# Kuanzhai Alley, Chengdu > Kuanzhai Alley (Kuanzhai Xiangzi, the Wide and Narrow Alleys) is three parallel lanes of restored Qing-era courtyard houses in central Chengdu, now full of teahouses, snacks, shops and face-changing shows. Entry is free and the lanes never close; shops keep roughly 10:00–22:00. Give it 1–2 hours. Metro: Line 4, Kuanzhai Alley station. Web page: https://yesgo.io/china/chengdu/kuanzhai-alley - City: [Chengdu](https://yesgo.io/china/chengdu), China - YesGo score: 42/100 (Yes, if nearby) - Time on site: 1 h - Opening hours: Lanes open 24/7; shops and cafés roughly 10:00–22:00, bars and some teahouses later (unofficial) - With kids: Fine with kids - Entry: Free, no ticket or booking, open 24 hours - Shops, cafés, teahouses: Roughly 10:00–22:00; bars and some teahouses later - Metro: Line 4, Kuanzhai Alley (宽窄巷子), Exit B — a couple of minutes' walk - From Tianfu Square: Line 1 to Luomashi, then one stop on Line 4 — or 25–30 minutes on foot - Tea in the lanes: Roughly ¥30–100 a cup or pot; cheaper in People's Park - Ear cleaning: Roughly ¥20–60 for a proper session; agree the price first - Face-changing: Short teahouse shows from about ¥20–40 plus tea; evening shows about ¥100–200 - Payment: Alipay or WeChat Pay linked to a foreign card, plus cash; small stalls rarely take cards - Time needed: 1–2 hours; 3 with tea and a show - Coordinates: 30.66734, 104.04918 - Facts checked: 04.11.2026 ## Key facts - **Free** — an open city district — no tickets, open around the clock (source: China Daily; China for Travelers; travelofchina.com) - **3 lanes** — Wide (Kuan), Narrow (Zhai) and Well (Jing) Alley run side by side (source: Chinese Wikipedia; China Daily; People's Daily) - **Line 4** — Kuanzhai Alley metro station (宽窄巷子); Exit B for the lanes (source: English Wikipedia; China for Travelers) - **1718** — the Qing court built the Shaocheng garrison town here for Manchu troops (source: Chinese Wikipedia; The Paper) - **14 June 2008** — the district reopened after years of restoration (source: Chinese Wikipedia; The Paper; Travel China Guide) - **45 courtyards** — in late-Qing and early-20th-century style behind the lane fronts (source: Travel China Guide; Sina, 27.02.2008; travelofchina.com) - **1948** — a city street survey fixed the lanes' present names (source: Chinese Wikipedia; chinatripedia.com) - **One of three** — historic conservation areas of Chengdu, with Wenshu and Daci (source: Travel China Guide; Sina, 27.02.2008; People's Daily) - **2020** — named in China's first list of national model pedestrian streets (source: Chinese Wikipedia; travelofchina.com) - **No. 11** — the ‘Kai Lu’ gateway on Wide Alley, the district's best-known entrance (source: The Paper; dahepiao.com) ## Is Kuanzhai Alley worth visiting? Yes — for an hour or two of tea, snacks and old-Chengdu atmosphere, as long as you know what it is. Kuanzhai Alley is a fully restored heritage block rather than an untouched old neighbourhood, and it's busy and commercial. But it's free, central and right on the metro, and it's the easiest place to try a teahouse, an ear cleaning and a face-changing show in one walk. **Kuanzhai Xiangzi** (宽窄巷子) means ‘Wide and Narrow Alleys’. The three lanes — **Wide Alley**, **Narrow Alley** and **Well Alley**, named after its well — are all that survive of **Shaocheng**, the walled garrison town the Qing court built inside Chengdu in 1718 for its Manchu troops. A city survey in 1948 fixed the names you see on the signs today. Restoration was approved in 2003, residents were moved out, the courtyards were rebuilt in grey brick and dark tile, and the district reopened on 14 June 2008. Behind the lane fronts are 45 courtyards, now teahouses, restaurants, boutiques and small hotels. Skip it if you've just done Beijing's hutongs and want the real thing; otherwise, it's a pleasant half-day with People's Park next door. > **Agree the price before you sit down** In teahouses and with ear cleaners, the price on the sign is often just the start: a cheap show ticket comes with compulsory tea, and a quick ear cleaning can turn into an extra ‘wash’ at the till. Ask for the total and what it covers before you take a seat. Everything costs more in the lanes than in nearby People's Park. ## Things to do in Kuanzhai Alley - **Walk Wide Alley (Kuan Xiangzi)** — the most old buildings and the most traditional feel: courtyard teahouses, Sichuan restaurants and crafts. Look for the ‘Kai Lu’ (恺庐) gateway at No. 11, the district's best-known entrance, its name written left to right rather than in the old right-to-left order. - **Stroll Narrow Alley (Zhai Xiangzi)** — quieter and greener, with bamboo, ivy, wall lanterns, late-Qing houses and a few early Western-style villas, now mostly cafés and restaurants. - **See the brick wall on Well Alley (Jing Xiangzi)** — the liveliest lane, with bars, desserts and snacks, and a long wall built of bricks from different eras with reliefs of old Chengdu life. It's the best photo backdrop in the district. - **Sit in a courtyard teahouse** with Sichuan tea in a lidded gaiwan cup and a bamboo chair; hot-water refills are endless. - **Try ear cleaning (cǎo ěrduo)** — a Chengdu tradition in which a master works with a set of fine tools while you sit back in a teahouse chair. - **Watch face-changing (biànliǎn)** — the Sichuan opera act where a performer swaps masks in a flash. Short shows run in the district's teahouses; longer ones in the evening. - **Graze on street food** — glutinous ‘san da pao’ balls, wontons, sugar-coated ‘tang you guozi’ and, for the brave, spicy rabbit heads. ## Tea, ear cleaning and face-changing shows: prices None of these have official prices, and they vary a lot from venue to venue. According to recent travel guides, tea in the lanes runs about ¥30–100 a cup or pot, a proper ear cleaning about ¥20–60, and a short face-changing show in a teahouse from about ¥20–40 plus compulsory tea. Treat all of these as unofficial. **Tea.** In the lanes you pay for a courtyard seat and the setting. For tea the way locals drink it, walk to People's Park, where a pot at Heming Teahouse costs noticeably less and the crowd is retirees playing cards and mahjong. **Ear cleaning.** A session takes 10–15 minutes. The cheapest price on a sign usually means a quick taster; a full cleaning costs more, and an extra ‘wash’ may be offered at the end. If you have any ear problems, give it a miss. **Face-changing.** Teahouses in the district run short shows of 20–40 minutes through the afternoon and evening: cheap entry plus tea. Evening Sichuan opera shows with face-changing in proper halls cost about ¥100–200. For a full programme of about an hour and a half, the Shufeng Yayun theatre is a short taxi ride away. ## How to get to Kuanzhai Alley 1. From [Tianfu Square](https://yesgo.io/china/chengdu/tianfu-square): Line 1 north one stop to **Luomashi**, change to Line 4 and ride one stop west to **Kuanzhai Alley** (listed as Kuanzhaixiangzi Alleys on some maps; 宽窄巷子). **Exit B** comes out by the south plaza, a couple of minutes from Wide Alley. 2. Or from Tianfu Square: Line 2 one stop west to **People's Park**, Exit D (D1), then walk north along Changshun Upper Road for 10–15 minutes — handy if you're combining the lanes with the park. 3. On foot from Tianfu Square: about 2 km north-west, 25–30 minutes through city streets. 4. From [Wenshu Monastery](https://yesgo.io/china/chengdu/wenshu-monastery): Line 1 one stop south to Luomashi, then one stop on Line 4. 5. From [Chunxi Road](https://yesgo.io/china/chengdu/chunxi-road): Line 2 west two stops to People's Park, then a 10–15-minute walk. 6. From Tianfu Airport (TFU): Line 18 to Chengdu South Railway Station, Line 1 north to Luomashi, then one stop on Line 4. From Shuangliu (CTU): Line 10 to Taipingyuan, Line 3 to Chunxi Road, then Line 2 to People's Park. 7. By taxi or DiDi: show the name in Chinese — 宽窄巷子. Cars can't enter the lanes, so you'll be dropped at the edge of the pedestrian zone. 8. Metro fares are usually ¥2–7. Pay with the transit QR code in Alipay or WeChat (with a linked foreign card); some gates also take contactless Visa and Mastercard. ## Opening hours and the best time to visit The lanes are open 24 hours and free at any time. Most shops and cafés keep roughly 10:00–22:00, while bars and some teahouses stay open later — unofficial guide data, as there's no official timetable. The best time is a weekday, starting about an hour before sunset, so you see the houses in daylight and the lanterns after dark. Mornings until about noon are the quietest, good for photos without crowds. Evenings, weekends, Chinese New Year and the 1 May and 1 October holidays are the busiest. The walk through all three lanes takes about an hour; add an hour for tea in a courtyard, and another for a show and dinner. ## People's Park next door **People's Park** (人民公园) is a 10–15-minute walk south-east of the lanes, by People's Park station on Line 2. It's the biggest green space in central Chengdu and the best place to see how the city really drinks tea. The park grew out of the same garrison town: English Wikipedia says it opened as Shaocheng Park, Chengdu's first public park. Its centrepiece is the century-old **Heming Teahouse** (鹤鸣茶社) by the lake, with bamboo chairs, gaiwan tea and ear cleaners working between the tables — for less than in the lanes. A good order: morning tea in the park, then Kuanzhai Alley after lunch. ## Paying as a foreign visitor China runs on QR payments. Most snack stalls in the lanes take only Alipay or WeChat Pay, and cards rarely work with small vendors. Set up Alipay or WeChat Pay before you travel and link your foreign Visa or Mastercard with your passport — that covers stalls, teahouses and the metro. Carry some yuan in small notes as a backup: shops must accept cash, but may be short of change. Bigger restaurants and show venues are more likely to take international cards directly, but don't count on it. ## Kuanzhai Alley vs Chunxi Road vs People's Park | | Kuanzhai Alley | Chunxi Road | People's Park | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | What it is | Three restored Qing-era lanes with courtyards | Modern pedestrian shopping street | City park with a lakeside teahouse | | Highlight | Teahouses, ear cleaning, face-changing, snacks | The IFS panda, shop lights, Taikoo Li | Tea with locals, a stroll | | Metro | Line 4, Kuanzhai Alley | Lines 2 and 3, Chunxi Road | Line 2, People's Park | | Time | 1–2 hours; 3 with a show | 1–2 hours | 1 hour with tea | Kuanzhai Alley and People's Park are 10–15 minutes apart on foot — easy to pair in half a day. Save Chunxi Road for the evening. ## Before you go: checklist - [ ] Alipay or WeChat Pay set up, a few small yuan notes - [ ] 宽窄巷子 saved for taxi drivers - [ ] Arriving an hour before sunset - [ ] Asking the full price before tea, shows or ear cleaning - [ ] Cheaper tea planned at People's Park - [ ] Comfortable shoes for the stone paving ## Historic Chengdu, compared Chengdu places with a story to tell, rated by YesGo. - [Tianfu Square](https://yesgo.io/china/chengdu/tianfu-square) — YesGo score 45/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 20 min · Free - [Kuanzhai Alley](https://yesgo.io/china/chengdu/kuanzhai-alley) — YesGo score 42/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free - [Chunxi Road](https://yesgo.io/china/chengdu/chunxi-road) — YesGo score 42/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free - [Wenshu Monastery](https://yesgo.io/china/chengdu/wenshu-monastery) — YesGo score 40/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free - [Wuhou Shrine](https://yesgo.io/china/chengdu/wuhou-shrine) — YesGo score 35/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · ¥50; ages 6–18 ¥25 - [Du Fu Thatched Cottage](https://yesgo.io/china/chengdu/du-fu-thatched-cottage) — YesGo score 33/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · ¥50 - [Leshan Giant Buddha](https://yesgo.io/china/chengdu/leshan-giant-buddha) — YesGo score 30/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 4 h · ¥80; river boat ¥70 extra - [Mount Qingcheng](https://yesgo.io/china/chengdu/mount-qingcheng) — YesGo score 16/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 4 h · ¥80; cable car ¥35–60 extra ## Central Chengdu in a day: temple to city lights Wenshu Monastery in the morning, Kuanzhai Alley and Tianfu Square by day, Chunxi Road in the evening. Add them to your route — YesGo fits in the timing and transfers. 1. [Wenshu Monastery](https://yesgo.io/china/chengdu/wenshu-monastery) — YesGo score 40/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free 2. [Kuanzhai Alley](https://yesgo.io/china/chengdu/kuanzhai-alley) — YesGo score 42/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free 3. [Tianfu Square](https://yesgo.io/china/chengdu/tianfu-square) — YesGo score 45/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 20 min · Free 4. [Chunxi Road](https://yesgo.io/china/chengdu/chunxi-road) — YesGo score 42/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free ## Good to know Kuanzhai Alley is often confused with Jinli, a different old-style street in the south of the centre next to [Wuhou Shrine](https://yesgo.io/china/chengdu/wuhou-shrine). The metro station shares the district's name. You may also see it signed as Kuanzhai Xiangzi, Wide and Narrow Alley or Wide and Narrow Alleys — it's the same place. ## Tips - Start on Wide Alley, which has the most old houses, return along Narrow Alley and finish on Well Alley by the brick wall. - For tea without the tourist mark-up, drink it at Heming Teahouse in People's Park and come to the lanes to walk and eat. - Before an ear cleaning or a show, ask for the total and what's included — a cheap sign doesn't mean a cheap bill. - The best light is an hour before sunset: houses in daylight, then the lanterns. - Pair it with a morning at Wenshu Monastery — one stop on Line 1 and one on Line 4. - Save 宽窄巷子 on your phone for taxi and DiDi drivers. ## Questions ### What is Kuanzhai Alley? Kuanzhai Xiangzi, the Wide and Narrow Alleys: three parallel lanes — Wide, Narrow and Well Alley — left from a Qing-era Manchu garrison town, restored and reopened in 2008 as a pedestrian district of teahouses, restaurants and shops. ### Is Kuanzhai Alley free? Yes. There's no ticket or booking. You only pay for tea, food, ear cleaning and shows. ### What are Kuanzhai Alley's opening hours? The lanes are open 24 hours. Shops and cafés keep roughly 10:00–22:00, bars and some teahouses later (unofficial). ### Which metro station is closest to Kuanzhai Alley? Kuanzhai Alley station on Line 4, Exit B. People's Park on Line 2 is another option, 10–15 minutes' walk away. ### How long do you need at Kuanzhai Alley? About an hour for the three lanes, 1.5–2 hours with tea in a courtyard, around 3 hours with a face-changing show and dinner. ### Where can I see face-changing at Kuanzhai Alley? Teahouses in the district run short shows — cheap entry plus compulsory tea. Evening Sichuan opera shows cost roughly ¥100–200. Prices are unofficial; check on the spot. ### How much is ear cleaning in Chengdu? In the lanes roughly ¥20–60 for a proper session, less in People's Park. Agree the total first — an extra paid ‘wash’ may be offered at the end. ### Is Kuanzhai Alley better at night? It's prettiest at dusk when the lanterns come on, but also busiest. Arrive an hour before sunset; for quiet photos, come in the morning. ### What is near Kuanzhai Alley? People's Park and Heming Teahouse, 10–15 minutes on foot; Tianfu Square and Wenshu Monastery, each two metro stops away. ## How we checked The English core comes from English search results for Kuanzhai Alley: things to do, is it worth it, how long, opening hours, free entry, metro station and exit, teahouses, ear cleaning, face-changing prices, best time, People's Park. The 1718 date, the 14 June 2008 reopening and the three lanes were checked against Chinese Wikipedia, The Paper and Travel China Guide; the 45 courtyards against Travel China Guide, Sina (2008) and travelofchina. The area differs between sources (108 mu core zone per Sina, 66,590 m² per chinatripedia), so it's left out; lane widths appear only in Wikipedia, so they're omitted too. We found no official site with hours: guides give 10:00–22:00 or 7:30–21:00 for shops, and we show the first as unofficial. Tea, ear-cleaning and show prices vary widely between guides, so we give unofficial ranges. Walking time to People's Park is 10 or 13 minutes depending on the guide. The distance from Tianfu Square was computed from Wikidata coordinates. ## Sources - Chinese Wikipedia: 宽窄巷子; English Wikipedia: Kuanzhaixiangzi Alleys and Luomashi stations, People's Park (Chengdu); Wikidata Q10951691 - China Daily (govt.chinadaily.com.cn): Kuanzhai Alley — lanes, entry, metro - The Paper (澎湃新闻): Shaocheng history, 1718, reopening on 14 June 2008, the Kai Lu gateway - Sina, 27.02.2008 — the 45 courtyards and the conservation area - People's Daily, 08.08.2023 — one of Chengdu's three historic conservation areas - Travel China Guide: Wide and Narrow Alley, updated 24.07.2026 - China for Travelers: Kuanzhai Alley, updated 03.09.2026 — tea, ear cleaning and show prices (unofficial) - travelofchina.com: Kuanzhai Alley, updated 16.07.2026 — shop hours, prices, payment (unofficial) - chinatripedia.com: Wide and Narrow Alleys — the 1948 survey, metro - dahepiao.com — the Kai Lu gateway, No. 11 Wide Alley --- This is the Markdown version of a YesGo page for AI assistants. 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