Ben and I spent a few days in Chengdu while we wait for our Tibetan permits to come through, and I was quite excited about this as it's the main tourist destinations in China that I had not yet visited. Despite being a major tourist attraction (at least, according to my guidebook....), we got a lot of attention from the locals and have not seen any other waiguoren around town - so much that we began to feela bit like celebrities with a wave and smile here and there! We are finding everyone to be very friendly and unusually helpful - even proffering directions when we have not asked for any, hailing cabs for us and shouting 'hello' in the streets! However, the dialect is quite confusing (the pronunciation of EI and AI and SH as A being just the tip of the iceberg) and the city (despite the population of 13 million) was SO quiet - China, but not as we know it... a disorienting experience!
We spent the first day eating Gong Bao Ji Ding* (see picture!**) and wandering around the temples and parks. As it was a Sunday, the locals were out in force - dancing, doing taiqi, singing, flying kites etc, and it was really fun just to observe the community in action. Of particular note was the Green Ram Taoist temple, which had several unusual bronze figures - the eponymous ram, and another figure which has characteristics of each of the four Chinese mystical animals - these figures are then rubbed for luck and to remove life's troubles, and after rubbing a part of the animal, you are supposed to rub the corresponding part of yourself. This is all done very vigorously!
On our first evening we went out for hotpot (another Sichuan speciality, and renowned for being very spicy). OBVIOUSLY we ordered a non-spicy soup, and although we were assured that it was not spicy we were greeted by a dark red, chili-filled, bubbling angry-looking broth - see picture for the evidence! Our bright red, sweating faces caused the waitresses and the rest of the diners much amusement - but we enjoyed ourselves, and took respite in the tiny section of plain broth in the centre!
On our second (and last) day in Chengdu, we headed to the main tourist attraction - the Giant Panda Research and Breeding Centre, which involved an early start to get there for the morning feeding session and avoid only seeing the pandas asleep. We saw LOTS of pandas and they are SO CUTE! The younger ones (about 2 years old) spent the morning playing and play-fighting on wooden climbing frames, and the older ones were mainly sleeping or eating - Ben has taken a particular liking to this lazy lifestyle, and is hoping to adopt the lounging, laid back eating position himself.... In terms of food, pandas eat a lot of bamboo of course - what is less documented is that they are also partial to a specially formulated 'panda bread' which was available for us to try.... it looks like a cross between oatcakes and the panda dung that was on display, and needless to say did not taste good to us!
On our return to the hostel we discovered that our Tibet permits had arrived, and we are all set to fly to Lhasa on 30th March. I am REALLY excited about this, as Tibet has always been near the top of my 'to-go-to' list, but due to the difficulties in actually getting there, the expense and travel restrictions, I did not expect to have the opportunity.
*Ben's - and most foreigner's - favourite Chinese dish, and a speciality of Sichuan province, where we are now.
** Apologies for the random order of the photos - it's the email blogging again...
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