Get a taste of history
Tourist area evolved from one of the city's oldest neighbourhoods. Reports by Sascha Matuszak
As Chengdu transforms to take its place beside Asia's major metropolitan areas as an economic powerhouse, it is important that the city continues to maintain its identity by pointing visitors towards its rich history and culture.
A case in point is one of Chengdu's more famous tourist destinations, Kuan Zhai Xiangzi, or "wide and narrow alley". This is one of the oldest surviving neighbourhoods in the city, but one wouldn't guess it walking down the bustling, renovated faux-Qing era streets today.
Kuan Zhai Xiangzi is always busy, with street-front food stalls vying with upscale Sichuanese restaurants and tea houses for the attention of more than 1 million visitors each year. High-end hotels and beautifully restored woodwork and stonework belie the ancient foundation upon which this district rests.
This neighbourhood was known as Shaocheng, or "little city", during the Qing dynasty. It was a closed-off neighbourhood where only Manchu soldiers and officials lived, while the city's Han population flowed out across the banks of the Funan River.
For three centuries, Manchu warriors performed drills outside of Shaocheng's walls, then rested safely inside their gated community. All that changed when the dynasty fell in 1911, ushering in revolution and change.
For the next few decades, Kuan Zhai Xiangzi's mansions were the property of the nationalist generals and officials who replaced their former masters. Once again, Shaocheng was closed off from the general populace.
After the communist victory in 1949, the homes switched hands again, this time to poor workers and labourers who took over the mansions. Where once one clan ruled over a vast courtyard, now several families washed clothes, ate dinner and slept side-by-side. The common people held sway over the alleys for 60 years.
In 2008, the city decided to renovate Kuan Zhai Xiangzi along the lines of Shanghai's Xintiandi and Beijing's hutongs. Most of the families were moved out and replaced with businesses - primarily restaurants and cafes - and the streets were turned over to tourists. However, there are still two or three families living in the area today.
Just down the street is People's Park, another popular destination for visitors and locals alike. The park hosts flower exhibitions, mass dancing and chess matches, and visitors can enjoy boat rides on the small lakes there.
A pillar in a far corner of the park tells the story of the park's pivotal place in Chinese history. Workers gathered there in 1911 to protest the empire's cooperation with a British firm in the construction of a rail line between Wuhan and Chengdu.
The protests spiralled out of control and led to more uprisings across the nation, eventually sparking an all-out rebellion that toppled the Qing dynasty and ushered in the nationalist era.
Today, the park and the alley are most commonly known as tourist attractions, seemingly far removed from the years of rebellion and old enclaves of privilege. But People's Park and Kuan Zhai Xiangzi have enduring appeal because of their historical significance and their connection to the people and identity of Chengdu.