Chengdu Attractions

Sichuan Opera

With more than hundred years of performances, Sichuan Opera is one of the oldest and the best known among over 300 local operas in China. Sichuan Opera is famed for its quick face-changing performances or ‘the Pulling Mask’. With a flick of his cloak the performer’s makeup will magically change from one colour to another, each representing the performer’s emotion.

The show is filled with traditional music and dance, shadow play, comedy, and puppet shows. Most of the shows are adapted from Chinese classical tales and legends and spoken in Chinese. Many teahouses in Chengdu offer the show every evening. Try the one in Chengdu Culture Park, located in the Shufengyanun Operatic Circle. Advanced booking is advised. 

Panda Research Base

A must-visit site to all travellers in Sichuan, Panda Research Base, the world’s largest Panda Research Base. It is home to more than 60 Giant Pandas and some rare animals like Red Pandas and black-necked cranes and divided into many zones like most zoos, exhibiting groups of Giant Pandas at different developmental stages.

One of the highlights is the Giant Panda Cub zone where Giant Pandas below one and a half years live. It is possible for visitors to take photographs of a Giant Panda and a Red Panda. A mini Giant Panda Museum and cinema showing documentaries are also located within the Research Base. Panda Research Base is only 10 kilometres north from downtown Chengdu. It is recommended to visit in the morning, when most pandas are active. 

Jinsha Site Museum

This recent archeological discovery is located in the northwest of Changdu. Covering 300,000sqm, the place is believed to have been the capital of the Shu Kingdom dating back more than 3,000 years. The excavation since 2001 has found over 800 tombs, palace remains, residential areas, and thousand of tools and artifacts made from jade, bronze, gold, ivory, and stone.

Jinsha Site Museum is a theme-park style museum. It is composed of a Relic Hall, an Exhibition Hall, a Protection Centre of Cultural Relics and a Garden District. Approximately five kilometres from downtown, visitors get to closely observe the unearthing of archeological discoveries and learn about Chinese history and culture. 

Sichuan University Museum

Located on Wangjiang Road, the entire museum displays an excellent collection of local artifacts dating back from the Han, the Tang, the Ming, to the Qing dynasty. It has many themes including stone carving, silk clothing, furniture, ceramics, and also interesting exhibitions of Chinese paintings, calligraphy scrolls and other everyday items from ethnic minority groups in the southwest of China such as the Tibetans, Miao, Naxi, Jiapo Qiang and Yi.

With over 40,000 historic items throughout this four-storey museum, it's one of the best of its kind in China. The museum’s long history is also on display in its basement floor rooms. Visitors should keep in mind that photography is prohibited here, like most of the museums in China. 

Sichuan Science and Technology Museum

Situated behind the statue of Mao Zedong at Tianfu Square, this four-storey museum is filled with interactive displays in various themes including science, technology, aerodynamics, space, mathematics and physics.

Both children and adults will enjoy the interactive model rocket, robotic orchestra, walk-through map of Sichuan’s waterways, and the high-tech 3D movie theatre.

Sichuan Science and Technology Museum is in excellent condition and all exhibitions are well-maintained. It is worth a visit at least for an hour or two. The museum also provides descriptions in both English and Chinese. Entry is free for children. 

Wenshu Temple

Located in the centre of Chengdu on Wenshu Yuan Jie road, the temple was built during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) to honour the Buddhist representation of Wisdom, Wenshu Pusa (Bodhisattva Manjusri in Sanskrit). Wenshu Temple hosts the largest temple in Chengdu, and is home to more than 450 Buddha statues and other precious antiques, as well as 200 wooden buildings that were restored in the late 17th century.

The teahouse offers traditional folk music within the temple and is very popular with locals. Visitors will enjoy the lively atmosphere around the temple where a vegetarian restaurant, fireworks, and fortune teller stalls are located, all providing a perfect spot to observe Chengdu life. 

Qingyang Temple

The name of the temple is translated as ‘the Palace of the Green Ram’. Most of the remaining structures within the temple were remodeled during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). This temple complex is dedicated to Lao Zi, the founder of Taoism.

The temple is comprised of Sanqing Hall, Doulao Hall, Hunyuan Palace, the Eight Trigrams Pavilion, and Wuji Palace, each displaying numerous admirable Taoist cultural relics such as scriptures, stone sculptures, and Buddha statues.