Once home to the famous Chinese poet known as ‘Dufu’, the site that stands today as Dufu’s Thatched Cottage is a beautiful picture of the culture and heritage of the Chinese. Having fled as a refugee from the Henan province at the age of 20, Dufu, who was part of the Tang Dynasty, built his home in Chengdu in the year 760. The cottage stands beside the Hanouan Stream, which is also known as the Flower Bathing Brook. In here, Dufu wrote more than 200 poetical masterpieces that are still highly regarded as national treasures by the Chinese.

The cottage and its surrounding area became dilapidated over time, but later on was reconstructed, renovated and several buildings added on by the Northern Song Dynasty, the Qing dynasty and by other parties interested in preserving this Chinese literature site at varying times. In 1961, the government named Dufu’s Thatched Cottage a national heritage spot. Over the years, crowds of tourists and locals have visited the place to catch a glimpse of the historical life of Dufu and view the beautiful structures and buildings that make the site an awesome place to visit.

The main building of Dufu’s Thatched Cotage is the Hall of Verse History. Dominated by a majestic statue of Dufu, the hall was built as a commemoration towards the poetic achievements of Dufu. Outside the Hall of Verse History, visitors are treated to the sight of the Flower Bathing Brook lazily meandering through the building of Dufu’s Thatched Cottage. Following the river, they will come to the Water Platform and the Faggot Gate which has been in existence right from the time that Dufu lived here. From the Faggot Gate, the next building to be visited is the Gong Bu Temple. Housing 3 statues, including one of Dufu, the temple stands as a symbol of the kind of quiet life that he lived at the cottage. Other structures worth seeing include the Tablet Pavilion made out of stone.

Tourists to the area should definitely take the time to stop in at Dufu’s Thatched Cottage which is one of the more popular Chengdu attractions, as it reflects the rich Chinese culture and heritage. Travellers’ looking for the perfect hotel to stay in that is ideally located for exploring the area whilst providing top class hospitality, should look no further than the elegant and classy Shangri-La Hotel, Chengdu.