Thatched Cottage of Du Fu

Thatched Cottage of Du Fu is located in the western suburbs of Chengdu. It is the former residence of the celebrated Tang dynasty poet, Du Fu.
Du Fu (712-770AD) was born in Henan province. He used to be an official in Chang'an (present Xian), the capital of the Tang dynasty. 10 years later, a rebellion broke out at the end of the Tang dynasty, and Du Fu went to Chengdu in order to get away from the rebellion. He built a humble cottage at this area and stayed for four years. During these four years, he composed more than 240 poems that are considered to be precious national treasures.
The cottage became dilapidated after Du Fu left Chengdu. But hundreds of years later in the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) a new temple was built on the original site of the thatched cottage to commemorate this outstanding person in Chinese literature. Then it was renovated and enlarged for several times. This is the scale and structure today. The present thatched cottage is a shrine to Chinese literature and a commemorative museum in the form of a traditional garden, in which leafy bamboos and plum trees are growing, streams are winding, bridges and pavilions are interweaving.