Advertisement
Published: August 7th 2007
Chengdu brought increases in both temperature and casualness - for the first time in China, I saw many guys walking around in shorts. The city had a similar feel to Kunming, with umpteen Western brands, foreign cuisines, and bustling shopping zones though a good deal more greenery. There was a lot to see both inside and outside the city (so much so that I'll write 3 entries for it) and - despite an expat population of over 3,000 - we were still clearly a novelty item.
Wenshu Yuan was the first Zen Buddhist temple I'd been to on this trip and the vegetarian restaurant there served us up good but enormous portions. A local couple at our table unsubtly took photos of me using their mobile phone. The neighbouring street was full of souvenir shops and posters of Jackie Chan - he's showing his age now, and it's funny that Westerners here are called "big noses" by the Chinese when one of their own has such a gargantuan conk.
My first Taoist temple of the trip, Qingyang Gong, followed next, with the Three Purities Hall containing oversized bronze statues, all bearded and riding animals.
Teahouses are a traditional
part of Sichuan social life, and we sampled one in Renmin Park near the city centre. Predatory ear-cleaners stalked the tables, clacking their tools together to drum up custom and providing a background rhythm. Neighbouring tea drinkers were playing cards or mahjong, chatting loudly, smoking, or simply inspecting the middle distance. I accepted the tealady's recommendation of one of the pricier brews on the menu, and it was unexpectedly bitter. We saw teahouses all over Chengdu, and they would certainly appear to be popular venues to hang out in.
Distressingly there seemed to be a citywide shortage of handkerchiefs and I was unable to replace the one that had met its demise in Lijiang.
Chengdu - and Sichuan in general - is known for a cuisine that makes liberal use of chilli peppers and other spicy ingredients. As someone who can't come within a yard of a chilli without breaking into a sweat, I'd entered the province with a certain sense of resignation that my diet would consist mainly of basic noodle dishes, with the occasional foray into more exciting and nutritional fodder if I could be bothered wielding the "Not too spicy" phrase from the phrasebook, and
Western dishes to create some variety. A few mouth-burning, forehead-moistening experiences would no doubt creep in unexpectedly, but I'd be able to console myself with the fact that I'd at least tried the provincial cooking. This was exactly how things turned out.
However I didn't realise what a toll my eating habits on the whole of this trip had taken on me until I spent 1 yuan to use one of the weighing machines that are staffed by old ladies here and there throughout the city. The print-out revealed that I was down to 73kg, a fact my loose trousers and increasingly bony hips had hinted at but now I had scientific proof. I think this is less than when I came home from India and is a good 50 pounds less than when I quit my job. I hadn't helped things by having my hair cut at Johnny's Salon in the Holiday Inn the previous day. Shocked, I paid an immediate visit to Mackers to try to get things back on track.
From Chengdu we made several day trips that will be detailed in the next 2 blog entries. Then, after 8 days, it was time to
return to higher ground.
Dull but possibly useful info Getting there: Take a bus from Kangding to Chengdu (many through the day - we took the 8AM), costing 118 yuan and taking about 7.5 hours.
Stayed at: Huatong Yueda Business Hotel (a hundred yards from the south exit of the south bus station Xinnanmen). Cost 108 yuan for a double. Great location next to Xinnanmen (from which most of the day trips you're likely to go on originate). Would stay here again.
Ate at: Vegetarian restaurant at Wenshu Yuan. Beijing Roast Duck in the city centre - try the pork with crackling rice, a rare non-spicy Sichuan dish. Fiesta Thai next to the Traffic Hotel.
Notes: i. It cost 5 yuan each to get in to Wenshu Yuan and Qingyang Gong.
ii. City buses cost 1 yuan for non-aircon and 2 yuan for aircon. If there's a box next to the driver then put your money in there - if there isn't, then the conductor will track you down.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.071s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 8; qc: 23; dbt: 0.0283s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Goodsue
non-member comment
I bet the tortoise is dinner!
I've been in Nanjing a year and never got to Yunnan. Your blogs are great--both the writing and the photos. Interesting that there are no pix of you and LA Woman. ;-) I think I'll subscribe to see where else you travel in China.