Overview & History
Located in the east of Wuhou Memorial Temple of Chengdu, Jinli Ancient Street, or Jinli Pedestrian Street Chengdu is called “the first street of Shu Kingdom”. Also extolled as the “Riverside Scenes at the pure Brightness Festival” of Chengdu, Jinli Ancient Street will bring tourists into the distant Three Kingdoms Period, over 1800 years ago. Covering an area of over 30,000m2, the overall street length of Jinli Ancient Street is about 550m. The street was decorated with the western Sichuan style architectures of Qing Dynasty, and was supported by the culture of Three Kingdom Period and the folk culture of Chengdu. Jinli Ancient Street will hold various performances regularly, like traditional wedding, folk music, folk drama and costume show, etc. There are also many traditional activities held in festivals. Besides that, the most attracting part of Jinli Ancient Street is that tourists can taste various Chengdu featured foods and local snacks in here. In one word, Jinli Ancient Street is the spiritual post house to feel the romance and leisure of Chengdu.
Highlights
When you enter into this street, every step is highlight no matter whether is daytime or night.Jinli Ancient Street is one of the oldest shopping streets, strolling down the narrow street, you will find yourself surrounded by the a world of stores selling Shu Embroidery, lacquer products, folk handicrafts, curios, calligraphies and paintings. On the street, you could witness the real Chengdu local life and authentic culture.
Sichuan Opera Performance
In the middle of the street, there is a wooden stage looks like an ancient pavilion which is used from time to time for performing classic Sichuan Operas. Sichuan Opera is one of the famous operas in Chinese operas. With a long history, it still reserves many traditional operas. The most famous stunt of Sichuan Opera is Face Changing, which is used to reveal the characters’ emotional changes. Facing Changing may be the essence of Sichuan Opera, and when the actor performs Face Changing, he will tear off, rub or blow away the mask on his face to reveal another mask during the performance. Besides the stage, tourists can watch the Sichuan Opera in some restaurants or tea houses in Jinli Ancient Street, and as long as you eat or order a cup of tea in these places, you can watch the Sichuan Opera performance for free.
Local Snacks & Specialties
Speak of Jinli Ancient Street, local people will first think it’s a paradise for Chengdu snacks. At the end of Jinli Ancient Street, there is a section of road which sells various Chengdu snacks at here. Spicy or sweet, crispy or soft, you will always find your favorite here. In general, the local snacks in Jinli Ancient Street are rather authentic, and the prices for them are very fair. Before you visit Jinli Ancient Street, make sure you have an empty stomach.
Besides the local snacks, tourists can also find many Sichuan specialties which are rare in Chengdu city center. If you want to purchase some gifts for your foodie friends, these are the best choices.
Folk Art
At the roadside stands, tourists can see many folk artisan performances on the street. Jinli Ancient Street is a great place to experience the local folk art culture. Sugar painting, clay figurines, paper cutouts, and puppet shadow show, etc. are all available on the street. You can purchases these products, and they will make the perfect gifts for your friends or family.
Location & Transportation
Jinli Ancient Street is located at the city center of Chengdu City, just next to Wuhou Memorial Temple. You can reach there by many public buses, like bus No.1, No.57, No.304, No.306, etc. From Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport, it’s about 17km from Jinli Ancient Street, and the drive will take about 40 minutes if you take a taxi (normally, it will cost about ¥50). From Chengdu North Railway Stationto Jinli, there is about 8km, and you will take about 30 minutes to get there.
Accommodation
Tourists can stay overnight at Jinli Ancient Street. All inns in Jinli are built in Qing Dynasty style, and tourists can have a special experience by living in Jinli Ancient Street. The inns are fully equipped, however, the price for these inns are higher than normal hotels. So if you want to find more economic hotels, then you can accommodate near the Jinli Ancient Street.
Best time to go
As a pedestrian street, you can visit Jinli Ancient Street all year around. However, the most confortable time is from March to June and September to November. Though, the temperature in summer and winter is not very high or low, however, the air humid is high in Chengdu. So summer is a bit of stuffiness and winter is a bit of clamminess. Spring and autumn are the best seasons.
Comparing with the day view, the night view of Jinli Ancient Street is more beautiful. At this time, there are fewer tourists, and all the red lanterns on the street are lit on, very beautiful.