Tianfu Square (天府广场)
Tianfu Square (天府广场) is right at the center of Chengdu. It is a large public square with a big underground food court. There are a few better-than-okay museums and a library nearby.
Chengdu Museum
The Chengdu Museum is on the west side of Tianfu Square. It is beautifully designed and well curated. It dedicated 3 floors of the beautifully designed museum to the history of Chengdu and how it played its role in the Chinese history, especially during the Mongolian invasion and the Second World War against the Japanese invasion.
I can see that the Chengdu people are very proud of their achievements and their patriotism. I’ve learned a lot about the Chinese history through the eyes of the Chengdu people. Besides the history aspect, the museum also displayed the various aspects of life in Chengdu, for example, their cuisines - I didn’t know that chilli was introduced to China during the Ming dynasty. So the tradition of eating spicy food in Sichuan was a relatively recent one. They did produce and use peppercorn for a much longer time though. The exhibit also showcased how the people of Chengdu entertain themselves with martial arts and operas.
Overall, it was well worth our time visiting this museum.
Sichuan Provincial Library (四川省图书馆)
The Sichuan Provincial Library is located at the North West corner of the Tianfu Square. It was originally built in 1912 and is one of the oldest libraries in China. There are free lockers on the first floor. This is a good place to relax and just to absorb what you have learnt from the nearby museums.
Sichuan Art Museum
We also visited the Sichuan Art Museum. The post-modernist displays and photographs were nifty and all, but what really grabbed us were the traditional Chinese paintings, in honor of the PRC's 70th birthday. They were beautiful and gave us a lot of inspiration.