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| Hello Pandas! |
Perhaps I have been quite oblivious (or sheltered) thus far. Somehow, Chengdu was a wake up call for me that most parts of China were NOT like Beijing and Shanghai. It was definitely not as clean (relatively) as these metro cities and it also didn't help that the people around me didn't respect personal space to the point where I actually felt uncomfortable. In fact, within the hour of touching down, I had people edging in front of me (riding on the slight gap between the conveyor belt and me) as well as peering over my shoulder (to check on the luggage progress) when I was at the luggage retrieval area. Yes, I felt quite non existent.
Nevertheless, this was just a little blip in my overall experience of Chengdu. All in all, we did enjoy ourselves especially with the cooler weather and HUMIDITY! Believe my skin was really happy for those short 4 days.
For the traveller that's keen to do a quick getaway in Chengdu, here's what one should see minimally:
1. Dujiangyan (都江堰), a UNESCO World Heritage site
Dujiangyan is the oldest and only surviving no-dam irrigation system in the world. Considered a wonder in the development of Chinese science, this was built more than 2,200 years ago and was designed to automatically control the water flow of the rivers from the mountains to the plains throughout the year. All done without modern tools or technology. I was very impressed.
Aside from the heart stopping and slightly nerve wrecking moment when we had to traipse across the swaying wooden bridge, this was an eye opener and a must-visit for all first timers to Chengdu.
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| Little quaint town just outside of Dujiangyan in lovely spring-summery weather... |
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| Once again, every key attraction requires some walking. We even made it across the Anlan Cable Bridge, which is the most scenic place in Dujiangyan. While it was slightly scary walking across a seemingly precarious wooden bridge, we persevered with even (and steady) footsteps. However, I didn't dare peer down and DEFINITELY no photos were taken. |
2. Jinli Street (锦里古街)
One of the busiest commercial streets during the Shu Kingdom (221-263), it is known as the 'First Street of the Shu Kingdom'. Recently restored in 2004 in an attempt to commemorate the past, the street which might seem alittle too touristy is still worth exploring. Walking through these "ancient" streets filled with curios and souvenirs, it was nice to immerse oneself in the hustle and bustle of the activities while the local snacks are definitely worth trying!
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| We loved the "gula-melaka" filling within the bun which reminded us of Kueh Tu Tu while the miniature dolls reflecting characters from Romance of the Three Kingdoms made a cute collectible. |
3. Wide and Narrow Alleys (宽窄巷子）
The wide and narrow alleys are two ancient streets which have been restored to reflect the old architecture in Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) styles. Filled with little shops, cafes and restaurants, it was a pleasant walk and we would be glad to head back if given another opportunity. Alas, we only had stomach space for coffee and gelato which was better than what I had ever tasted in Beijing.
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| New amidst the "old" where one could easily nurse a drink or two, alcoholic AND non-alcoholic. |
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| Bustling streets with buskers where we had the best gelato to-date... |
Interesting to note though that the Chinese don't seem to mind re-constructed history or enclaves. While some might say the above enclaves were not authentic, it definitely didn't seem to be a problem for them. So perhaps our Chinatown does have some appeal after all...
4. Chengdu Panda Breeding & Research Centre (熊猫基地）
Located just half an hour away from the city centre is the research centre where one can see the pandas in their re-created natural habitats as well as hug them for an astronomical (by my standards) price. After balking at having to pay 1,000 RMB (about S$200) for 5 minutes of quality time with the baby panda, I settled for taking pictures with my Panasonic Lumix.
And very adorable they were! Just watching them munching away in groups, eating in all sorts of poses was quite amusing. Definitely made me want to lounge around too and enjoy the good life.
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| Check out the babies having their breakfast together and there's even one lying down on his back while eating...真羡慕它们懒洋洋的样子! |
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| Giant Panda Kindergarten: indeed, it is a kindergarten of sorts as staff equip these pandas to be ready for the wild and ensure that they are reproducing sufficiently. Love the picture of the fast asleep panda nestled within the branches...apparently there have been incidences of pandas getting injured after falling off. |
Couldn't resist taking a video of this panda lumbering around his enclosure:
5. 3-Star Piles Museum (三星堆）
Translated literally as "Three-Star Piles", this site is a cultural relic of the ancient Shu (Sichuan) civilization. As the largest and oldest Shu cultural relic, this is part of the southern wall of an ancient city that was built of earth. For archeological buffs, guess this could be a must see although it's still worth checking out if you have some time to spare.
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| Interesting artefacts like the gold mask, crown and the emblem representative of this ancient civilization. |
For more information on the attractions above, can check out the guide here.
Apart from the sights, I felt that the overall quality of food (in addition to Sichuan cuisine) was really good. We had an excellent mala hotpot (马拉火锅) while the skewered snacks (串串香) was awesome. Unexpectedly, we also had the BEST tonkatsu thus far in China at Isetan. In fact, Chengdu's shopping street was way more interesting than Beijing's Wangfujing.
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| The freshly brewed beer was an excellent complement to our hotpot items while the fish cooked within the chilli oil was also numbingly good. Unfortunately, service was not the best and this was the restaurant where beer was spilt all over my longchamp bag, a stain which will remain forever. *dismayed sniffs* |
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| While we ordered way more than normal (as usual), the skewered meats were so good that everything was eaten swiftly. I also had my first bowl of handmade noodles which I haven't found since I left Singapore. |
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| Our favouritest tonkatsu restaurant, He Xing (和幸) where we ate there TWICE in FOUR days. With very decent prices at such a high quality, I would definitely return just for this... |
If you are looking for a hotel with a good location and fairly near the shopping belt and eateries, can consider Rhombus Fantasia, a funky boutique hotel.
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Our very comfortable hotel room with personalized hand towels...
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Was also really pleased with my random knick knacks picked up at a quirky store:
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| Useful notebooks with cute one-liners like "He who doesn't want to be a civil servant isn't a real chinese panda" and "Male comrades, your wife is more important than the revolution". |
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