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Du Fu's Thatched Cottage covers an area of 16 hectares. Constructions inside represent Qing Dynasty style, with gardens of the unique compound style in Chinese gardening tradition. The Gate, the Screen Wall, the Lobby, the History in Verse Hall, and the Gong Bu Temple are lined one by one along the middle axis, flanked by corridors and other auxiliary buildings. Among them and in between are trees and bamboo groves, winding brooks and linking small bridges. All these give the place an atmosphere of solemnity and meanwhile a sense of beauty and grace. To the east of the Gong Bu Temple stands the Tablet Pavilion which is the original site of Du fu's Cottage and has been a famous attraction of the city. In February 1997, the government allotted a special fund to rebuild the cottage itself. The newly-built cottage shows typical style of the west Sichuan home residence. The site is to the north of the Tablet Pavilion, covering an area of 1000 square meters with a construction area of 240 square meters. The cottage has 5 main and 4 attached rooms, with the thatched roofs and the old fashioned inside empty wall made of two layers of bamboo strip and spread on the surface with clay. Around the house are bamboo fences and inside the fences are vegetable and herb plots, easily reminding people of the scenes described in Du Fu's poems. While taking a quiet walk in such a historical cultural environment, visitors are apt to be brought back to the ancient times.
Feeling Free
I know well my thatched hut is low and small.
Swallows fly up from the river to where I dwell.
They drop bits of mud from their beaks
on my zither, my books. They fly inside
chasing bugs and sometimes brush against me.
In memory of the great poet, temples and pavilions were added to the area surrounding his Chengdu cottage during the Song Dynasty. Today, the site—part museum and part shrine—is home to the Chengdu Du Fu Society. Exhibits include a brief account of Du Fu's life and display examples of his calligraphy and poetry. The overall site is a pleasant place to spend an afternoon. In addition to the museum, you'll find a teahouse and peaceful bamboo gardens.
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