Arrived Sunday 16th September at 4pm local time, the air is much cooler and it is raining.
Chengdu is a modern busy city with plenty to do with many parks and temples.
The roads are very wide (4 lanes in places) with lots of traffic and a separate lane for motorbikes, mopeds etc who seem to go wherever they want! Umbrellas and waterproofs attached to the bikes didn't seem to deter the riders in the rain, on sunnier days parasols and fans are attached alongside with their shopping. No helmets used here.
Our home for the next 3 nights is at a hostel called Sims cozy garden hotel, previously set up by a couple who met up whilst backpacking, is most definitely where backpackers hangout but surprisingly the facilities are quite good and the shower has hot water!
Having run out of hard cash, time now to see if I could get my currency card to work! Found a hole in the wall and put my hands through some bars and success, Yuan! Good I can get dinner, first night we ate in a restaurant full of Chinese people, menu was in chinese and ordering involved pointing at what was on some of the tables, other than duck, auberinge and chillies oh and rice I couldn't tell you want I ate but it was spicy but what else should I expect in Sichuan province?
Next day some of the group decided to hire a minibus to take us around the main tourist sites, this city is a little big and as I was still suffering I was happy to tag along. So off to a Zhaojue temple where we saw some early morning tai chi before heading to Wenshu (Buddhist god of wisdom) monastery, this is said to be the best preserved Buddhist temple in Chengdu with hundreds of bronze, wooden and stone statues and Buddhist relics. Outside in the temple courtyard incense is burned, there is lots of activity and chanting of prayers in the temple.
Lunch was street food (noodle soup with beef and tomato) at Jinli street (a new built ancient looking street). Also had a glass of sugar water (pressed juices from sugar cane) from a stall. Onto the Tibetan quarter, plenty of brass on sale and lots of beggars around here.
At last we were at The People's Park, one of the main attractions here for me personally. Entering the park you can hear the music playing, see line dancing and tai chi and even take part in karaoke! Fish being fed with a baby bottle at the pond. Most bizarre is the ear cleaning being carried out in public, not convinced the instruments were particularly sterile i stayed well clear! Stopped off for a cup of tea in a tea house watching many games of mahjong being played by the locals.
Then another new 'ancient' street, I just loved the art here, huge wall murals with artist easels set out in front.
The highlight of Chengdu for me was the visit to the Giant Panda Sanctuary and Breeding Centre, an early start to see the feeding of the adult and cub pandas. The babies are born at this time of year so felt incredibly lucky to see a newborn panda at less than 2 weeks old. There are also red pandas here who roam fairly freely but don't get too close as they can be quite vicious.
The last night, had to be a night out at the opera. Sichuan Opera is a 300 year old tradition performed at a teahouse, more burlesque in style with high pitched singing accompanied by percussion and wind instruments. The main act is the magical trick of face changing allowing actors to portray many different characters. Arrived to see the actors changing and painting their faces and supped on tea constantly refilled throughout the performance.
Sorry still no pics!
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