At the end of the busy Zhimin Road, a quiet alley unfolds leisurely, as if leading people through a time tunnel. At the mouth of the alley, a quaint teahouse comes into view, which is completely different from modern buildings, indicating that there is an extraordinary history hidden in the alley. Pedestrians are scarce, and the tables and chairs in front of the teahouse are waiting quietly under umbrellas, as if telling stories of the past.
A few steps forward, an old house appeared on the left-hand side, with gray tiled wooden doors and red bricks looming over the mottled lime walls. Behind this old house, there are two equally quaint wooden houses, which are affectionately known as the "Maomao Temple" by the local residents. This area is particularly quiet in the hustle and bustle of the city, but its history dates back to the distant Ming Dynasty.
According to historical records, this area was marked as the "Old Ghost Temple" on the map of Chengdu during the Apocalypse of the Ming Dynasty, and on the map of the Qing Dynasty, it was also called the "Tiger Temple", "Old Ancient Temple" and "Maomao Temple". The "cat" here actually refers to the tiger. These three houses arranged in front and back are the three main halls of the temple, two of which are dedicated to the white tiger, and the third hall is dedicated to Taishang Laojun. The statue of Taishang Laojun and the Taiji diagram on the purlin all prove that this is a Taoist building.
Liu Xiaochang, an expert in cultural relics, pointed out through research that the architectural form of this "Maomao Temple" and the annotations on the maps of the past dynasties show that it is a Ming Dynasty building. Historically, the total area of this temple has reached 10 acres, and it is the best preserved Ming Dynasty Taoist temple building in Chengdu.
It is worth mentioning that the building orientation of the "Maomao Temple" is different from the general ancient buildings, it sits south to north, facing the old Anshun Bridge. According to legend, there used to be a stone mast 7 or 8 meters high in front of the mountain gate, called "sky lantern", which can be seen from a long distance.
Liu Xiaochang also said that the name of the Tiger Temple has gradually evolved into an old ancient temple and an old ghost temple in folk circulation, but this does not affect its status as a historical and cultural treasure in Chengdu. This "Maomao Temple" has witnessed the historical changes of Chengdu, and also carries the memories and stories of countless people.