Chengdu: Wrap-up and Goodbye

Sorry for the long break.  We've been busy the last few weeks.

Last week, SB and I took a brief vacation from the road.  She accrued five days of comp-time she needed to use before we left Chengdu.

When we got back from that vacation, we had four days before the company sent us to Qinzhou, where we are now.




It's been a whirlwind.  We packed, unpacked, and packed again.  We also said goodbyes, booked tickets, flew and flew again, and now we're finally catching our breathe.

Logistics aside, it was tough to leave Chengdu, personally.  The city was comfortable, and the crew was a blast!

We did so much with such great people, and most of it was unremarkable.  The crew and us would go out to eat, workout, hang out, go drinking, and all the other normal life activities that wouldn't interest anyone if we were living back in the U.S.

There were, however, a few cultural excursions worth note in this wrap-up of Chengdu.

Wenshu Monastery

Gate outside Wenshu Monastery

I went to Wenshu Monastery three times during our stay in Chengdu; the first time with Jason, the second with Marc, and the third with Chithra, Isha, and Samah.

Wenshu is an active Buddhist temple and a quiet oasis in the middle of the city.  Monks live and practice in the monastery, and I encountered them a different way each time we went.

Lion statue outside Peace Tower

The first time, it was a normal day at the monastery.

The temple patrons were mostly senior citizens, enjoying the quiet parks.  One patron spoke great English.  Jason and he had a funny conversation about America, China, and how each ranked in the world of science and mathematics.  They talked about how they were "strong workers," and I was just a student.

In the back of the temple we encountered a group of monks playing badminton and ping pong.  It was surreal to see practicing monks play racket sports with such focus and grace.

Monks playing badminton at Wenshu

I went to Wenshu the second time with Marc, the traveling exchange student I met in Xi'An.  We went during the first few days of the Chinese New Year (aka the Spring Festival).  The place was deserted!  There were hardly any patrons or monks.

When I went with Chithra, Isha, and Samah the third time, it was packed!

Monk oversees offerings during the New Year

We went on the third day of the Chinese New Year, which is typically the holy day.  Beggars, vendors, food carts, masseuses, entertainers, and families crowed the sidewalks around the temple gates.  The square was loud with hawkers, karaoke singers, live and recorded music, and conversation.  It smelled of barbecue, durian, and stinky tofu.

There was a constant river of people flowing into Wenshu Monastery.

The monks served as crowd control that day.  They handed out incense sticks, guided visitors, and acted as security to the temple's many buildings.

There were prayer stations in each courtyard.  Patrons light incense and candles, made offerings to Buddha and the monks, and stopped regularly to bow and pray for a lucky, happy new year.

Even though I visited the same temple three times, it felt like a different place each time.

Monastery library and temple on the first visit

The People's Park

Railroad Workers' Monument at the People's Park

Like Wenshu Monastery, the People's Park was a peaceful oasis in the middle of a city; however, the park was very active by comparison.

Most people walked the miles of path winding through the park.  The park had monuments, tea houses, gardens, and a lake to view while strolling.  The people, though, were the best sites.

Tea house

Some park-goers wrote calligraphy on the sidewalks with giant paint brushes soaked in water.  Their work evaporated quick, but they wrote long lines of giant characters.

In the main square, people spun tops with whips.  They snapped the whips, emitting a loud CRACK! Despite the violent and erratic whipping, they controlled their tops with precision.

Whip tops under control

On one path, a man practiced sword dancing.  On another path, fathers and mothers posted and perused ads to marry off their sons and daughters.  At nearby shelters, people sang their mid-afternoon karaoke at ear-splitting decibels.  People danced everywhere in the park.  The people in the park were very active!

Parents checking personal ads for marriage potential for their children

I spent almost three hours at the People's Park just strolling and people watching.  Chengdu is such a big city that no one paid attention or stared me, the laowai.  It was nice to be ignored and blend in, again.

Karaoke in the park

Jinli Street

Isha and Marc pose under the red lanterns of the Spring Festival at Jinli Street

Jinli Street is an ancient shopping street and a popular Chengdu location.  Chithra, Isha, Marc, Samah, and I went late on the first day of the Spring Festival, so most shops were closed.  We, however, did experience the carnival atmosphere of the festival.

Jinli Street shoppers light incense outside the local temple

Like Wenshu Monastery, families flocked to Jinli Street in order to enjoy the holiday.  Food vendors sold local cuisine and carnival foods, including cotton candy (which Samah really enjoyed).

Sticky Rice served in Pineapple

Samah eating cotton candy

Decorations floated in nearby lake, providing a spectacular light show for the New Year.  The floats depicted mythic warriors, cartoon characters, and other auspicious symbols of the holiday.

Floats for the New Year

Chithra, Samah, Marc, and Isha enjoy the New Year floats

Kuanzhi Alley

Kuanzhi Alley at the end of the New Year

Kuanzhi Alley is a pricer, up-scale version of Jinli Street.  It is lined with boutiques and other shops atypical to normal, Chinese shopping districts.  Like Jinli, however, it has historical and cultural value.

Giant, gold flower outside a boutique

A lot of the shops, tea houses, and restaurants are built in old homes modeled after those from the Qin Dynasty.  Those homes had giant, decorative doors that lead into a courtyard and eventually the home.

Samah outside a Kuanzhi Alley door

Vendor yelling into a courtyard kitchen of a restaurant

I went to Kuanzhi Alley four times while in Chengdu: once by myself, a second with Jason, Minah (Jason's friend), and Samah, a third time with Katie and Ricardo, and a fourth with SB.  It was a twenty minute walk from our hotel, and the route took us down some pretty unusual streets, including my favorite.

A church on the route to Kuanzhi Alley

My favorite street was a quiet, residential alley covered in trees.  There was an artsy coffee shop on the street, where a gifted guitarist would play lazily.  His music echoed down the quite street.  Walks on this street helped me forget, if only for a moment, I was in China.

My favorite street in China, nothing special about it

Sichuan Restaurants

Chengdu is in Sichuan Province, which is notorious for its spicy and flavorful food.  They use a unique mix of cayenne pepper and peppercorns that both numbs the palette and provides a variety of flavors.  Sichuan cuisine is also one of the few to regularly use garlic, and I love garlic!

The infamous peppercorns in Sichuan hot pot

We frequented two uniquely Sichuan restaurants within walking distance of our hotel.  One is a regular sit-down place and the other a hot pot place.

Our regular sit-down Sichuan restaurant

Both places served some of the best Chinese food we've eaten, and I'll miss it.

Goodbye, Chengdu.  Goodbye, Crew.

For me, Chengdu was a difficult assignment to leave.  It's a great city with a distinct cultural identity.  We had options for food and drink, and we could get around without issue.

The ex-pat bars and restaurants, like the Book Worm, Shamrock, Beer Nest, Lazy Pug, and Mike's Pizza Kitchen served great food and drink!  A nearby grocery store imported food items from all over the world, and it even had a deli for fresh sandwich meats.

Mike's Pizza Kitchen - it will be missed

The subway was easy to navigate, clean, and inexpensive.  Taxis were also available on almost every street corner at anytime of day or night.

SB on the Chengdu Subway

These amenities allowed us to enjoy our surroundings and go out together.

The crew was the most difficult to leave.  I really enjoyed all their company and spent hours just hanging out with them in Chengdu.

An assignment is easiest with a good crew, and this was one of the best.

The conversations we had and places we went enlivened the Chengdu experience for me.  The sites I saw with other people were memorable, because we could share the experience.  We could observe, question, and laugh together at the peculiarities that arise in China.

We didn't have to do something culturally immersing or grand in order to just have fun, though.  Some of my fondest memories will be playing cards in Jason's room, watching movies in ours, or chatting in the lounge after a rough day at work.

This job reminded me that no matter where we go in the world it's the people that make an experience, not the place.

Clockwise starting from left: Chithra, Tom, Katie (Center), Jason, SB, and Samah
(photo courtesy of Samah)