Thatched Cottage of Du Fu is located at the side of the Flower Washing Brook in the western suburbs of Chengdu. It is the former residence of the celebrated Tang dynasty poet, Du Fu.

Du Fu (712-770AD) was born in Henan province. When he was 20 years old, he left his home to travel in China. He used to be an official in Chang'an (present Xian), the capital of the Tang dynasty, for 10 years, and was later captured by rebels after an uprising and fled to Chengdu where he built a humble cottage and stayed for about four years.

During these four years, Du Fu composed more than 240 poems reflecting upon the misery of the people, in which most of them are very familiar to Chinese people.

In AD 761, a storm destroyed the roof of the thatched cottage, which led to the writing of one of his masterpieces, "the Song of Autumn Winds Destroying My Cottage". In this poem, he expressed his anxiety for the plight of other poverty-stricken scholars and the desire for shelter for all the poor.

After Du Fu's death, people built a new cottage on the ruins of the original site, as a memorial to Du Fu. The present one was the restoration of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Cover 20 hectares of leafy bamboo and luxuriant vegetation, today, the Thatched Cottage has become a commemorative museum in the form of a traditional garden. The area contains several interesting structures, including the grand lobby, the Shrine of Gong Bu (Du's official title) and the Memorial Hall of Du Fu.

In the grand lobby stand two antique wooden screens, one bear a brief account of Du's life and the other, a traditional Chinese painting of Du's cottage. Inside the Shrine of Gong Bu are stone tablets of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Du's poems have been translated into 15 foreign languages and are on display in the Memorial Hall of Du Fu.

Each year, on January 7th of lunar calendar, local scholars and poets get together in the cottage to honor Du Fu. They celebrate his works by chanting his poems to the accompaniment of dances and music.