Chengdu China report and photos.

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Denali

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Sep 17, 2012
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Hi again,

As Chengdu (western China) isnt a tourist’s first choice to visit, i thought I would share some pics of our trip.

The flight was Singapore Airlines so it was as amazing as expected. Our seats to Changi was their medium haul and on the way home the older business class seats and obviously enjoyable and relaxed flights were had. Oh and as an added surprise, my husband was not aware that we had upgraded to J for our Syd>Changi section (he knew we were coming home J) so that was a nice way to start our trip.

While in Chengdu, we enjoyed the food, the city and the Pandas, which is why most tourists go to Chengdu for. To hold the pandas currently costs approx $400AUD (2000yuan) and we visited both the panda centre in Chengdu and another one a few hours in the country near Yaan. The food was amazing, the spice and heat didn’t burn your mouth but gave an numbness so you were still able to enjoy your meal.

We had ventured to some area that westerners arent usually seen so we were touched, photographed, stalked and caused quite a bit of excitement in some places. People would jump out of cars and/or cross streets to have photos with us and a complete restaurant came to silence when we walked in. One meal we looked up and people would be standing by the table, just staring at us. Some days it was fun, some days downright annoying but what can you do but smile. I did lose a pair of sunglasses when one woman was so excited to see me, she came running and jumped/sat on my bag, breaking them. If this is "fame", its not fun but its not every day you get photo bombed near the Tibetan border by a monk on his iPhone while stealing their wifi.

Overall Im sad that China as embraced consumerism just like the rest of us but they are no longer faced with lack of food and they have more freedom and opportunities, even though I did have to rent a VPN to get my social media fix. The old China can still be found, you just have to find it.




























 
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Thanks for posting Denali - brought back great memories. Had 5 or 6 trips to Chengdu 2000 to 2002 - I bet it has changed a fair bit.

Some of the hottest weather I have ever experienced was in Chengdu - and as for the Sichuan food - OMG was it HOT. The Panda experiences were not developed back in those days - I envy you so much - I have promised myself a return visit one day. Chengdu also home to oldest irrigation system in the world - coming from a rural background I consider the establishment this system over 2,000 years ago simply mindboggling - Dujiangyan Irrigation Project, Sichuan, China - one day soon.

Again thanks so much for your time and effort in posting
 
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I cant imagine what Chengdu would have been like back in 2000 - definitely a slower pace because its absolute mayhem now. Six lane roads with motorbikes on the footpath and no one ever stops their car at a pedestrian crossing and the driving is just crazy, no other word for it. Road rules are more guidelines than actual rules.

My husbands joke was, "How does my wife cross the road? She calls a taxi"... and he wasnt joking.

We did the hot pot and a lots of other local foods - Im sure they toned it down for us but it was still hot and amazing. I will never have pork buns as good as the ones I bought off a vendor in Yaan.

We did visit the irrigation system as well, we got dropped off at the top of the mountain and walked down and across the bridge. Beautiful.
 
Beautiful photos, what a magical place! I have to go there one day. Sichuan style is my favourite Chinese food :)
 
My parents have been to Chengdu a few times and have enjoyed it. I look forward to visiting it sometime soon in the future.

Thanks for the photos!
 
My visit to Chengdu, last year, was for business, so sadly I did not get to see the Pandas or for that matter anything else remotely touristy. :(

I did, however, get lots of opportunity to try Sichuan food, and in some remote places outside of the city too. Just fabulous. :)
 
Also took a trip to ChengDu last year and thoroughly enjoyed it, definitely different aspect of China compared to the east coast. Loved the food and the general feel of the place. Looks like you guys really got stuck in to the local culture and what not, and you no doubt got to experience some things that many have not. I'd like to add my thanks for taking the time to post, great little TR.
 
Thanks for the report, the photos look great. I'm taking my first trip to Chengdu in a couple of weeks and am definitely looking forward to it!

Scott.
 
Food, glorious food! So colourful and the flavours were yummy. Not sure about the rabbit head snacks and gizzards for the hotpot but not much is wasted here.




















 
Great Chengdu info thanks. Did anyone see the 2 Men in China pram last night - Tim Flannery and OMG I'll never forget what's'isname (sorry), just forgotten for a moment? It certainly made me want to visit Chengdu. Where did you stay?
 
Yes saw parts of it last night - god the hot pot dinner brought back memories - NEVER EVER AGAIN!
 
We stayed at the Shangri-La which is just outside the city centre and it was obviously very nice but for our next visit, we would stay closer to the town centre so we can wander the streets/food stalls a bit more.

Didnt see the program but will do a search for it tonight.

Cheers,
 
Yes saw parts of it last night - god the hot pot dinner brought back memories - NEVER EVER AGAIN!

Ha. I was surprised by how tastythe food was, I expected heat and spice. It was numbing and hot but still tasty and Im told there has been a crackdown on food preparation/health. The hotpots use to reuse their oil and thats not allowed now. Im sure it still happens but we didnt have any problems thankfully
 
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Great Chengdu info thanks. Did anyone see the 2 Men in China pram last night - Tim Flannery and OMG I'll never forget what's'isname (sorry), just forgotten for a moment? It certainly made me want to visit Chengdu. Where did you stay?

I didnt think it was good as the others as far as episodes go. If your into food Ken Hom and Ching-He Huangs exploring China, a culinary adventure is worth catching, episode 2 is on Chengdu. It pops up on food night on SBS occasionally (Thursdays).

http://docuwiki.net/index.php?title=Exploring_China:_A_Culinary_Adventure#Part_2.
 
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