Anren Ancient Town is located in Anren Town, Dayi County, Chengdu City, Sichuan Province. It is 39 kilometers from downtown Chengdu and 8.5 kilometers from Dayi County seat. It is a National 5A-level tourist attraction. The ancient town has a long history of more than 1,380 years. Most of the existing old-style street and lane buildings were built in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. Because of its distinctive architectural style combining Chinese and Western elements, it is known as a "masterpiece of Western Sichuan architectural culture." The planned area of the scenic area is 4.1 square kilometers, and the core scenic area covers 3 square kilometers. It has relatively well-preserved historical blocks, manor residences, and ancient building complexes totaling 300,000 square meters.
Historical Culture
In the third year of Wude in the Tang Dynasty (620 AD), Anren County was established. Until the 21st year of the Yuan Dynasty (1284 AD), Anren County was placed under Dayi County. The ancient town has witnessed historical changes and possesses a rich cultural heritage. It is China's Museum Town, with numerous museum venues and rich collections. Among them, the Jianchuan Museum Cluster has more than 10 million collected items, including 3,616 national first-class cultural relics. In addition, the ancient town still preserves traditional Western Sichuan folk culture. For example, the drama Anren Today and Yesterday tells legendary stories from the War of Resistance Against Japan through a unique performance format, allowing visitors to experience history immersively.
Main Attractions
Anren Planning Exhibition Hall
With a total area of nearly 1,000 square meters, it displays Anren's history, culture, tourism, and future development plans in a concentrated way. It is a comprehensive exhibition hall and also a platform for tourism resource indexing and local history education in Anren.
Mansion Old Street
Also called Republic of China Style Street, it covers an area of about 158,000 square meters and consists of Shuren Street, Yumin Street, Hongxing Street, and Deren Lane, with a total length of about 500 meters. There are 12 well-preserved mansions and more than 210 civilian houses. Visitors can visit 10 Republic of China-era mansions, the Wei Minglun Literature Museum, and other sites.
Liu Family Manor Museum
Built between 1928 and 1942, it consists of five mansions of Liu Wencai, a modern Sichuan bureaucratic landlord, and his brothers, as well as an ancestral residence of the Liu family. It covers a total area of more than 70,000 square meters, with a building area of more than 21,000 square meters and a total of 545 rooms. It is currently the largest, most magnificent, and Chinese-Western-style modern landlord manor architectural complex in China, and it is also a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level.
Jianchuan Museum
Covering an area of 0.333 square kilometers, it was built by private entrepreneur Mr. Fan Jianchuan. Construction began in 2003, and it officially opened to the public in August 2005. The museum has more than 30 branch museums under four major series: the War of Resistance, folk customs, the Red Age, and earthquake relief. Thirty-two venues have been completed and opened. It is currently the non-state-owned museum with the largest private capital investment, the largest construction scale and exhibition area, and the richest collection content in China.
South Bank Beautiful Village
Covering an area of 1.73 square kilometers, it uses the Western Sichuan forest-plateau pastoral landscape as its carrier and flowers as its theme. It has diverse business formats such as the Splendid Anren Wonderland Garden, distinctive honeycomb hotels, Beautiful Village homestay clusters, and holiday camps. It is a one-stop rural resort integrating sightseeing, touring, leisure, entertainment, and vacation.
Tianfu Street
Located at the western entrance of the ancient town, it is more than 1,500 meters long and has a permanent population of about 650. It was first built in the 1940s and has small courtyards, Xiang Lane, Chun Lane, and other Western Sichuan residential buildings, as well as cultural attractions such as Fortune Culture Square.
Anren Academy
Located in the second phase of Republic of China Style Street, it was founded in January 2015 and currently has nearly 30,000 books. It is a branch library of the Sichuan Provincial Library. Its overall style is Western Sichuan, with a strong Republic of China atmosphere.
Dangdang Tram
From the tram terminus (Liu Family Manor) to Anren Bazi, the line is 1.8 kilometers long. It is composed of wooden doors, sea-blue floors, leather seats, and portraits of women from the Republic of China era. It connects scenic spots such as the ancient town's Republic of China Style Street, Liu Family Manor, Platform Coffee, and Anren Academy.
Anhuili
Built in 2007 on the road connecting the Old Mansion and the New Mansion, it has a traditional characteristic stone archway at the entrance. There is a small irrigation canal in the middle of the street, and the shops on both sides mainly deal in antiques.
Suggested Tour Route：
You can first take the Dangdang Tram to tour the ancient town's Republic of China Style Street and admire the Chinese-Western architecture; then visit the Liu Family Manor Museum to learn about the history of a modern landlord manor; then go to the Jianchuan Museum to feel the weight of history; in the afternoon, you can visit South Bank Beautiful Village and enjoy the pastoral scenery; in the evening, taste local specialties in the ancient town and experience its nightlife.
Travel Suggestions：
Learn about the ancient town's history and culture in advance so that you can better visit the attractions.
If time permits, you can stay overnight in the ancient town and experience its quiet nights and early mornings.
When tasting specialty foods, you can try more local snacks and traditional dishes.
Participate in the drama performance Anren Today and Yesterday to immersively experience the ancient town's history and culture.
Notes：
Anren Ancient Town is relatively close to Huashuiwan and Xiling Snow Mountain. If time is sufficient, you can go there as well.
The ancient town and Liu Family Manor have strong Western Sichuan architectural and cultural characteristics. It is recommended to hire a guide to accompany your visit.
The climate here is changeable. Please prepare rain gear in advance before traveling.
Please pay attention to safety when riding the tram in the ancient town.
Transportation：
Self-driving: From Chengdu East Railway Station, you can reach Anren Ancient Town via the Third Ring Road, Yongkang Road, Chengxinpu Avenue, Chengwenqiong Expressway (Shuangliu-Anren), and Da'an Road (Dayi-Anren); from Shuangliu Airport, you can arrive via Lingang Road, Chengxinpu Avenue, Chengwenqiong Expressway (Shuangliu-Anren), and Da'an Road (Dayi-Anren); from Tianfu International Airport, you can arrive via Konggang Avenue, Tianfu Airport Expressway, Chengdu Second Ring Expressway, Chengming Expressway, and Da'an Road (Dayi-Anren).
Passenger transport and buses: You can first go to Chengdu West Railway Station, then transfer to Dayi Station, and then transfer to Bus Routes 211, 213, or 215. Board at High-speed Rail Da'an Intersection Station and get off at Anren Ancient Town Visitor Center Station. There is also intercity passenger transport from Chengdu to Anren. Chengdu departures are from 7:20 to 19:40, and Anren departures are from 5:40 to 18:10. The fare is 25 yuan per person.
Opening Hours：
Open 24 hours a day, but the generally recommended visiting time is 09:00-18:00.
Tickets：
The scenic area is open for free. Internal projects require additional charges.