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Chengdu
A fascinating start, we were able to watch our take off on the airplane's monitors as a camera showed us the runway then the ground disappearing as lifted off. We flew through cloudy skies over white mountains while the monitors switched to Tom and Jerry cartoons! Obviously, they found language independent entertainment.
Chengdu in Sichuan is known for its spicy food and spicy girls. At least according to our female tour guides, the women are so spicy that they dominate the families and the men enjoy it.
Interesting factoid Comparison: The Richest person in China is now a woman who owns the Nine Dragons Paper Company that is a packaging paperboard manufacturer. The wealthiest American is a man who owns a software company.
The tourist part of town
Panda Breeding Center
City Life
Plant Wall
A traditional Tea House on a lake park still used by retired locals as well as tourists. Wandering friendly polite practitioners will incessantly try to induce you to get a massage, shoeshine, or an ear cleaning.
Tea House Massage
A pick and a tuning fork are used to shake loose earwax - supposedly very relaxing.
BBC article on ear cleaning.
A New antique dinner theater catering to tourists featuring music, dancers, comedic acting, and Changing Faces.
See this article on Changing Faces
The ancient categorization of instruments in China is called "Ba Yin" (eight sounds from instruments made of different materials) refer to the following: Jin (metal), Shi (stone), Si (string), Zhu (bamboo), Pao (bottle gourd), Ge (leather), Tu (clay) and Mu (wood).
The Panda Breeding Center is nicely done with the Pandas close, friendly, and active in the mornings.
You can see infants in incubators but you are not allowed to take pictures.
Cleaning up the Carp from a pond
One of the rare views of Bamboo during a two week tour of China and this was at the Panda Breeding center. One of two major natural icons of China that I didn’t see much of, the other was rice paddies.
Panda Chewing
Three Pandas
It's 400 Yuan to have your picture taken with a panda. You must wear plastic bags over your shoes to get near and plastic gloves to pet him. A photographer takes pictures with your camera while you pet the panda they are feeding.
The first Panda was brought to the West by a bohemian socialite Ruth Harkness in 1936 after her husband died trying to bring one back. (This was back in the time of the original King Kong movie). This is a very well received book about her story.
Of course now Pandas are struggling to survive and are a cash cow (Bear?) for the government of China.
There is large group of panda lovers sharing photos from around the panda world in the Flickr.com group Pandas Unlimited You’ll need a free flicker or yahoo account to view their photos.
Red Pandas, an unrelated breed, were lively and territorial cutting wide paths to avoid each other.
School kids at the Zoo
Bird on a Tree
We stopped at a Brocade Silk Factory, watched carpet weavers, and had time to spend money. Also, saw amazing silk embroidery - one could have passed for an oil painting while others were under glass that flips with some revealing different pictures on other side. Perhaps the best of educational shopping stops.
See Article on Silk Brocade in Chengdu.
A pair of weavers are needed to manage the process. This one weaves the pattern.
While one sits on top to manage the silk threads.
Putting it altogether, the spools are crossed over weaving the silk threads into the pattern.
On the Street
Bicycle Lane
A crossing guard holds back the hoard of bicycles, motor bikes, and pedicabs.
All this on a street with cars.
A back street near the center of Chengdu with street stalls selling to locals, also a parking lot for bicycles and motor bikes.
Two Wheelers
McDonald's special at the time was a Korean burger - a quarter pounder with Asian vegetables on top; instead of pickles and cheese, their regular burgers used cucumber and a spicy yellow sauce.
Interesting Factoid: The Red and Gold colors of McDonald's signs are the same colors used by the Imperial and Communist governments. They go well with the Chinese Flag.
Around the corner from the street market the price goes up. That's a statue of the old chairman saluting the Cartier and Burberry emporiums.
This statue of Chairman Mao in the center was jokingly said to be him educating the youth on how to hail a cab.
Riding in traffic
Chengdu surrounded by mountains, is smoggy with very few sunny days. Outside the tourist areas, it was fairly dreary, humid, and full of construction dust and dirt.
Walking down the street alone a westerner can’t help but feel like a stranger in a strange land. It’s a humbling experience to know that you stand out because of your skin, you can’t understand the voices, you can’t begin to comprehend the alphabet used in the signs, and that you’re totally at the mercy of your wits and the kindness of strangers.
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