Chengdu Layover Adventure
A cultural slow travel route through Leshan and Chengdu, perfect for those who want to deeply experience Chinese history and local life! This itinerary combines three major attractions: Leshan Giant Buddha, Du Fu Thatched Cottage, and Kuanzhai Alley. Whether you're looking for artsy photo spots, cultural pilgrimage, or leisurely strolls, you can enjoy it all in one trip 👍.
The schedule is designed to let you slowly appreciate different landscapes and historical depth, immersing yourself in the ultra-relaxed vibe of Sichuan life. The slow pace is perfect for unwinding while still being rewarding!
🗓️ Recommended Itinerary:
Day 1: Half-day pilgrimage to Leshan Giant Buddha
Day 2: Relaxed exploration of Du Fu Thatched Cottage + Kuanzhai Alley
【Leshan Giant Buddha】
Address: No. 2435, Mid-section of Lingyun Road, Shizhong District, Leshan City, Sichuan Province
Opening Hours:
- April to October: 07:30-18:30, 19:30-22:30 (last entry at 21:30)
- October to March: 08:00-17:30, 19:00-22:00 (last entry at 21:00)
Ticket Price: 80 RMB
Highlights: The world's largest cliff-carved Buddha statue, built by the river, offering a majestic natural and religious atmosphere!
Recommended Activities: Start at the entrance and hike up the mountain, then descend around the Buddha. There are plenty of photo spots along the way, so you'll have no shortage of great shots! The close-up details of the Buddha's face and feet are truly awe-inspiring. Don't miss the surrounding ancient stone carvings and Lingyun Temple—perfect for photos!
Tips: Start early during peak season to avoid crowds. In summer, bring water and sunscreen. The night view of the Buddha is stunning, but make sure to check entry and operating hours beforehand!
【Du Fu Thatched Cottage】
Address: No. 37, Qinghua Road, Qingyang District, Chengdu, Sichuan Province
Opening Hours:
- January to June & September to December: 09:00-18:00
- July to August: 08:30-18:30
Ticket Price: 50 RMB
Highlights: The late residence of Tang Dynasty poet Du Fu, featuring beautiful gardens that instantly elevate the literary atmosphere!
Recommended Activities: Take your time to admire the rustic architecture and elegant gardens, which exude poetic charm. Be sure to visit the Du Fu Memorial Hall and poet's stone inscriptions for a sense of time travel. Try local flower tea at the garden tea house to experience the essence of Chengdu's slow-paced life!
Tips: Morning visits are recommended for a quieter and more relaxing experience. For souvenirs, check out poetry-themed creative products—they make meaningful keepsakes!
【Kuanzhai Alley】
Address: No. 27, Wide Alley, Qingyang District, Chengdu, Sichuan Province
Opening Hours: Open all day, year-round
Highlights: Chengdu's most vibrant old street, a haven for artsy vibes, food lovers, and traditional Sichuan architecture!
Recommended Activities: Explore all three alleys—Wide Alley, Narrow Alley, and Well Alley. There are plenty of souvenir shops and snack stalls. Must-visit spots include handicraft stores, creative shops, and unique brick walls. Find a tea house, sit down, and enjoy a cup of Sichuan-style covered bowl tea to truly experience Chengdu's "slow living" culture!
Tips: The best time to visit is in the evening when the streetlights create a great ambiance for photos and sightseeing. If you're planning to dine at a local Sichuan restaurant, go early to avoid long waits!
🎈 Travel Tips:
1. Sichuan is perfect for slow travel—no need to rush through the itinerary. Take your time to enjoy the historical and cultural vibes at each spot.
2. Transportation between attractions is very convenient. In Chengdu, use the metro or taxis. In Leshan, staying in the city center makes it easier to visit the Buddha.
3. Bring a charger and lens cleaning cloth—there are countless photo opportunities!
4. Leshan and Chengdu weather can be unpredictable. Check the forecast before your trip and bring an umbrella or light jacket.
5. Du Fu Thatched Cottage and Kuanzhai Alley have many creative souvenir shops, so budget accordingly for keepsakes!
Sichuan Slow Travel 🌱 | Leshan Giant Buddha Pilgrimage | Chengdu Literary Journey | Kuanzhai Alley Foodie Adventure | Du Fu Thatched Cottage Poetic Tour
Beautiful place must see in chengdu! Garden is beautiful good place to spent there for relaxing
I took my child there in May. If you like historical figures, poetry, and prose, it's a great place to visit. The environment is beautiful, and the bamboo forest and thatched cottages are very appealing to people from Northeast China. Unfortunately, we should have hired a guide, as that would have made the overall experience even better. It's definitely worth a visit.
It's easy to hail a taxi nearby, the environment is great, and the cultural atmosphere is strong. I highly recommend bringing children here, as they can not only cultivate their minds but also broaden their horizons. The only drawback is that there are basically no restaurants near the main entrance, so getting food can be a problem.
Du Fu Thatched Cottage in Chengdu - Recalling the Footsteps of the Poet Chengdu, this charming historical and cultural city, has produced countless treasures, and Du Fu Thatched Cottage is one of the shining pearls. ✨✨✨✨✨ It is like a three-dimensional history book, quietly telling the story of the poet Du Fu, attracting tourists from all over the world to explore. 🤔 Overview of the Thatched Cottage 🍁 Du Fu Thatched Cottage covers a vast area, with a simple and elegant architectural style, integrating the beauty of traditional gardens. 🌴🌴 Every blade of grass, every brick and every tile here exudes a strong cultural atmosphere, 🌴not only a remembrance and memorial of Du Fu, but also a model of the perfect combination of ancient Chinese poetry culture and garden ☘️ art. Walking through it, it seems that you can see Du Fu reciting poems and lyrics here, worrying about the country and the people. 👣👣 It is said that in the winter of 759 AD, in order to avoid the "Anshi Rebellion", Du Fu brought his family from Longyou to Sichuan. With the help of relatives and friends, a thatched cottage was built on the picturesque Huanhua Creek in the western suburbs of Chengdu, and the "Chengdu Thatched Cottage" was completed. 🏡 Here, Du Fu's poetry creation is mostly filled with pastoral atmosphere. Poems such as "Tangcheng", "Jiangcun", and "Spring Night Joy Rain" are like fresh pastoral paintings,💋 showing before our eyes. And works such as "Song of the Thatched Cottage Destroyed by the Autumn Wind", "Hate to Part", "Sick Orange", and "Dry Palm" have touched people's hearts with their profound realistic brushstrokes and become immortal works. 👌🏻 When we came to the main gate of the thatched cottage, a sparkling river ✨✨ flowed around, which is the Huanhua Creek mentioned repeatedly in Du Fu's poems. 🌿🌿 🤔There is a touching story about the origin of the poetic name "Huanhua Creek". 👉 It is said that during the Tang Dynasty, there was a girl named Ren who lived by the creek. She was not only beautiful, but also kind-hearted. One day, when she was washing clothes by the creek, she met a monk with wounds all over his body. Others avoided him, but she did not avoid him. 🍀🍀🍀 The monk took off his cassock stained with pus and blood and asked her to wash it. Miss Ren agreed happily. The magical thing is that as soon as the cassock entered the water, lotus flowers bloomed all over the creek in an instant. When the monk looked again, he had disappeared without a trace. People were amazed and named this river Huanhua Creek from then on. 🍀🍀🍀 In the Tang Dynasty, Huanhua Creek was wide and deep, and large boats could sail on it. The scenery along its banks was beautiful. 🛶🛶 Du Fu's "Quatrain" vividly depicts this beautiful scenery: "Two yellow rocs sing in the green willows, a line of egrets fly into the blue sky. The window contains the eternal snow of the Western Hills, and the door is moored with ships from Dongwu."🍁The two characters "Caotang" on the plaque of the main gate were written by Prince Guo, the seventeenth son of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty and the younger brother of Emperor Yongzheng. The writing is vigorous and the charm is long. 🍂🍂🍂
It is worth going! A cultural name card of Chengdu~Du Fu Thatched Cottage 1. Learn about the life of the poet Du Fu, and feel his deep concern for the people's livelihood and his persistent pursuit of ideals. 2. Feel the history and culture: Du Fu Thatched Cottage is an important site in the history of Chinese literature, preserving a large number of cultural relics and materials related to Du Fu. 3. Appreciate the natural beauty: The Thatched Cottage has a quiet environment, with several open-air tea gardens, small bridges and flowing water, plum gardens and bamboo forests, which are scattered and well-arranged, forming a quiet and elegant picture. Many important attractions have been shown before, so I will not repeat them this time. If you want to know more, please see the "Poet Saint Liufang" and "Meet the Poet Saint" posted before.
Chengdu Du Fu Thatched Cottage, as the former residence of Du Fu, a great poet of the Tang Dynasty in China, when he lived in Chengdu, is a holy place full of historical charm and cultural heritage. It not only completely preserves the architectural style of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, but also vividly displays Du Fu's life and poetry creation achievements through a variety of exhibitions and activities. Walking through it, it seems as if you can travel through time and space, and feel the hardships of Du Fu's life and the passion for creation. At the same time, the garden landscape and poetic atmosphere in the thatched cottage complement each other, allowing people to deeply appreciate the profound artistic conception and humanistic feelings in Du Fu's poems while enjoying the beautiful scenery. Whether for literature lovers or ordinary tourists, Chengdu Du Fu Thatched Cottage is a rare cultural treasure that is worth visiting again and again.
The grass hall hidden by green bamboo is a rare peaceful footnote in the career of poetry and saints. Three muss moss courtyard, the thousand-year-old poetry spirit is not scattered. The old Baiyu in front of the Ministry of Industry has a Tang style, and the wooden threshold of the Chaimen has fixed the eternal artistic conception of "window containing Xiling". Every brick and tile here is telling: great poetry never needs a magnificent temple, and the autumn wind of the hut can also refine the light that illuminates Chinese civilization. When visitors are rubbing rough inscriptions, they touch not only history, but also the spiritual hometown of Chinese literati "protecting the world".
Du Fu Thatched Cottage 📍Address: No. 37 Qinghua Road, Qingyang District, Chengdu. It is about 20 minutes' walk from Exit B of Caotang North Road Station on Metro Line 4, or you can take bus No. 19/35/58 directly. 🎫Ticket: 50 yuan/person (online ticket discount to 47 yuan, reservation is required 1 hour in advance), opening hours 9:00-18:00 (ticket sales stop at 17:00). 📌Must-visit attractions 1. Main axis building complex: main gate, main hall, Shishi Hall, Chaimen, Gongbu Temple, experience Du Fu's life and poetry achievements. Shishi Hall displays more than 1,400 "poetry history" works of Du Fu. Gongbu Temple has stone statues of Du Fu from the Ming and Qing Dynasties and Huang Tingjian and Lu You. 2. Shaoling Stele Pavilion: The "Shaoling Thatched Cottage" stele inscribed by Prince Guo is a landmark photo spot. 3. Thatched Cottage Scenic Area: Replicating the rural landscape of Du Fu's former residence, recreating the scene of "The Thatched Cottage Destroyed by the Autumn Wind". 4. Flower Path and Red Wall: The red wall is on the side of the path, and at the end is the "Thatched Cottage Shadow Wall" inlaid with blue and white porcelain, which is full of poetry. 🌸Special Experience Huanhua Bus (May 1st only): Departs from Chunxi Road directly to the Thatched Cottage, with cultural and creative displays and Shu folk songs interactive in the car, and tickets and interpretation services can be booked. Cultural Exhibition: Du Shi Calligraphy Woodcarving Gallery, Tang Dynasty Ruins Exhibition Hall, to understand the background of Du Fu's creation. Surrounding Recommendations: Free Huanhuaxi Park, adjacent to Qingyang Palace and Wuhou Temple, can be visited in series. 💡Tips There are many stone slabs in the park, it is recommended to wear comfortable shoes; Chengdu's weather is changeable, so prepare rain gear. The Thatched Cottage was rebuilt in successive dynasties, and the original site no longer exists, but it has a profound cultural heritage and is suitable for quiet appreciation. 📅Best time: Spring and autumn (April-May, September-October), when the park is full of flowers and trees, and combined with festival activities, it adds to the fun.