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Chengdu,
capital of Sichuan province, is a well-know historical and cultural
city in southwest china, with a history of 2,500 years. It has an
area of 12,300 square kilometers and a population of 9.6 million,
with 7 districts and 12 counties. With the country's reform and
opening to the outside world, Chengdu, an ancient city is now
turning a new page and moving forward to a cosmopolitan city.
Chengdu, as
the hub of economy, culture and transportation in southwest China,
abounds in tourist resources, such as Temple of Marquis Wu, a
memorial shrine of the prime minister, Zhuge Liang of the Shu
Kingdom (221-263A.D.); Du Fu's Thatched Cottage, a monument to the
Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D) poet, Du Fu; Tomb of Wang Jian
(847-918A.D) the emperor of the former Shu during the Five Dynasties
period; Wenshu Monastery, an active Buddhist monastery housing 200
odd Buddhist figures and objects, Qingyang Temple, a well-known
Taoist temple first built in the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D); the
River-view Pavilion Park, a bamboo part suited for a quiet stroll.
In the vicinity of the city, there are a 2000-year-old water
conservancy project, Dujiangyan Irrigation Dam, a Taoist mountain
called Qingcheng Shan (Green-city mountain) and a Buddhist monastery
called Baoguang Monastery (Divine Light Monastery). In addition,
about 160 kilometers away from Chengdu lie the largest Buddha statue
Leshan Grand Buddha and a Buddhist sacred mountain, Mt. Emei. All
the historical sites and scenic spots are well worth a visit, not to
say, the tea houses, the local cuisine and the traditional arts and
crafts.
City
Tour in Chengdu
Briefing
Chengdu as the
capital of Sichuan, its administrative, economic, educational,
cultural and transportation center, as well as a major industrial
base. Travelers to most points in northern and western Sichuan often
find themselves passing through here at least once or twice, as the
city also stands at the gate way to Tibet and on the passage to
Xi'an, Kunming and Chongqing (a newly established
central-government-administered city).
In comparison
with the Chinese northern cities, Chengdu is an altogether different
place, with more greenery, overhanging wooden housing in the old
section of town. Many miles of bustling back streets deserve to be
explored by tourist, and the better way to do so is riding a bicycle
or taking a tri-wheeled paddle-cab of strike off on a walk, just
away from the Beijing-style boulevards. Tea-houses, free markets,
flea markets, peddler markets, commercial districts, underground
shopping malls-you will stumble over more and more of them with each
twists and turns of the back alleys. Add to this, the indoor food
markets, the countless tiny restaurants specializing in Sichuan
snacks, especially the popular hotpot-a kind of chafing dish in woks
full of hot, spiced oil, the local tea houses the Go-chess houses
scattering everywhere, artisans like small-coffee parlors and time
basket-weavers, cobblers, itinerant dentists, tailors, road-side
barbers, snack hawkers who swarm the streets, all contributing to
the bustling energy of the city. Travelers and tourists are well
advised to take a closer look at Chengdu, one of China's most
intriguing cities.
Highlights
& Features
Du Fu's
Thatched Cottage
It is the
cottage of the great poet Du fu of the Tang Dynasty, beside the
Huanhua Creek. In the second year of the Qianyuan period of the Tand
Dynasty (759 AD), Du Fu tramped from the neighbouring Shaanxi
Province to Chengdu and built himself a thatched house there where
he stayed for nearly four years and wrote 240 poems. The first
temple in his memory was built during the Song Dynasty and in the
succeeding dynasties, people repeatedly renovated the temple and
added more buildings to the place.
Water-viewing
Pavilion Park
The pavilion
of Viewing the Jin River is on the south bank of the rive in the
eastern district of the city. The place is said to have been the
dwelling of the well-known poetess Xue Tao of the Tang Dynasty
(618-907 A.D ). It is now a public park where beside the ancient
buildings and a famous well known as "the Xue Tao well"
there are more than 100 species of bamboo. Legend has it that Xue
Tao drew water from that well to make a special kind of paper on
which she copied her poems. That paper soon came into vogue under
the name of "Xue Tao poet paper". It is a perfect place
for visitors to enjoy the beauty of Chinese ancient architecture and
the tea culture.
Marquis Wu
Shrine (Wuhou Ci)
Marquis Wu
Shrine is located south of the city and was first built by a local
feudal lord during the Western Jin dynasty in memory of Zhuge Liang,
prime minister of Shu Kingdom of the Three Kingdoms period
(220-280A.D.). During the early Ming dynasty (end of the 14th
century), Marquis Wu Shrine and the temple of Liu Bei, the marquis'
emperor, were put together. Later, the shrine was rebuilt in 1672.
Now it includes the Liu Bei hall, the Zhuge Liang Hall, 28 statues
of officials and generals of the Shu Kingdom and a bronze drum
called the "Zhuge Liang Drum". Best known among the many
relics is the " Three-Consummation Tablet" which is
praised for its ingenious essay, calligraphy and carving. Here also
can be found the 1,700-year-old Liu Bei Tomb called Huiling Tomb.
And the visit there can give people an complete idea of the
political, economical, cultural situation in ancient Chengdu.
Tomb of
Wang Jian
The Tomb of
Wang Jian is in the western suburb. Wang Jian was a king of the
Former Shu (847-918A.D.). Built with 14 double red stone arches, the
tomb is divided into three chambers with a total length of 23.4
meters. On the two sides there are 12 busts of coffin carriers. The
east, south and west sides of the coffin platform are carved with 24
musicians each playing a different instrument in a different
posture. In the back chamber in a stone sculpture of Wang Jian. It
is a good place for visitors to enjoy the civilization in Tang
Dynasty (618-907 A.D ).
The Divine
Light Monastery (Baoguang Si)
On the
outskirts of the suburban town Xindu, was built in the Eastern Han
period (25-220A.D.). In one of the Buddhist halls there are 500
exquisitely executed sculptures of Arhats, each standing about two
meters high and none looks like another in posture or expression.
Other relics include a 1,000-year old pagoda and a stone tablet with
1,000 Buddha images on it.
Qing Cheng
Shan (the Green-city Mountain)
73 kilometer
away from Chengdu, it is to the southwest of Guanxian County. Known
as one of the birthplaces of Taoism in China, this was the place
where Zhang Daoling, one of the founders of Taoism, built a temple
to preach Taoism. Now there are several imposing, well-kept halls
and pavilions. The mountain is thickly wooded and has thus earned
its fame as "Qingcheng is the quietest place in the
world."
Du Jiang
Yan Irrigation System
Southwest to
Guanxian County and 57 kilometer from Chengdu, it is the ancient
irrigation project built three centuries before Christ. Led by Li
Bing, the Shu prefecture magistrate, and his son, the local people
threw up a dike in the middle of the Minjiang River to irrigate the
Chengdu plain through a network of canals. The project has stood
tests throughout the more than 2,200 years. On the banks of the
Minjiang there are Taoist temples in memory of Li Bing and his son.
Chengdu Zoo
Chengdu zoo is
in the northern suburbs of the city, surrounded by gardens. It
covers 18 hectares, with 250 odd varieties of animals living in the
beautiful and comfortable halls, houses, ponds and fenced-up mounds,
which are scattered amidst green trees and colorful flowers.
One unique
feature of the zoo is the panda houses, spacious and ingeniously
designed, shaded among bamboo and surrounded by ditches. They are
really good homes for the giant and lesser pandas and, of course,
the pandas are the tourist highlight.
The Chengdu
Zoo is the world's most successful breeder of pandas by artificial
insemination. In recent years, tourists from different continents
have arrived in a continuous flow to see pandas in their hometown
and pandas of the Chengdu zoo have also traveled abroad to charm
people of different countries.
Tea Houses
and Free Markets
1, The tea
house has been an inseparable part of the local life of Chengdu
for a long, long time. Chengdu's many teahouses differ in styles,
but all have a strong local flavor: bamboo chairs, tables,
tripartite tea sets - covers, cups and saucers-, red copper teapots,
and the unique skill with which the waiters pour boiling water into
the cups.
In Chengdu,
tourists can find old style teahouses scattered throughout streets
and lanes, cultural teahouses in parks and on the sites of tourist
attractions, thatched teahouses by bus stops, wharf and markets and
luxurious ones built in the busy city in recent years.
The teahouses
which provide video shows, organize lectures, chess and bird
contests and offer traditional storytelling and dulcimer
performances attract people old and young.
2, Free
markets There are quite a few free markets in Chengdu, one or
two back streets where large enough to cover raw meat, fresh fruits
and vegetables and other kinds of food-staff are sold by private
peddlers.
In addition,
flowers, home-pets, cooking ingredients, local arts and crafts and
other daily necessities are there for sale at cheaper price. This
kind of market enjoys a wide popularity with the local residents due
to its concentration of fine commodity, bargain price and good
location.
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