Wuhou Shrine (武侯祠, Wǔhóu Cí)

Wuhou Shrine commemorates Zhuge Liang (诸葛亮, Zhūgě Liàng), the strategist-chancellor of the Shu Han kingdom and the closest thing Chinese history has to a folk-hero genius. Founded in the 6th century and rebuilt in 1672, it's unusual among Chinese memorial temples in that it honours a minister alongside his emperor, Liu Bei (刘备), whose tomb mound sits at the back of the complex.

If you've read Romance of the Three Kingdoms or played any of the games, this place is a pilgrimage. If you haven't, come anyway for the setting: linked courtyards of red-lacquered halls, stone stelae under old cypresses, ponds full of koi, and a bamboo-lined corridor beside a crimson wall that is arguably the prettiest 50 metres in Chengdu.

The layout is straightforward — enter, pass through the twin halls of Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang with their painted clay figures of Shu generals, then drift west into the Sanyi Temple garden and the walled tomb. The whole thing takes about 90 minutes at a wandering pace. There's a decent teahouse in the garden section where a cup runs ¥30 ($4.20), far calmer than anything in Jinli next door.

Honest assessment: the halls themselves are dark, modest and dependent on context to be interesting. The garden and architecture carry the visit. Pair it with Jinli in a single afternoon block, because they share a wall and separating them wastes a metro trip.