Chengdu Kuanzhai Alley Travel Tips

You must have been to Jinli Street to experience the essence of Chengdu during Chengdu tour. If you have been to Jinli Street, you must also go to Kuanzhai Alley, which is another famous site to explore and discover the most Chengdu styled culture and life.

Kuanzhai Alley is one of the three historical and cultural reserves, together with Daci Temple reserve and Wenshu Monastery. Also known as Wide and Narrow Alley, Kuanzhai Alley is actually consisted of three parallel alleys Kuan Alley, Zhai Alley and Jing Alley (Well Alley), and the grid pattern streets and courtyards formed by the three parallel alleys.
As we all know, Chengdu is famed for its laid-back lifestyle and various delicious food. And Kuanzhai Alley is the right place to get the taste of Old Chengdu, especially the collection of architectures there are typical and classic representatives of the old Chengdu. Most of these buildings are of ancient Ming and Qing Dynasties, while some are western styled courtyards and some are antique-looking modern architectures. All are beautiful and delicate especially special and unique when lights are lit up at night.
The three alleys are featured with their own outstanding characteristics to provide rich contents of themed entertainments for visitors.
Kuan Alley is themed at leisure lifestyle of Chengdu City. At Kuan Alley, visitors are supposed to enjoy the authentic leisure lifestyle of ancient Chengdu, especially those traditional folk customs of Chengdu. You can sip a cup of tea in a courtyard; you can enjoy authentic Sichuan food in a lavish decorated restaurant or taste some delicious snacks in an open air restaurant; find a place to watch a shadow plays and puppet plays. All the entertainments in Kuan Alley are made to experience and memorize the leisure and ancient Chengdu lifestyle.
Zhai Alley is themed at laid-back lifestyle of Chengdu City. While the slow lifestyle is fully demonstrated by the courtyards in Zhai Alley that are outstandingly featured with gardening culture. You can imagine the surprise when you enter a house, you see a garden; then when you enter the garden there appears another house; then shows a courtyard for a third entrance. Then there come trees and flowers. Zhai Alley is quite popular in the afternoon to enjoy a slow lifestyle because there are also a lot of elegantly or western decorated restaurants and bars, boutique shops and musical pubs for you to stay and have fun.
Jing Alley is themed at modern lifestyle of Chengdu City. To experience the young and fashion lifestyle of Chengdu, Jing Alley is a great place to go. It is a popular place for nightlife in Chengdu. There are a collection of nightclubs and bars that are open to you to experience the modern creative lifestyle there.

If you say Kuanzhai Alley is a historical and cultural site, it is; if you say it is just a leisure and entertaining area where you can relax and have great fun, it truly is; if you think it is a landmark of Chengdu that bears the culture and lifestyle of Chengdu, it certainly is. Whatever you are looking for at Kuanzhai Alley, you’ll get what you want from it.