Free Art & Culture Escape in Chengdu: Tianyi Nongyuan Art Expo Park
Looking for a Chengdu art park that’s equal parts art, nature, and hands-on culture — without spending a yuan on admission? Tianyi Nongyuan Art Expo Park (天艺·浓园艺术博览园) is one of those places plenty of locals haven’t even heard of. It’s a full-on cultural complex where you can wander gardens, browse galleries, and actually get your hands dirty with traditional crafts.
A Sichuan-Style Garden That Feels Like a Hideaway
Tianyi Nongyuan Art Expo Park sits in Wuhou District, Chengdu. It’s made up of Nongyuan International Art Village Zone A and Zone B (Tianyi Village), and includes cultural facilities like the International Art Museum, Tianyi Museum, and Tianyi Art Museum. Altogether, it’s a comprehensive cultural park that combines art creation, art experiences, science education, and dining and tourism.
Step inside and the artistic atmosphere hits you right away — a cool breath of fresh air even in the middle of summer. It’s a hidden paradise tucked away from the city’s noise, a place where you can easily reconnect with nature. Here among the Sichuan-style gardens, you leave behind the endless daily grind and quietly rediscover what life is really supposed to feel like.
The garden’s overall style is scattered and layered, blending thatched-hut design with gray tiles, raw wood, red brick walls, blue-and-white porcelain, and straw-roofed cottages. Every little detail builds an atmosphere of Song Dynasty aesthetics — elegant and out of the ordinary.
Local insight: As the saying goes here, “Light hall, a hundred flavors come naturally; Nongyuan, a thousand colors leave the dust behind.” The refined architecture and dense greenery form a harmonious green ecological environment.
Hundreds of lush plant species, vibrant exotic flowers and grasses, and poetic ponds let you feel nature’s fragrance and elegance without even trying.
You can rest in a courtyard full of cultural atmosphere and lose yourself in the protection of intangible cultural heritage and the charm of ancient folk art. Or hop on a bike along the Jincheng Greenway, soak in nature’s romance and poetry, and treat yourself to a double dose of joy for both mind and senses.
Deep in Bashu Culture
With its unique Sichuan-style architectural courtyards, Nongyuan brings together many intangible cultural heritage teachers and artists.
The park holds a large collection of art treasures covering calligraphy and painting, sculpture, lacquerware, and more. In the “Bashu Cultural Vein” themed exhibition hall, students can listen to the cultural stories behind the artifacts and feel the deep heritage of Bashu culture.
Guided by the idea of “letting tradition travel through the ages,” the park is recognized as China’s Best Creative Industry Park, a Sichuan Provincial Cultural Industry Demonstration Base, and one of the first batch of Chengdu Intangible Cultural Heritage Study Travel Practice Bases.
The park is home to more than 200 artists and has over 150 art studios. It houses over 30,000 pieces of art including calligraphy, painting, and sculpture, and hosts more than 500 exhibitions on average each year.
Meanwhile, Nongyuan NY20+ also hosts resident artists from different countries every month. International art workshops let you learn about art, experience multiculturalism, and play with color combinations through art creation and hands-on experiences.
Hands-On Intangible Cultural Heritage Courses
Nongyuan also focuses on “life aesthetics + art ecology” and offers a rich variety of intangible cultural heritage experience courses.
Plant-Based Indigo Dyeing (Tie-Dye)
Indigo dyeing has a history of over a thousand years. The workshop uses natural indigo plants and traditional techniques like tying and clamping to create shifting blue-and-white patterns on fabric. Students make dyes, design their ties, and go through dipping and oxidation to feel the “beauty made by nature” — and finish with their own indigo-dyed piece.
Intangible Heritage Floating Lacquer (Raw Lacquer)
Chengdu lacquerware, one of the “Five Golden Flowers,” has a long history. Floating lacquer technique comes from raw lacquer craftsmanship. By introducing lacquer culture, historical background, lacquerware characteristics, and how to cleverly blend colors and patterns, it shows off the unique charm of lacquer fans.
There are also diverse intangible heritage courses including paper-cutting, Shu embroidery, bamboo weaving, and sea porcelain creation. Led by Nongyuan guides, students visit distinctive spots one after another: Tiangong Zaowu Workshop, Tianyi Old Teahouse, Nongyuan Art Villa, the Cultural Museum, the Art Museum, and Lundao Hall.
Plan Your Visit
Address: Tianyi Nongyuan Art Expo Park
Public transport: Take Metro Line 9 to Taiping Temple Station, Exit B, then walk about 800 meters.
So if you’re after a free, crowd-free dose of art, nature, and Bashu culture — with the option to make your own indigo or lacquer piece — put Nongyuan on your Chengdu list. Go on a weekday if you can, and give yourself a few hours to wander.
