Sunday, November 21, 2004
Chengdu
Another big city: Chengdu, capital of the Sichuan province and a population of 12 millions...
Here, modernisation has left little of the traditional hutongs and their tea-houses. They might even soon completely dissapear. In terms of sights, there is not much in Chengdu: some parks, a fake Quing style shopping street, a statue of Mao Zedong.
What makes the city interesting is the lifestyle of its citizens, which don't seem too bothered by the changes. They continue sipping tea in the sun, playing mahjong. We liked it so much that we stayed 9 days...
We first went to the wooden Wenshu temple to enjoy this relaxed atmosphere.
Then we went to spectacles. A touristy one (but nevertheless good), with samples of Sichuan opera, shadow play, choregraphies, puppets shows...
...the other completely untouristic: the screeching Buenavista Social Club of Sichuan opera. A very touching and memorable experience!
Outside the retirees' club, we met Cheng, a chinese guy. We got together a couple of times in a teahouse on one of the last popular hutongs, where he helped us to learn mahjong and go.
He also introduced us to the local hotpot culture. Once we got used to the special ingredients (duck intestines, blood, feet, pig trotters, lamb brains, beef stomach, chicken stomach...), we quite liked it! The strong medicinal liquor surely lend us some courage to tackle the situation...
A part from the hotpot, Sichuan also has a very refined and varied cuisine which is different from the rest of China. Textures are quite unique, and the local pepper (hot!) more subtle than the first impression. A good reason to extend one's stay in the city.
There was also a national liquor fair in town. We visited the event with our friends to taste chinese wines and spirits, and got photographed by friendly exhibitors in their stands (for publicity?). Anyway, we ended the tour with some gifts...
In an other register, we highly recommend the Panda Rehabilitation Centre on the outskirts, which offers serious information on the cute animal and its habitat. The animals are well kept and have enough space to move and play.
Finally, we made a trip to Dujiangyang to see the 2000 year old water regulation system (a UNESCO World Heritage Site). A bit dissapointing. Basically a river split in two surrounded by a park with concrete temples. And there are ugly concrete dams upflow...
Here, modernisation has left little of the traditional hutongs and their tea-houses. They might even soon completely dissapear. In terms of sights, there is not much in Chengdu: some parks, a fake Quing style shopping street, a statue of Mao Zedong.
What makes the city interesting is the lifestyle of its citizens, which don't seem too bothered by the changes. They continue sipping tea in the sun, playing mahjong. We liked it so much that we stayed 9 days...
We first went to the wooden Wenshu temple to enjoy this relaxed atmosphere.
Then we went to spectacles. A touristy one (but nevertheless good), with samples of Sichuan opera, shadow play, choregraphies, puppets shows...
...the other completely untouristic: the screeching Buenavista Social Club of Sichuan opera. A very touching and memorable experience!
Outside the retirees' club, we met Cheng, a chinese guy. We got together a couple of times in a teahouse on one of the last popular hutongs, where he helped us to learn mahjong and go.
He also introduced us to the local hotpot culture. Once we got used to the special ingredients (duck intestines, blood, feet, pig trotters, lamb brains, beef stomach, chicken stomach...), we quite liked it! The strong medicinal liquor surely lend us some courage to tackle the situation...
A part from the hotpot, Sichuan also has a very refined and varied cuisine which is different from the rest of China. Textures are quite unique, and the local pepper (hot!) more subtle than the first impression. A good reason to extend one's stay in the city.
There was also a national liquor fair in town. We visited the event with our friends to taste chinese wines and spirits, and got photographed by friendly exhibitors in their stands (for publicity?). Anyway, we ended the tour with some gifts...
In an other register, we highly recommend the Panda Rehabilitation Centre on the outskirts, which offers serious information on the cute animal and its habitat. The animals are well kept and have enough space to move and play.
Finally, we made a trip to Dujiangyang to see the 2000 year old water regulation system (a UNESCO World Heritage Site). A bit dissapointing. Basically a river split in two surrounded by a park with concrete temples. And there are ugly concrete dams upflow...
