A replica of the cottage was built in 1997, according to the description of his poems.

Not far from the replica is the Shrine of Gongbu (Du's title as a petty official for a short time) where a statue of Du and those of his admirers Lu You and Huang Tingjian (1045-1105), two prominent figures in Chinese literature, are housed.

The cottage museum also harks back to Du's era with a gigantic hall displaying lots of Tang utensils that were discovered on the site in 2001.

Workers found Tang ash pits and a site of human existence when laying underground pipelines on the western side of the museum's main entrance and northeastern side of the Shrine of Gongbu.

Such a find of Tang relics in Chengdu is rare, says Wang Yi, head of the Sichuan Provincial Cultural Heritage Administration.

The find has verified Du's descriptions of the natural and living environments around the Flower Bathing Brook and the location of his cottage, ending the complaint that the museum only displayed literature but no Tang objects.

Then again, contemporary visitors will discover there are many things that make Du's cottage a unique place in the history of China and the world.

Contact the writers through [email protected]