Jinli Ancient Street: 550 Metres of "Western Shu's First Street"
World Travel 编辑部 · 2026-09-10 · 6 min read
Jinli Ancient Street: 550 Metres of "Western Shu's First Street"
Jinli, also called Jinli Street, is an old commercial street in Chengdu whose story reaches back to the Qin and Han. Tradition holds it was among the oldest and most commercially alive streets of western Shu, and that it was known nationwide by the Three Kingdoms period. It sits next to Wuhou Shrine, in a mood of ancient Shu.
The name
Jinli means the Brocade Ward. Chang Qu's Chronicle of Huayang records the origin: brocade weavers rinsed their cloth in these waters and it came out bright; in other rivers it dulled — and so the place was called Jinli. The name later became a byword for Chengdu itself.
The story fits the city's other names. Under the Han, Chengdu's silk weaving was so important that the court posted a brocade officer to oversee it and built a "Brocade Officer's City" in the southwest — which is where "Brocade City" comes from.
Rebuilt by the Wuhou Shrine Museum
Today's Jinli was rebuilt by the Chengdu Wuhou Shrine Museum and forms part of Wuhou Shrine — its folk-culture zone. The street runs 550 m and is built in late-Qing and early-Republican styles, given over to Three Kingdoms history and Sichuan folk culture.
The timeline:
- October 2004: opened to the public
- January 2009: the second phase, the waterside extension, opened
- 2005: named one of China's ten great city commercial streets, alongside Wangfujing in Beijing, Jianghan Road in Wuhan, Jiefangbei in Chongqing and Heping Road in Tianjin — "Western Shu's first street", and "Chengdu's own Along the River During Qingming"
- 2006: designated a national demonstration base for cultural industry by the Ministry of Culture
What to eat and watch
Shops sell chopsticks, tea, lanterns, silk quilts and local produce; kitchens serve Zhang Fei beef, sandapao and intestine noodles. The crafts are the real draw: clay figurines, sugar painting, paper-cutting, lanterns and shop banners, all made on the spot.
As an AAAA-rated scenic area, Jinli re-creates the look of an ancient western Shu market. Its opera stage, old teahouses and lantern-lit evenings photograph beautifully — come twice, day and night, and it is a different place.
Practical
- When: browse the shops by day, come back at night for the lanterns, when Jinli looks its best
- Eating: Zhang Fei beef, sandapao and intestine noodles are the signatures; eat as you walk
- Crafts: sugar painting, clay figures and paper-cutting beat buying souvenirs
- Pair it with: Wuhou Shrine, over the wall, in the same half-day
- Crowds: heavy at holidays and after dark; be patient with photographs
Related
- Wuhou Shrine: China's Only Temple to Ruler and Minister Together
- Kuanzhai Alley: Old Chengdu in Three Lanes
Photos
Sources
- Wikipedia: Jinli; Chengdu (the Brocade City name)