In this article, discover five essential locations selected from our Urbex China Map, which features over 500 abandoned places across China, carefully documented for unique and immersive explorations.

Urbex China in Sichuan offers one of the most emotionally and visually extraordinary exploration experiences in the country. From a city frozen exactly as an earthquake left it, to a world-replica theme park reclaimed by vegetation, to forgotten villages in the mountain valleys of one of China's most biodiverse provinces — Sichuan's abandoned places are unlike anything found elsewhere in China.

Why Sichuan Is One of the Best Urbex Destinations in China

Sichuan combines three distinct categories of abandonment found almost nowhere else in a single province: earthquake ruins preserved as open-air memorials, failed leisure developments from the 1990s tourism boom, and rural villages emptied by the gravitational pull of Chengdu — one of the fastest-growing megacities in Asia. Add the backdrop of mountain valleys, misty river gorges, and subtropical vegetation, and every abandoned site here has a photographic quality that sets it apart from the rest of China.

📍 All locations below are referenced on our Urbex China Map — GPS coordinates, access notes, condition ratings, and explorer reports included.

1. Old Beichuan – The Earthquake Ghost Town, North Sichuan (Known Location)

The most emotionally powerful abandoned place in China. Old Beichuan was a county town of 20,000 people in the mountain valleys of northern Sichuan, destroyed in two terrifying minutes on May 12, 2008 when the 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake struck. Nearly half of Beichuan's residents died. 80% of its buildings were destroyed or damaged beyond repair. The survivors were relocated to a new town 12 miles away. The ruins were left exactly as they fell — and preserved by the Chinese government as one of the world's largest open-air earthquake memorials.

👉 Collapsed apartment blocks, a high school where over 1,300 students died, roads split by fault lines, and photographs of victims still fading on the walls of the ruins — all surrounded by green forest-covered hills in absolute silence.

👉 Story: The 2008 Wenchuan earthquake killed nearly 70,000 people across Sichuan. Beichuan was its worst-hit town. The ruins represent one of the only examples in the world of a modern city preserved exactly as a disaster left it.

🔗 More on Beichuan: Atlas Obscura – Beichuan Ghost Town

2. The World Theme Park – Abandoned Replica Park, Chengdu (Known Location)

One of the most celebrated urbex sites in Sichuan within the urban exploration community. The World Theme Park in Chengdu opened in 1994 as a replica park featuring miniature versions of global landmarks — a Chinese counterpart to Beijing's World Park. Management problems led to a steady decline in visitors and the park closed in 2005. About 50% of its surface was subsequently demolished. What remains was integrated into the campus of Chengdu College of Textile in 2009 — making it one of China's few officially accessible derelict theme park sites.

👉 Replica world monuments slowly being reclaimed by vegetation, crumbling pavilions styled after European and Asian landmarks, and a rusting ferris wheel visible above the tree line.

👉 Story: Opened in 1994, the park declined as competition from larger venues intensified. Closed in 2005, partially demolished, and absorbed into a university campus. Now one of China's most accessible abandoned theme park sites.

🔗 More on Chengdu's abandoned theme park: China Ruins – The World Theme Park

3. The Abandoned Post-Earthquake Village – Beichuan County (Exclusive on our Map)

One of dozens of smaller settlements in the Beichuan earthquake zone that were evacuated and never resettled — less documented than the county town, but equally haunting.

👉 Traditional Qiang ethnic minority stone houses cracked open by fault movement, terraced fields returning to forest, and a village shrine still standing among the ruins of the homes that surrounded it.

👉 Story: The 2008 earthquake rendered hundreds of mountain villages uninhabitable across northern Sichuan. Many were too remote and too damaged to rebuild. They now sit silent in mountain valleys, slowly being reclaimed by nature.

📍 Exact location available on our Urbex China Map.

4. The Abandoned Mountain Factory – Sichuan Third Front (Exclusive on our Map)

A derelict Third Front Construction facility hidden in a Sichuan mountain valley — one of hundreds of secret industrial plants built deep inland during the Cold War to protect China's production capacity from nuclear attack.

👉 Factory buildings built directly into cliff faces, rusting machinery in halls where natural light has never reached, and workers' dormitories with personal belongings still inside — abandoned when the strategic rationale for Third Front industry evaporated.

👉 Story: Mao's Third Front Construction programme built over 1,000 industrial facilities deep in Sichuan's mountains between 1964 and 1980. When China opened up economically, these remote factories became unviable overnight and were abandoned.

📍 Exact location available on our Urbex China Map.

5. The Abandoned Riverside Town – Sichuan Valley (Exclusive on our Map)

A ghost town along one of Sichuan's mountain rivers, relocated due to flood risk or dam construction and left frozen in the moment of departure.

👉 Shopfronts still bearing hand-painted signs, a teahouse with mahjong tables still set, and an entire street of homes emptied so recently that the gardens are only beginning to go wild.

👉 Story: Sichuan's river valleys have seen dozens of small towns relocated due to flooding, dam construction, or seismic risk since 2000. The speed of departure often meant leaving everything behind.

📍 Exact location available on our Urbex China Map.

Urbex China – Safety & Legal Reminder

Urban exploration in China carries specific risks. Trespassing is illegal, and security has increased significantly around abandoned structures. Always:

• Research each site thoroughly before visiting
• Explore with at least one other person
• Wear protective gear — mask, gloves, and sturdy boots
• Never force access or cause damage to any structure
• Respect the spaces and leave no trace

The urbex code applies everywhere: "Take nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footprints."

❓ FAQ – Urbex Sichuan

Is Old Beichuan open to visitors?
Yes — Old Beichuan is preserved as an official memorial site and is open to the public with an entrance fee. It is located approximately two hours by car north of Chengdu. Visitors should approach the site with respect for the thousands who lost their lives there.

How do I get to Old Beichuan from Chengdu?
The most practical option is to hire a car or join an organised day trip from Chengdu. The journey takes approximately 2 hours via the G5 expressway and then mountain roads. Public transport options are limited and require multiple connections.

What makes Sichuan unique for urbex compared to other Chinese provinces?
Sichuan is the only province in China where earthquake ruins, Cold War mountain factories, and failed 1990s leisure developments coexist in the same landscape. The mountain setting gives every abandoned site here a photographic quality — mist, forest, and river valleys — that is impossible to replicate in the flat plains of northern China.

🎯 Conclusion

Sichuan offers one of the most diverse and emotionally resonant experiences in urbex China — from a city frozen by a natural disaster to Cold War factories buried in mountain valleys and theme park ruins slowly returning to jungle. Every abandoned place here is shaped by the land around it: the mountains, the rivers, and the earthquakes that make Sichuan one of the most dramatic provinces in all of China.

Thanks to our Urbex China Map, you get access to over 500 unique locations for a safe and immersive exploration experience — with GPS coordinates, access ratings, photos, and explorer reports for every spot.

🗺️ Explore the full Urbex China Map →