Overdue Travel Report - Chengdu

Greetings. I wish I could say it has been a terribly eventful last few weeks, but the truth of the matter is that I had an absolutely fabulous six-day trip to the Mainland, and then came back and was stricken with a couple of minor ailments. I have been somewhat laid up, or at least subdued, for the two weeks following my return to Hong Kong. But, as I said, the trip was totally rad, so I have to tell you all about it. Because I have so many photos, I am going to make this in a few separate installments, on Chengdu, Jiuzhaigou, and Kunming. First, Chengdu.

My very first China experience came in Chengdu, the location of Peace Corps headquarters in country. I lived in Chengdu, with my host family, in July and August of 2005, and returned frequently over the course of two years for Peace Corps-sponsored trainings and medical care. It is a place I came to love, for its gentle pace of life, genteel citizenry, and happy memories of Peace Corps reunions and time with my lovely host family. I was very excited to return, even though my recent trip only allowed for an overnight in the city. Chengdu is one of the largest (if not the largest) city in Southwest China and it serves as a jumping off point for travelers and trekkers to points west, like Tibet, Xinjiang, and the western side of Sichuan province, which is home to several minority groups, including a large Tibetan population. My classmate Niclas (a Swede in my exchange group at the law school) and I flew from Shenzhen - the Mainland mega-city right across the border from Hong Kong - to Chengdu as that is generally cheaper than flying out of HK.

[One thing I hadn't missed about the Mainland is some kind of chemical, solvent smell that seems to come from construction sites. I call it the smell of Chemical Death, and it hit me in the face just as I de-boarded the plane.]

Upon arrival in Chengdu, I was filled with giddiness and nostalgia. It was literally incredible to be back, cruising, bobbing and weaving through traffic, in a taxi from the airport into the city center. It was around 8 pm and the city was in full neon glory, lighting up the nearly-ever-present smoggy haze. We made our way to Dragob Town hostel, a place I had heard of but never stayed in before, located on an alley that used to be actually old, dusty, and run down. The summer of training, PCVs in my cluster would go to this place we called the Che Bar (so-dubbed for its prominent poster of the fabled revolutionary) It has been redeveloped in the intervening years, to become a true Tourist Destination. On the one hand, it was pretty neat, with imperial-era wooden scrollwork on doors and windows, and lots of red lanterns. On the other hand, Che Bar appeared long gone, and the tea houses that used to line the alley are being crowded out by bigger, more expensive Western-style places with names like Scent of a Woman. A mixed-bag, but my happiness at returning to Chengdu was not diminished.

[The alley, Kuan Lane.]

[Local shopkeeper staying open late.]

We deposited our luggage in our hostel dormitory, added some layers, and set out again in search of shao kao (barbecue al fresco), a Sichuan institution that I had missed dearly in the years since leaving China. What could be better than a mobile meat and vegetable grill cart, where you can eat freshly cooked, intricately spiced meats and veggies of all kinds? Plus, we got to drink my favorite local beer, Snow, at the amazingly low price of 4 RMB per bottle, roughly $0.60.

[Barbecue on a bicycle.]

Foreigners can still draw attention in Sichuan, even in relatively cosmopolitan Chengdu. People who saw us crouching at our child-size table and stools would invariably ask whether we liked spicy food, whether the food was delicious, and would also react with varying degrees of surprise when I responded affirmatively in Chinese. In this way, we made a couple of friends for the night.

[Niclas and our new friend, Xue Rong]

[And another new pal, a city busy driver who offered to give us an after-hours tour. Sadly, we were leaving the next day and couldn't take him up on his offer].

The next day we headed out early for the bus station to catch our coach to Jiuzhaigou. I was lucky enough to find my favorite breakfast being made on the street - fried bread and fresh soymilk - before nine hours of driving north and west, and up up up into the mountains.