Temple of the Marquis Wu (Wuhou Temple)

Temple of Marquis Wu, which is located in the south of Chengdu, is a famous historical site dedicated to the memory of both Liu Bei (161-223), Emperor of the Kingdom of Shu in the Three Kingdoms period (220-280), and Zhuge Liang (181-234), Prime Minister of the kingdom.

This Temple is the only ancestral temple in China in memorial of both the king and his officer. Covering a total area of 14 hectare, it consists of Hui Mausoleum, the Zhaolie Temple of Han Dynasty, Wuhou Temple and the Sanyi Temple. It was built 1,800 years ago when Liu Bei's mausoleum began to be built in 223 AD. Throughout the North and South Dynasties, Tang and Song Dynasties, it had already been a famous tourist attraction. Du Fu, the renowned poet was inspired by this imposing temple covered by exuberance cypress, and composed the beautiful lines passed on through the ages, which says "where the Temple of Marquis Wu situates, amid dense growths of cypresses and pines, outside the Jingguan City". The temple we see nowadays took shape in the early Ming Dynasty. The existing main body of the building was rebuilt in the 11th year of Kangxi's reign in Qing Dynasty (1672). It faces the south and its front gate, the middle gate, Liu Bei Hall, Passing Hall, Zhuge Liang Hall are arranged in a central axes in sequence. Along with the newly-built Sanyi Temple, Jieyi Tower, there are seven sections in sequence. The Hui Mausoleum is to the west of the central axes.

There are 50 statues in the temple in memorial of Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and other figures in Shuhan Kingdom. It boasts of more than 70 steles and couplet hung on the column of the halls among which the couplet of "Gong Xin" (to win the heart of people) written by Zhao Pang in Qing Dynasty is the most famous and it also inspired deep thought of China's top leaders. There are also about 50 steles among which the "the stele in honor of Wuhou" of Tang Dynasty is the most notable and is also regarded as the "Sanjue Stele" which implies its highest value in art in history. The museum of the temple have a rich collection of cultural relics in different grades and about 1 thousand calligraphies and paintings, as well as books related to the Three Kingdom history.

The visitors can visit the Tomb of Liu Xiang, a famous general in the Anti-Japanese War, the Exhibition of the Three Kingdom History, the Hechang Garden, the Tourists Center of Xiangye Hall, the Tingli Hall, the Jieyi Tower, and the Peach Garden, etc. In the temple, one can enjoy the profound culture and fine environment during the stay. Jingli, a newly built scenic spot which integrated the functions of visiting, shopping, and recreation unfolds, screening film and television before the visitors a picture of the traditional and local customs in the west Sichuan and it seeks to meet the visitors' needs of experiencing , relaxing and interacting during their travel . During the Spring Festival, the grand traditional activity "The Visiting to the God of Happiness" will be held here every year.