At the centre of this bustling city, China’s fifth largest, is something you need to see. Well multiple things in fact, a cultural hub, the core. I walk here from my little hotel near Wenshu Temple and it only takes about 40 minutes. A great way to see more of this fascinating place and end up at Tianfu Square & Chairman Mao in the heart of Chengdu.
Chairman Mao
The main focus of this square and what I have come to see is the impressive Chairman Mao statue, the largest in the world! He resides high atop an embankment covered in red petunias. Behind Mao is a massive building, the Science and Technology Museum. Across the street is the Chengdu Museum, showcasing the history of the city and region.
Tianfu Square (天府广场)
At 88,000 square metres, Tianfu is the largest public square in southwest China. This vast space is filled with vibrant flower beds, multiple sunken musical fountains and at the centre, a Golden Sun Bird statue. It is difficult to fathom the size until you walk from fountain to fountain or around the site.
Stationed at each feature, are guards, even armoured vehicles on the streets and one parked in the square itself. There is a metro station, one of the largest in the city, that is directly underneath. But that’s not all that’s down there.
Shopping Concourse
I was searching for the Uniqlo store, thinking it was going to be in one of the malls or buildings around the circumference of the square. But Amaps kept pinpointing the location in the square itself! Much to my puzzlement, I made my way to the centre and looked down. There, underneath the entire size of the square, is a multi-level underground shopping plaza. Rows and rows of restaurants, cafés and food, even a movie theatre. And enough shopping that you won’t have to go anywhere else in the city for what you need. If you do want to explore, Metro Line 1 and 2 have entry/exit points here.
Tianfu Hong Shopping Centre (天府红购物中心)
Or Tianfu Hooot (No. 18 Dongyu Street, Jinjiang District), as the mall shows on the exterior is located on one corner of the square. This is a 5-story mall filled with all thing’s anime, comics and games. Loads of shops selling merch and many with dress-up clothing fill the spaces. These I was particularly curious about as I see young Chinese, females mostly, dressing up in character and walking the streets. I absolutely love it and wish I felt so free to dress as I wanted to when I was that age.
This was a common sight in South Korea and Japan, but here is has blossomed into a regular sight to see when exploring this interesting city.
At the heart of Chengdu is this vast space that I spent hours exploring and walking around. A little break underneath to enjoy a mango and matcha tea and I was back up to see more. I did indeed find the Uniqlo and many others shops that piqued my interest. But the best thing by far is that statue of Chairman Mao. Wow.
