Jinli – Which Places to Visit and Which Food to Eat

Jinli is a famous ancient street of the Chengdu, Sichuan, China. The Jinli Street (锦里) is the part of Temple of Marquis and about 550 meters long. The street is a true picture of ancient Chinese trends and customs. If you are fond of historical places and ancient architecture then you can find it all at Jinli Street. All the buildings along this street are in designed in Qing Dynasty style, themed on the “Three Kingdoms” culture, where one can find the traditional folk customs.

Most Prominent Features of Jinli Ancient Street:

In addition to its traditions custom and historical theme, Jinli Pedestrian Street is famous for other features as well. There are certain specialties about this ancient history which attracts a lot of visitors towards it.

• Baldachin Market – if you are a lover of rich and ornate cloth, then Jinli is the right place. Here you can find the rich & ornate cloth, the ‘Baldachin’ very easily.
• Big Temple Fair – In the spring season, Jinli Street is flooded by the visitors. The visitors come here to attend the Spring Festival and the “Big Temple Fair.”
• Hub of Shops, Stores, and Bars – this street is known to have the best snacks stores, bars, and street foods, dine inns and many souvenir shops.

Jinli Street Food - The Most Popular Street Food

Jinli Pedestrian Street has many local tea houses, snack shops and dines in restaurants where one enjoy tasty and delicious foods. There is a variety of snacks and food with authentic taste in affordable prices at Jinli. There are many snacks such as fried sugar ball, buckwheat noodle, yellow fermented glutinous rice, Sandapao, coke cake, beef coke cake, and so on.

The most popular and famous snacks which you must try at Jinli are:

• Lǔ Cài – Meat and vegetables braised in water at low heat and served with a soup base and noodles.
• Chòu Dòu Fu - Fried stinky tofu made with brine from fermented milk, vegetables, and meat.
• Liáng Miàn – Boiled, air dried noodles served with vegetables (carrot, cabbage, egg and cucumber) and a variety of sauces such as sesame, vinegar, or soy sauce.

Places near Jinli Street

The Jinli Pedestrian Street is the place where visitors can enjoy the traditional customs and foods of the Chinese folks. At the start of the street, there are many shops of folk’s handicrafts, lacquer products antiques, old porcelain dishes, calligraphies, paintings, and Shu embroidery. It is said that Jinli ancient street is known for its local food, folk music, folk artisan performance. 

Folk Music:

As Jinli Ancient Street is themed on the traditional customs and trends, therefore, it is known for its classical and folk music, plays and performances. There is a big wooden stage, which looks like an old pavilion, in the middle of Jinli Pedestrian Street. On this stage, classic Sichuan Operas are performed and you can enjoy Chinese folk music along with the actor’s perfect performances. They can stun you with their performances and how quickly and beautifully they change their costumes and make-ups.

Folk Artisan Performances:

Along the Jinli street roadsides, there are many folk artisan performances, where different artists amaze and mesmerize you with their fine art skills and talent. It includes puppet shadow shows, sugar painting, paper cutouts, shaping clay figurines and other artistic things. There is a very talented and skilled craftsman at Jinli ancient street, who engrave people’s name on a grain of rice and put it in the necklace.

Local Street Food:

Jinli Pedestrian Street is particularly famous for its local food and snacks. At the end of the road, there are many fine inns and snack shops on both sides of the street. It is full of a variety of local delicacies with fine taste. These local snack places are not only crowded by the visitors but locals also can’t resist its food.

Other Things to Do at Jinli:

Many traditional festivals and thematic activities are held at Jinli. You can enjoy the lantern fair during Lantern Festival, or Zongzi Eating Contest during the Dragon Boat Festival, witness the beauty of Moon on Mid-Autumn Day, Snack Festival, Chinese Valentine’s Day and many more.

Travel Tips

• Name: Jinli Street, 锦里古街
• Location and Address: 231 Wuhou Hall Street, to the east of Wuhou Temple Hall
• Opening Times: Open 7 days a week from morning until late at night.
• Entrance Fee : There is no entrance fee for the Jinli Street.

How To Get to Jinli Street Chengdu:

Traveling to Jinli is very easy and convenient. You can either take the bus from the Chengdu Bus Station or travel in the Metro Line. Both of the modes of transportation are cheap and convenient. It is a direct route from Chengdu to Jinli Street, whether you take the bus or travel via the metro. The bus no. 1, 57, 82, 334 or 1126 take you directly to the Wu Hou Ci (Wuhou Temple) Station and walk to the east of Temple. Alternatively, you can take the Metro Line 3 from the metro station which can stop at Gaoshengqiao, from where you can walk to the Jinli Pedestrian Street, to the east of Wu Hou temple, where you can enjoy the local food, music and other customs and traditions of Chinese Folks.

Places to Visit Near Jinli Street:

Around Jinli there are many famous tourist attractions which not far away from the street. These places are a true picture of Chengdu’s history and traditions. The following places are worth your visit

• Wuhou Memorial Temple –Wuhou Temple is located in the southwest of downtown Chengdu Dedicated to Zhuge Liang an excellent politician, militarist, diplomat and astronomer. The front and seond gate, Temple of Liu Bei, Sanyi Temple are worth visiting.
• Chengdu Sightseeing with Panda Breeding Center Visit – You can witness the beauty of giant and babies pandas in this Breeding center.
• Liu Bei's Tomb - Tomb of Liubei, is located in the west side of Wuhou Temple are worth visiting.
• Shu Feng Ya Yun Sichuan Opera – Classical and historical Chinese plays are performed in the Sichuan Opera which represents the Chinese culture, trends and customs.

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