Jinli Ancient Street (锦里古街, Jǐnlǐ Gǔjiē)

Jinli is a 550-metre reconstructed Qing-style lane running along the east flank of Wuhou Shrine, and it is unapologetically a tourist attraction. Grey tile roofs, red lanterns strung overhead, wooden shopfronts, a small stage for occasional shadow-puppet shows, and a bar strip at the far end around a small pond. Locals mostly avoid it. That doesn't make it a waste of an hour.

What Jinli does well is compression. In a single walk you can sample eight or nine Sichuan snacks that would otherwise take you a day of hunting across the city: bangbang chicken (棒棒鸡, bàngbàng jī) with its sesame-and-chili dressing, drum-slapped san da pao rice balls, chuan chuan xiang skewers pulled from a chili broth, sweet-and-numbing liangfen jelly noodles, and rabbit head if you want the story. Portions are small and prices are inflated by roughly double, but ¥60 ($8.40) buys a genuinely varied tasting walk.

Be realistic about the crowds. From 19:00 on a weekend, movement through the food alley is slow shuffling, and the lane's charm evaporates when you can't see the ground. Weekday evenings are noticeably better.

Beyond the food, the shopping is standardised souvenir stock — silk, panda plush, shadow puppets, chili paste — with prices you should halve on principle. The bar area at the western pond, however, is quietly pleasant: outdoor tables, a local beer for ¥30 ($4.20), and a view of the illuminated roofline that justifies staying put for a while.