Jinli Old Street Route

What Jinli is

Jinli is an old-style shopping street opened right beside the Wuhou Shrine, which honours Zhuge Liang and other heroes of the Three Kingdoms. Its name recalls that Chengdu, capital of Shu, was long a producer of brocade (jin). Today's Jinli is a tourist street rebuilt in Ming-and-Qing style, yet its stone lanes are packed with snack stalls, known as a place to see all of Chengdu's sweets and light bites at once. The crack of sandapao, the scent of frying guozi, the iron pan griddling danhonggao — an entrance to a food walk taken with the senses.

Chengdu's sweet and hot

Walking Chengdu's snacks, the first thing you notice is sweet and hot arriving in turn. Brown-sugar sweets — sandapao, tangyou guozi, bingfen, liang gao — are tucked between the spicy bobo ji and heartbroken jelly. This sweet-hot alternation sets the rhythm of a Chengdu food walk. Even the heat differs: Chengdu's pepper-numbness is finer than Chongqing's, leaning toward fragrance. Not to be worn down by the heat, cool the mouth with sweets and go a little at a time — the wise way to walk.

How to walk this route

Start at Gaoshengqiao on Metro Line 3. Enter the mouth of Jinli past the Wuhou Shrine and take your first with the made-to-order sandapao. Then follow the stone lane, eating tangyou guozi, danhonggao and bobo ji a little at a time. When the heat piles up, switch with heartbroken jelly and close by cooling your mouth with brown-sugar bingfen. Most are walking snacks, so the tables turn fast even when busy. Reckon about two hours on foot; the heat is adjustable at each shop, so order to your own limit. Weekends and evenings get very crowded — aim for early morning.