Anren Old Town

Anren is the name of this old town. Anren means “Good Wish”. Anren Old Town was built in Tang Dynasty about 14 centuries ago. Most of its remaining constructions are from end of Qing Dynasty and the beginning of Republic China, especially during 1930s when the Liu’s family was the head of this place. The constructions here are traditional yet have introduced western style, a result of the western influence during Republic China. The Lius were the richest family during that period and the house built were big and luxury. The main remaining complex in Anren includes Liu Wencai’s house, Liuxiang’s Mansion, Hongxin Street, Shuren Street and Yumin Street, Wencai Middle School and Belll Tower. And due to the completion of Jianchuan Museum, Anren was named the capital of China’s museums.

How to Get There

Using public bus you can start from Chadianzi Bus Station for about 1.5 hours and 16 yuan to arrive in Anren. The Bus schedules from 7:00 to 18:00 every 30 minutes one departure.

What to see at Anren Old Town

Liu’s House

There is a famous Chinese Poker Game”Doudizhu”, meaning to fight against the landlord, was related to Liu. During Communist time, landlords and other rich people were considered the suppressors of people therefore they were denounced as bad people. Time has changed but the poker game stays the same. Liu was a rich man during Republic China in the 1930s. There were five Liu brothers, Liuwencai being the head of this place, his brother Liuwenhui, was a military leader of Sichuan Province, governing the western part of Sichuan. At the beginning the complex was not as big as it is now, the construction never stopped until the Republics were defeated by the communists. The remaining houses were exact the same as they were in the late 1940s. among the many houses, Liu’s house is the most significant one in terms of size, technique of building and a combination of Chinese and western style. It is one of the representatives of the constructions built during Republic time. You need to pay 40 yuan to visit the Liu’s House.

Jiuchuan Museum Complex

Jianchuan Museum is the biggest private museum in China. It was founded by Fan Jianchuan. It is a group of museums at the same place featuring WW2, Communist China, Wenchuan Earthquake and the folk-customs of China. There are in total about 8 million collections at these museums. Jianchuan Museum is a very good place to learn about the history of what happened in China during WW2. The entrance charge to these museums costs 100 yuan.

Republic Gongguan Street

It includes Shuren Street, Yumin Street and Hongxing Street. All streets were built during republic time and were the commercial centerof Anren. In this part there are in total 14 distinctive constructions including Wencai Middle School, Anren Theater, Paoge Building, Wanchengyan Memorial, Tongqing Canteen, etc. There is also a Bashu School painting house at Anrem old town. In the house collected many famous Chinese painters’ work and it has displays of paintings in different seasons.

When you travel to Anren, you may consider trying some local food. Most of the food are similar as what you can find in Chengdu but here the price is usually cheaper and the food is more delicious and original. The blood pudding in Anren is one of the best in Sichuan. Other food they have here include Toufu pudding and Huangmeng Chicken.

Best Time to Go

Climate in Anren is close to the climate in Chengdu. The average temperature is about 16C with the average temperature in January at 6C and the average temperature in July at 26C.

Other information

Opening hours: all day

ecommended length of visiting: one day