Glass Towers, Salsa, Spicy food, Bro's Town

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Monday 24 June arrived at Chengdu “Hullo BoBo” called Hamish’s driver as I’m walking out of customs, aaaaaaah immediately began to relax, chill time, cobwebs on the camera, blog what? It’s great to be here at the apartment of the ever hospitable Brother Hamish. 5 Years with Chevron in Chengdu, Chinaphile and Mandarin speaker Hamish has been the families man in China for a few years now, I think this summer he has 4 members of his extended family plus three of his own passing through all of us getting a deeper insight into China and its people through him and the people he shares with us. There is usually a small program that includes Salsa classes, I took a couple this time but continued to find the discipline of learning steps a problem as I’m used to just running amuck with the music , Salsa club nights at different bars and dinners out with a few people I had met before.



Dinner one night was at the Bull Frog restaurant, the legs were well spiced and tasty, with Royce The Fixer and a couple of friends. English friend Alex, 7years Chengdu, reiterated what most expats have said, the Chinese do it their way, unless it’s something they absolutely don’t know how to do which they will quickly learn. Many a Westerner has battered his head against that brick wall “goddam”, echo’s down the corridors.



Another night with Lucy, Hamish’s ex office manager, and friend. During a discussion of a woman’s place in China they thought that in the work place there was very little in the way of a glass ceiling, compared with their western counterparts, but that their family arrangements can be quite feudal. A young woman when taking on a man must also take on his parents, which because of the one child policy can often leave her parents out in the cold unless she is able to negotiate a deal to bring them into the fold, hence the whole economic thing revolving around a male child and some of these women getting independently established first or tending not to marry at all despite the intense peer and parental pressure. Further discussion centred around the pressures on the parents to make sure their child, in a few cases children, go to the right schools and come out with the top grades. A China Daily article talked of the huge prices of apartments around a favoured primary school, some purchasing before the birth of a Child. “Our children are not having any fun”, but unable to pull their families from the treadmill.



It was fun to be able to participate in all this feeling fractionally less of a stranger and to watch a very big city crank along to all hours of the night. One night after Salsa club, 1.30am it was Shoakao time, street food, an array of spicy kebabs, very moor ish, but for me not such a good result the next few days.



Chengdu with a city population of 14 million is the Capital of the Sichuan Provence. Country cousin to Beijing and Shanghai, it is trying to lift the bar without losing the smaller town atmosphere and it is a nice city, clean, safe, tree lined burbs, Tea Houses on every corner, big river frontages in development, a city scape of new buildings popping up everywhere and then there’s the New Century Global Center, Chengdu’s latest world class attraction. Google for the PR video for full mind blowing stats.



The Global Centre and the future adjoining building of modern art are Chengdu’s effort to gain respect on the global scene it is the world’s biggest standalone complex, 1.7 million square meters of floor plan, 2 five star hotels overlooking the large indoor beach and marine play park, a massive screen that does sunrise/sunsets behind the beach and apparently an artificial sun that I must have missed. I think I just ran out of superlatives.



Next stop Beijing for a few days on the way to Mongolia to get said visa and possibly see some of the sights I missed on the previous visit.

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Photos

After ddinner
Met Fish and mates

Shoakao
Salsa clubs

5 star Hotel
Overlooking Marine Park Global Center

Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Cultural differences
Enjoyed the discussion about a woman's place in China. Great stuff.

[Patty]

Keep going!
How interesting Bo, really enjoying all the info keep it up. Bloody cold here at moment, not a lot happening. Regards to Hamish, go easy on that spicey stuff!! Love Pattycake x