Wuhou Shrine & Jinli Street
武侯祠
A shrine that honors Zhuge Liang and Liu Bei together as ruler and minister, a center of Three Kingdoms culture. Its red walls and bamboo paths are popular photo spots, and next door Jinli is a faux-antique snack street.
Wuhou Shrine was first built in 223, when Liu Bei was buried in the Huiling Mausoleum. It is the only temple in China that honors a ruler and his minister together, and it is the most influential museum of Three Kingdoms relics. Along the central axis are the main gate, the second gate, the Hall of Liu Bei (flanked by statues of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei and 28 statues of the officials and generals of Shu Han), an intermediate hall, and the Hall of Zhuge Liang. The Stele of the Three Perfections, a Tang-dynasty stele, stands in the latter, and it carries a woodblock print of the “Memorial on the Throne.” On the west side are Liu Bei's Huiling Mausoleum and the Temple of the Three Brothers. The red-walled path through the bamboo grove from the mausoleum to the Temple of the Three Brothers is the most popular photo spot in the complex, and the light is best in the morning. Admission is RMB 50 (book through the official “Chengdu Wuhou Shrine Museum” account or buy on site). You can rent an audio guide or join a free guided tour, and the Three Kingdoms exhibition in the museum area is worth seeing. Leaving the east gate of the shrine brings you to Jinli Ancient Street. Built in 2004 on the former grounds of the shrine, it is a commercial street styled after the late Qing and early Republican periods. It is 550 meters long and offers sanpao, Zhang Fei beef, sad cold jelly, sugar painting, shadow puppetry, and a small theater for Sichuan opera face-changing. The street is free to enter, and it is most atmospheric in the evening when the red lanterns are lit. A good plan is to enter the shrine around 3 pm, leave around 5 pm, and then eat snacks and enjoy the night view on Jinli. Nearby, it's a 15-minute walk to Chengdu Museum and Tianfu Square, or you can go to Shuadu or Yulin Road for a proper meal. Getting there: Metro Line 3 or 5 to Gaoshengqiao Station or Metro Line 10 to Wuhou Shrine Station, then a 10-minute walk. Bus stop: Wuhou Shrine.
Opening hours
Wuhou Shrine 08:00–20:00 (last entry 19:00); Jinli open all day, shops until 22:00
Nearby sights
- People's Park & Heming Teahouse
- Huaxiba (Former West China Union University)
- Shufeng Yayun Sichuan Opera Show
- Qingyang Palace (Green Ram Temple)
- Sichuan Museum
- Yulin Road
- Chengdu Museum
- Kuanzhai Alley