Eastern Suburb Memory was probably one of the more unique attractions that I visited when I was in Chengdu. In a lot of ways, it’s very similar to Testbed 2, especially the fact that both used to be industrial complexes in their respective cities. As for which one I prefer over the other? Well, you’re going to have read on further to find out about my thoughts and experience with this creative park.
Eastern Suburb Memory: A Very Unique Creative Park in Chengdu
Getting to Eastern Suburb Memory is going to be relatively easy. You can opt for public transport like the city’s Metro Line as well as taxis and ride-shares. There are tour packages with hotel pickups but I think the location is quite close to the city center so I actually think it’s better that you commute to get here. When I got there, I decided to enter through the South Gate entrance (shown in the image).
Now you don’t need to pay an admission fee to get inside Eastern Suburb Memory. This is pretty much like Testbed 2 with its walls featuring some avant-garde art. That said, the public art here isn’t as refined for lack of a better term. It’s still appealing but I distinctly remember how polished and hip Testbed 2’s art was.
Featured prominently near the South Gate entrance is this general-purpose lathe. Based on the inscription of the plaque on top of it, the lathe is quite old with a manufacturing date of April 1986. As for its use, the plaque’s inscription says that it was mainly a tool for the maintenance and processing of the factory’s general production equipment’s parts.
Like a lot of the local attractions that I’ve been to here in Chengdu, Eastern Suburb Memory also has a guide map along with a list of the stores that you can see here. I was a little concerned though since the inscription on the side of the guide map was missing some letters. Thankfully, this didn’t really affect my experience walking around the area.
I said earlier that Testbed 2’s art was more refined and hip. Here at Eastern Suburb Memory, it’s a lot more chaotic though in a good way. The wall of graffiti (which you saw some parts of earlier) here is a perfect example with a lot of its appeal being tied to color choice and how it seemingly does away with some concepts like art tangents.
Even the art pieces that do look really good still have some peculiarities about them. This image of a horse drawing a bow shows really nice technique especially with the shading and color choice. Why the artists chose an anthrophomorphized horse as their subject though, I have no idea. Does the subject choice make it less cool? Definitely not!
One thing that you’ll particularly notice about the buildings here at Eastern Suburb Memory is they’re a far cry from the traditional Chinese style-houses and mansions you’d typically see in places like Dujiangyan or Leshan. This is due to these buildings being made in the industrial/brutalist-like style of the 1950s Soviet Union. If you look up, you’ll notice the hallmarks of that style of architecture which include red bricks and extremely high silos (or are they chimneys?).
While I’m not quite sure if this used to be a chimney or a silo, I am quite certain that I’d never want to be alone at the top of it. I’ve been up really tall mountains but those typically had plenty of space once I reached their summits. You can’t say the same for the top of this structure.
Another feature of this place that I liked was the abundance of signs pointing to the direction of shops and notable attractions. This particular sign is at the intersection of Guanying Street and Industrial Cross Street. Let me tell you, the area as well as the buildings here aren’t that large but they can be disorienting. If you didn’t bother to take a picture of the guide map then these signs are going to be a godsend.
Close to the signs is this standee for an iCar (known globally as iCaur) exhibit somewhere in the area. I actually ended up visiting there and the cars were surprisingly really nice looking. Before I get carried away and talk about them though, let’s check out the unique architecture this cultural park has in store for its visitors.
This is one of the views that’s going to stand out here at Eastern Suburb Memory. The pipes looked really cool and gave this dystopian aesthetic to the building complex. I’m not going to lie, the view here really looked like it was from a scene from a futuristic/dystopian movie made in the 80s or 90s. On the right is building 25 and the building across it to its left is building 4.
Perhaps my favorite area here was the iCAR Garage. It’s basically a showroom for the Chery sub-brand iCAR. This sub-brand exclusively sells EVs and I must say, their designs are actually quite nice. Before I show the cars on display here though, I will say that the showroom’s exterior looks amazing. It’s very approachable and I especially liked the seats on display just outside of the entrance.
Inside I then came across the car model on display here at the showroom. At the time of my visit, it was the V23 which actually reminded me of a cross between the Jeep Recon and Gladiator. It’s slightly “curvier” and I would say smaller than either.
Another thing that stood out about these cars were their colors. The ones on display in the showroom had these really vivid colors that make them seem like the matchbox toys I played with when I was a kid. In hindsight, I guess having these colors on these display units was a conscious decision to go along with the brand’s Born to Play slogan.
As for the interiors, it looked quite neat. The staff were actually kind enough to let us take a look inside which I really appreciated. One thing I liked especially about the interiors was just how spacious it was even for EV standards. It was kind of jarring though how bare the dashboard was. I’m so used to seeing the instrument cluster and here it was pretty much non-existent.
After checking out the iCar showroom I went back outside and was immediately drawn to this space. It was an establishment that had these really rad looking mixed media wall art that really commanded your attention. In fact, I didn’t even notice that there were some really beautiful flowers just outside the establishment until someone pointed them out.
So one thing you’ll want to remember is that while it is an iconic landmark in Chengdu, Eastern Suburb Memory is actually not as busy as other attractions. Well, it’s not that it’s not busy but rather it’s actually quite large and there are plenty of establishments inside it that it doesn’t seem like it’s busy. Seriously, the whole complex actually takes up one whole city block.
This is the view from Building 26 on Industrial Cross Street. It’s a bit far off but you can actually make out the iCar Born to Play standee that you saw earlier from here. You can also sort of see parts of Building 4 on the right.
A major draw of Eastern Suburb Memory for me is its greenery. Views like the one shown in the image remind me of those games set in the future where nature is trying to reclaim land lost to human development. Now this place obviously isn’t like that. The greenery here is spurred on by human hands after all. That said, it still ends up looking like nature is taking back the land. And considering how barren of greenery this area might have been a couple of decades ago, I think that’s probably a good thing.
Here’s another example of the greenery you’ll find here at Eastern Suburb Memory. This is specifically at the complex’s Central Avenue and the quality of the air here was really good. Considering this was relatively close to the city center with Chunxi Road and IFS less than 20 minutes away via the metro line, it was impressive how refreshing the air was here.
Anyway, there are three notable landmarks in the area. The first that you’ll probably notice is this small stage that I guess was for musical performances. Unfortunately, there weren’t any performers during my visit.
Now I’m not quite sure what this is called but it is the second of the three landmarks you’ll see here. I tried searching online and on Baidu Maps it’s called the Classic Impression Sculpture. It’s pretty much a reenactment of the kind of activities workers here were involved in when the buildings were still part of China’s military industrial complex.
Speaking of China’s military industrial complex, this is one of the first contributions to that juggernaut that came from these buildings. It’s called the Jianjiao 5 and it served as a jet trainer for the Chinese air force. It’s significant because it was one of the first sub-sonic fighter jets to have been built here (technically it’s the trainer version and the J-5 was the fighter jet).
It’s not just historical landmarks that you’ll encounter here. As you’ve probably noticed in the previous pictures, there are plenty of food establishments here. In the image above is one of these called Half Drunk which specializes in burgers. You can find this just a couple of steps forward and to the right of the JJ-5 landmark from earlier.
Of course, since this is Chengdu expect panda sightings! Not the live kind of course but in the form of statues/displays like the one shown in the image. I also saw a number of stores that had Panda in their names or in their brand’s logos. This particular display actually reminded me of Hua Hua, who happens to be one of the main attractions at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding (which I also wrote about).
If you turn right at the corner of Building 32 from Central Avenue then you’ll find yourself at Hong Guang South Street. This image specifically shows some of the establishments in Building 36. As you can see, most of these are Chinese clothing/fast fashion brands with the one I’m most familiar with being PIN SKTBS (a streetwear and skateboard brand).
Other than Half Drunk, another store that you’ll find at Building 32 is 1807 Corp. This is at the corner of the building opposite Half Drunk and it faces the southern entrances of the complex. Additionally, the store also faces one of the most interesting areas here at Eastern Suburb Memory: Locomotive Square.
As its name implies, Locomotive Square has, well, locomotives on it. Much like the buildings, these train cars have been converted to serve another purpose. In this case, the train car is now a cafe/resto called Yi Cafe Train Restaurant.
After checking out Locomotive Square I went to the next street after Hong Guang Street. Here you can see a sign for Why Art Space which is on Building 35. Across the street you’ll find the block where Buildings 37, 38, and 39 are found.
Speaking of Building 38, here’s some of the establishments that you’ll find on it. Take note though that some of these have transferred locations. If I’m not mistaken the Dr. Martens is still in Eastern Suburb Memory though it’s now in Building 1.
Here’s another establishment that you’ll find in Building 38. At first I read its name as Spints but upon closer inspection it actually reads as 8 Pints. Anyway it’s a bar and restaurant that has this very rustic vibe to it.
Over on Building 37 is another bar and restaurant that offers a similar outdoor seating arrangement. Called Basilico, this restaurant mainly offers Italian food and wines. On a side note, I just read that Italian cuisine has apparently been growing in popularity in China.
Now if you’re looking to relax and get some shots of espresso after a day’s worth of walking around then I think Soarin here at Building 37 might be worth checking out. It’s a cafe that has an intriguing mix of gothic and retro vibes that’s really cool to look at.
Here’s the entrance to the cafe. I’m not sure what the deal is with the butterfly/moth but it gives off this really creepy but you still want to get inside vibes. Other than coffee, the cafe also offers cocktails and alcoholic drinks.
Just a short walk from Building 37 is this area outside of the East Gate entrance that has some really unique structures. Called Miss Dong and Martin’s Public Art Space, it had this bohemian vibe to it that actually made me want to see what was inside. You couldn’t quite see it here but there’s a section of the structure here that looks very similar to the electronic tube that once was among the crucial components made here decades ago.
Here’s another look at Miss Dong and Martin’s Public Art Space as well as a glimpse of the Eastern Suburb Memory’s East Game. Again, I took this shot from outside of the East Gate and later on, you’ll actually see an image featuring the JJ-5 jet trainer that was one of the notable Central Avenue landmarks from earlier.
Finally, this is the East Gate entrance to Eastern Suburbs Memory. Looking back, the walk here was actually quite relaxing. I’ve been to plenty of landmarks in both Chengdu and Chongqing that were ruined because of establishments playing tacky music on their loudspeakers. Here that wasn’t really much of an issue and the noise was mostly the natural buzzing from a crowd that you’d typically hear when you go outside. While this picture was taken outside of the creative park, it is definitely not the end of this tour.
You probably didn’t notice this earlier but on the roof of one of the structures at Miss Dong and Martin’s Public Art Space is a statue of an astronaut. I’m not sure if this was a character from a movie or some other media but it does look really nice. Additionally, it reminded me of the Latin saying “Ad Astra Per Aspera” which translates to “to the stars through difficulties”.
After exiting from the East Gate, I then walked up Sheng Deng Road and to Eastern Suburb Memory’s North Street. Here you’ll find one of the busiest areas in the cultural and creative park. Also called the North Road Food Street, this has a wide selection of establishments that offer an equally wide variety of Sichuan cuisine.
So one thing that I actually found quite amusing during my travels in China is the popularity of the Japanese anime Crayon Shin-chan. Here’s a large statue of the anime’s titular character (who is a male) dressed as a school girl. Considering how the Chinese government frowns on effeminate depictions of men, it’s kind of impressive how this didn’t end up getting taken down.
So I was actually kind of intrigued by this building that had this large sign with the words Chengdu in both English and Chinese on its side. Turns out, this is the Chengdu Stage North Building and it’s directly opposite Building 46 which is the first building you come across if you enter North Street via Sheng Deng Road. Like Building 46, the side of this building that faces North Street also features a number of food establishments.
Here you can see the Chengdu Stage North Building in the middle ground with a glimpse of the Chengdu Stage and the Chengdu Stage South Building behind it. If you’re wondering, the Chengdu Stage is like a reasonably large open courtyard where I think performances are sometimes held. Like with the smaller Central Avenue stage from earlier, there weren’t any performances or performers when I visited.
So this is one of the dishes that I was actually quite curious about as I was walking around North Street. It’s from a restaurant called Chengdu Chen Xiaopang and from what I’ve been told the dish is called Fuqi Fei Pian. What’s interesting about the dish is that when translated to English, it’s called Husband and Wife Lung Slices. The sign actually has a pun on the dish’s name involving couples but I’m not sure if I quite understand what it means.
Once again, I found myself at the corner of Jianshe South and Shengdeng Road. There’s a huge landmark here pointing to the location of the North Gate but you can just as easily ignore that and enter Eastern Suburb Memory from its North Street like I did. That said, the North Gate is kind of scenic so you might want to consider checking that out as well.
After a couple of hours walking around, I eventually found myself back at Eastern Suburb Memory’s South Gate entrance. It was low-key surprising how this cultural and creative park had such a lot of activities and sights to offer. I mean, just look at this image. When I came here it was mid-afternoon with the sun still up. As of taking this picture it was already night though I would say I still had plenty of energy for going around and seeing what else this place had to offer.
Overall, I think Eastern Suburb Memory is a solid cultural/creative park to visit when you’re in Chengdu. It has a lot of really solid establishments that offer food, beverages, and near everything else. If you enjoy history then the buildings as well as memorials and landmarks have you covered. There is even a showroom for electronic vehicles if that’s more your thing. Now do I think that it’s a must-visit? Well, the park itself is open for all and it’s actually quite close to Chengdu city center so I would say that it’s worth visiting. That said, I wasn’t able to taste test or check out every store there so I really can’t say if the individual establishments are great.
