Literary attraction

The Du Fu Thatched Cottage Museum in Chengdu, Sichuan province, is built around the location where the acclaimed ancient poet built his family cottage in AD 760. It also includes traditional structures. [Photo by Ding Hao/China Daily]

Local architect and painter Liu Weibing says the museum's re-creation of the poet's cottage recalls linpan－Sichuan farmers' traditional thatched-roofed houses in bamboo forests by streams. Such dwellings have existed in the area for about 4,700 years.

The 50-year-old grew up among such dwellings and associates them with a slower pace of life. He recently published a book about them.

"Linpan and the lifestyle they represent are quickly vanishing," he says.

"(Du's) cottage in the bamboo next to the brook serves as a reminder."

The museum also harks back to the past with a hall that displays Tang Dynasty relics discovered on the site in 2001.

Over 106 of them remain intact. They include bowls, chess pieces and metal ware. Eave tiles and bricks display patterns of flora and fauna.

The hall also houses the excavation pit.

Archeologists unearthed artifacts from other dynasties piled atop the Tang artifacts.

Such a find is rare, Chengdu Relics and Archaeological Institute head Wang Yi says.

Then again, contemporary visitors discover there are many things that make Du's Thatched Cottage a unique place in the history of China and the world.

Contact the writer at huangzhiling@chinadaily.com.cn