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Hey Rich, I will also be working at SWUFE starting September, but I will be at another campus. However, I lived in Wenjiang for about a year so I can totally give you some idea as to what to expect from that area.
Firstly, its kinda far from Chengdu proper BUT lucky for you, the Metro line 4 recently opened up all the way to SWUFE so it’ll be super easy for you to go to events or meet up with people in the city. Before it was kind of a nightmare to make it downtown.
Wenjiang essentially has 3 parts: the new part, which is the closest part to Chengdu (Guang Hua Da dao). It has a lot of new apartments complexes, a Carrefour, Ito Yokado, Yong Hui etc. it has a real suburban feel to it. Just homes, families and supermarkets. Convenient, but lacking in any kind of local flavour or culture.
The second part is “The Old Town”. This area has an old temple called Wen Miao ( a good landmark if giving a taxi driver directions). This area is pretty sick, very old traditional style buidlings, lots of delicious hole in the wall restaurants, lots of street food, markets, people selling bargainable goods on the street (I bought a sword from some guy once). Real local feel to this place, and my favourite part of Wenjiang.
The Third part is the university area, also has a very local feel to it, also teeming with university students and cheap food. Right outside the east gate of SWUFE theres a pretty huge food/bar area that also has a few foreign restaurants. I used to really enjoy going to this area with my friends, we would grab some street food, maybe some beers and then go play pool. We’d often meet students or other foreign teachers and party with them. Good times.
So that’s pretty much it. Wenjiang is essentially a suburb with these 3 different parts I mentioned. Its easy to get downtown from there now so it has become a really good combo of laid back suburban life with easy access to the crazy city life. If you have any questions just pm me 😉
Ryan
Yea that article is great, that’s what gave me the idea to post this in the first place. Thanks man 🙂
Yes you’re right, a local just told me this yesterday. I was under the impression that it was one mountain with a trail at the front and back, both leading to the same place at the top… but yea, its two different mountains. Thanks
I did this last weekend and its amazing. I have no idea how you would find some of the places we went without a savvy local guide. Truly a great dining experience, and so cheap! Jinli, eat your heart out
Thanks JC, its always good to get a sobering perspective. I know Wenjiang will have draw backs due to its obscurity and distance from Chengdu, but I still think it will have several positive aspects to keep me content! Guess I will find out when I get there!
If anyone would like to offer any additional recommendations as to areas/things to check out -or any words of warning- please let me know!
Wow thanks everyone! I’m from a relatively small city in Canada so I ‘m quite sure Wenjiang won’t be surprisingly boring or anything, provided that transportation is decent within the district. Overall it sounds really nice!
For those of you who have spent a bit of time there, do you think I would be able to get around Wenjiang alright with just a bicycle? Should I consider getting an ebike? Maybe someone could elaborate a bit more on public transportation?
Yeah I’m really hoping that metro line will be good to go by the time I arrive, anyone know where it will stop in Wenjiang? It would be ideal if I could rent an apartment close to it.
