Giant pandas are one of my favorite animals. I mean, how could they not be? They’re fluffy, have adorable eyes, play like silly children, and are basically a global icon. Chengdu is known as the panda capital in China, with two large conservation projects devoted to giant panda research and breeding (thanks to these efforts, the species is no longer listed as “endangered” but still “vulnerable”). Pandas are an essential part of tourism to Chengdu, and Chengdu is not afraid to show off its love for its favorite black and white creatures. You’ll find panda statues, panda logos, panda memorabilia, and panda toys practically on every corner of the whole city. But what else is there to do in Chengdu besides see pandas?
Believe it or not, despite having quite an emotional love for giant pandas (orcas/killer whales being the other), I did not venture out to see any giant pandas on my latest Chengdu visit. Gasp! I know, I know. But getting up close and personal with giant pandas is something I want to experience for the first time alongside my daughter, so I chose to save it for a future visit and focus on more cultural highlights in the city instead. Pandas are awesome, but so is history and culture, and Chengdu has a lot to offer on both accounts.
Wenshu Temple
I woke up particularly early for this venture on my first full day in Chengdu. Wenshu Temple is a Buddhist temple right smack in the middle of Chengdu, but once you enter the grounds, any hint of city life feels like a distant memory. There’s a reason why I visited first thing in the morning, before I even grabbed any Sichuan noodles for breakfast or caffeinated tea to help me wake. Temples can be enjoyed throughout the day, but there’s something special about visiting a temple just as the city is waking up. There’s hardly any people. I could count on one hand how many people I saw when I arrived at 8 am, and three of them were enjoying silent tai chi. Actually, that’s incorrect. It wasn’t silent. The songs of the birds singing in the numerous tall trees echoed throughout the complex and provided a natural background noise. And funnily enough, it wasn’t people I kept coming across on the winding paths through the trees and around the historical halls but large, curious rabbits. And of course I couldn’t help but say hello to the temple’s resident cats as well, little bean’s favorite beings to say hi to at any temple.
The original temple on the site of Wenshu Temple was built back in the 6th century and stood for over 1000 years before being completely destroyed by a fire. At the end of the 17th century, a new cottage was built that was named Wenshu Temple, and it was expanded in the early 18th century. It was expanded again into what we see today in the 19th century, and the pavilion itself has been recognized as a National Key Buddhist Temple in China. I absolutely loved my visit, especially the first thing in the morning. It felt like I had a piece of Chengdu history all to myself for a little while. Well, except for my new bird, rabbit, and feline friends.
Also right outside Wenshu Temple is Wenshuyuan, which is a cultural area featuring Qing-style architecture and home to local coffee shops, tea houses, and street food vendors. Please get your hands on a dan hong gao, a speciality egg pancake that is famous in Chengdu, and thank me later.
I was not able to visit every spot I had wanted to in Chengdu during my three-day visit. Chengdu is easily a place you could spend a week in without ever getting bored. I stayed at Upper House Chengdu which proved to be a perfectly located home base for my adventures around the city. Chengdu is home to several historical sites, with Upper House Chengdu itself being one of them, so if you really want to immerse yourself in Sichuan history and culture, look no further than Chengdu and its plethora of temples, bridges, and centuries-old buildings.
