Wuhou Shrine

Why it's worth it

The temple to Zhuge Liang — the strategist of the Three Kingdoms — sharing its grounds with Liu Bei's tomb and the Huiling mausoleum grove since 223 AD. For Chinese visitors this is literary pilgrimage ground; for everyone else it's the Red Wall.

Don't miss

• The Red Wall bamboo alley — grey brick, green bamboo, the most photographed corridor in Chengdu
• Liu Bei's hill tomb, a quiet earthen mound wrapped in ancient cypress
• The Three Kingdoms culture museum inside the grounds, if the names Cao Cao and Guan Yu mean anything to you

Getting there

Metro Line 3 to Gaoshengqiao, Exit D; the shrine entrance faces Jinli Street across the square.

Tips

• Morning light through the bamboo on the Red Wall — by noon it's backlit and packed
• An hour covers it; exit through the back gate straight into Jinli for the evening
• Read the couplets at Zhuge Liang's hall — the most famous one critiques the temple's own existence