full day out, As of 2011 the entrance to the park is now a sports retail outlet, Imax and Indoor Sky diving Centre with Restaurants.

   Closed · opens 9 am·¥150, discount for students
6. 
   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
7. 
   See

   People's Park

   人民公园; rén mín gōng yuán

   This park is a rare island of tranquility amid the noise and hustle of central Chengdu. It contains beautifully landscaped walking paths, lakes with paddle boats for rent, tea shops and restaurants, children's amusement rides, small sports facilities, and other attractions. Some old people use the park to sing and dance in separate groups. Some people practice calligraphy with water on the floor around a monument in the northwestern corner of this park. Some parents take their unmarried children's information here to find potential candidates. The park is a great place to take a child or a date, and it is always full of locals relaxing and enjoying themselves. For laughs, there is an information display which lists the city's current air quality, claiming there is about 4 times less pollution than the US Embassy reports.

   No entry fee
8. EatRestaurant

   Veranda Bridge Restaurant

   This restaurant is actually a historic bridge over Funan River. Sichuan food. Very good reputation within Chengdu.

9. Do

   Floraland

   国色天乡

   The park includes a moderate selection of rides (water, relaxing and thrill), and various recreation activities. Weekends can get packed, so try to go during a weekday.

   Water park: 10:00-18:00; Land park: 09:00-18:00·Water park: ¥150; Land park: ¥30 (entry only), ¥130 (including rides)

10. 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

11. DoTheatre

    Sichuan Opera

    四川歌剧院

    Most guest houses and travel agencies offer to arrange visits to these traditional shows. It is more like a burlesque cabaret than an actual opera, sometimes including magicians, traditional musicians, shadow plays, comedy (spoken in Chinese though), and dancers besides the traditional pieces. Of course the most famous is never omitted: quick face-changing and fire spitting performed by dancers clad in colourful traditional costumes. You will follow the story sitting at your table, sipping on your constantly refilled tea cup and nibbling some salted snacks. Note that there are many teahouses in the city that offer the show every night. Try the local favorite at Shu Feng Ya Yun (蜀风雅韵) teahouse located in Chengdu Culture Park (文化公园) on Qintai Road (it is beside Qingyang Temple). You will be seated on a covered open ground (cooled by fan; no A/C), which is actually the center of the traditional teahouse building. You might have to book in advance or just ask the concierge of your hotel to book it for you.

    The price is not fixed, depending on the program on that day

12. 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)

13. Do

    Chunxi Road

    春熙路

    Take an afternoon or evening to walk down this shopping street in the center of the city. It makes for a good change of pace. There are clothing stores, bookstores, restaurants, arcades, and cinemas. It is a good place to find something to eat, as you can find a great variety including hotpot buffets, Japanese restaurants and Western food. However, the major disadvantage with this area is that each brand has many stores in this location (similar to other parts of China). For instance, Nike, Adidas, and Li-Ning, each have about 4-5 stores in Chunxi Road alone which reduces the variety of things to buy. If you are looking for stores in the same vein as Louis Vuitton and Ermenegildo Zegna, these stores are located at Chengdu IFS, which is nearer to the metro station than Chunxi Road itself.

14. Do

    Drink tea

    Teahouses are plentiful in Chengdu, and drinking tea and playing Mahjong is how many local people relax. On a sunny afternoon pick a table in the park with an out-door tea house and sip your tea while listening to the locals gossiping. Not for the faint hearted, take the opportunity to have your ears cleaned by local "experts" armed with a tuning fork and a myriad of "insertion tools". Weird but effective! There are thousands of teahouses in Chengdu so you'll find them from other places than Renmin Park as well.

15. Eat

    Hibiscus Phoenix Garden Restaurant

    成都芙蓉凰花园酒楼

    The transportation here is very convenient. There are many bus lines. After getting off at Guanghua West Station, it only takes a few minutes to walk to the restaurant. Furonghuang Garden Restaurant is one of the restaurants that friends like to choose for gatherings, because the prices here are more suitable for friends with mass consumption, so it is suitable for friends to gather for dinner. The food tastes very good. Hibiscus Peach Blossom is one of their signature dishes. It is a must-order dish for every table. Many diners like it very much. The environment is good and the service is not bad.

    Mon to Sun 10:00–21:00·Around ¥100 per capita

16. 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."

    24hours·Free

17. See

    Liujiang Old Town

    柳江古镇, 柳江镇

    Liujiang town, located 25 km southwest of the county to spend Hongya River tributary of Liujiang sides. Town was founded in the Southern Song Dynasty, and modern architecture across the water from the Ming and Qing era buildings.

18. 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

19. 
    DoPark

    Culture Park

    The Chengdu Culture Park (Chinese: 成都文化公园) is an urban park in the city of Chengdu, Sichuan, China. The park is located at West Section 2, 1st Ring Road, near the Qingyang Taoist Temple and Wenjun Qintai Park. It covers 71,326 m2 with greenery, a lake, large stones, statues, a teahouse, and towers.
20. DoPark

    Sport Park

    体育公园有各种户外和室内运动设施 Sport-Park with facilities for various outdoor and indoor sports and walking

21. 
    DoPark

    Liu Xiang Cemetery

    Heritage listed
22. DoPark

    新华公园

23. DoPark

    成都望江樓公園

    武侯区望江路30号

24. DoPark

    East Chengdu Music Park

    Jianshe Nan Lu, Chenghua

25. DoPark

    三洞古桥公园

    三友路317号

26. DoPark

    府南河活水公园西门

    红星路一段

27. DoPark

    成都 塔子山公园

28. DoPark

    三義廟

29. DoPark

    成都百花潭公园

30. DoPark

    Wangjiang Lou Park

31. DoPark

    Babao Square

32. DoPark

    Baihuatan Park

33. DoPark

    Chengdu Open Air Music Park

34. DoPark

    Donghu Park

35. DoPark

    Eastern Suburb Memory

    1号 建设南支路

36. DoPark

    Huangzhong Park

37. DoPark

    Huanhua Brook Park

38. DoPark

    Huoshui Park

39. DoPark

    Lidu Park

40. DoPark

    Redianchang Civil Park

Browse all 2,036 places in Chengdu

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).