Jay's trip to Chengdu
Jay and I arrived in Chengdu rather late, so we just went to my apartment and went to sleep. I was going to work the next two days... I worked part of the day on Thursday from home and all day on Friday at home. On Thursday we went to my office and I showed Jay around a little bit. We had lunch with two of my teammates from work, Yan Mei and Wen Yun.
Yan Mei, Jay, Wen Yun, and I at lunch
We had some really good Sichuan dishes for lunch (fish covered with hot peppers, minced chicken with hot peppers, pork and vegetables in spicy oil, and pickled peppers). Jay did pretty good with the food during the whole trip. He was willing to try everything we served him, and he didn't get sick or anything. I did try to make sure we had some western meals every once in awhile too, since Jay was not use to eating so much Chinese food.
On Saturday morning Jay and I went to the Panda Breeding Research Center in northern Chengdu. We got there early because we wanted to get our pictures taken with a little panda, but we couldn't find the place to do that. There were no signs for it. Eventually we found a place that had a line of people, and sure enough that was the place.
Baby panda with mother panda
To get your picture taken with the little panda you have to donate 1,000 Yuan to the research facility. Jay forgot his donation at my apartment, so I gave him mine so he could pose with one of the pandas.
Jay and his panda
I think this panda was only a few months old. They are quite small when they are born and grow quickly. After visiting the pandas we went back to town; and my friends Cynthia, Tony, Phyllis, and her sister Jessie took us out for a Sichuan dinner. We had a variety of dishes that I think are only found in Sichuan. It was very good.
Tony, Cynthia, Jessie, Phyllis, and I at dinner
A whole lot of Sichuan goodies
After dinner Phyllis and Jessie took Jay and I to a place called Shunxing Ancient Teahouse. We enjoyed some tea and some snacks, and watched a Sichuan Opera/variety show. At one point some guys came over and gave Jay and I a shoulder/back massage while we watched the show. They also had someone who went around cleaning ears, but we passed on that.
Performing with an old style instrument
Kung Fu tea pouring
Face changing
Jay gets a massage while chatting with Phyllis
On Sunday Jay and I got up early and met up with my friend Jolly and her friend Scarlet. We went to a place called Leshan which is about two hours drive from Chengdu. We were going to see the giant Buddha, which at 71 meters high (about 233 feet) is the largest statue of Buddha in the world. The first viewing of the giant Buddha statue was by boat.
Jay and I on the boat in Leshan
Scarlet and Jolly
Jay and I with the giant Buddha statue in the background
The river current here is very strong, so the first time going by the Buddha statue was very quick as we were going down stream. The boat then turned around and slowly went upstream by the Buddha, so everyone had time to take pictures.
Some souvenir sellers outside the dock and park
For the second viewing of the Buddha statue we went through a large park and came up to a place by the head of the Buddha and then walked down to the bottom. It was quite a hike, and all of us were pretty tired afterward.
The steep climb down the side of the giant Buddha statue
A look down where the feet are
Jay and I check out a really big toe
Down past the Buddha we found a small place with some shops and restaurants, and we took a little break with some cool drinks and some souvenirs.
Jolly and Scarlet help Jay do some souvenir shopping
We then made our way to the Wuyou Temple nearby. The bridge leading to the temple was very pretty.
The bridge to the Wuyou Temple
On the bridge
When we got to the bridge we discovered that if we wanted to go up to the temple we would have to do a lot of hiking up a small mountain. We were all too tired for that and decided to call it a day. We called our driver and he picked us up nearby and we drove over to Leshan to buy some snacks (sliced beef, sweet duck, and fruit). I think I caught a cold from the air conditioning in the car, since I woke up Monday morning with a slight head cold.
On Monday Jay and I went to JinLi Street in Chengdu. JinLi is a market street that is decorated like an ancient Chinese market street. It's not totally authentic since there are places there like Starbucks and Dairy Queen there, but it's nice.
Jay bought some Chinese KungFu-type shirts and also had a painting done with some Chinese calligraphy that resembles his name in Chinese.
Nice job with the calligraphy
There were also many pretty Chengdu girls to see there.
A pretty girl poses for the cameras
Actually, there were a lot of pretty Chengdu girls just about every place we went. I think if Jay comes back to Chengdu it will be more to see the pretty girls then to see me. Haha!
A pretty girl plays a guqin at a teahouse on JinLi Street
On Tuesday we didn't go do any sightseeing. My cold was getting worse, so I didn't want to go anywhere. Jay went for a walk in the area around my apartment and I tried to sleep some. We also spent time preparing for the next day's trip to Hong Kong.
In the evening we went to join my friend Kitty for some hotpot. The place we went to was called Lao Ma Tao, and it has been around for a long time. We had beef, lamb, stomach, liver, quail eggs, enokitake mushrooms, and lotus root. I didn't eat any of the liver, but Jay tried all of it. It was really good! It was also helpful for my cold.
Yan Mei, Jay, Wen Yun, and I at lunch
We had some really good Sichuan dishes for lunch (fish covered with hot peppers, minced chicken with hot peppers, pork and vegetables in spicy oil, and pickled peppers). Jay did pretty good with the food during the whole trip. He was willing to try everything we served him, and he didn't get sick or anything. I did try to make sure we had some western meals every once in awhile too, since Jay was not use to eating so much Chinese food.
On Saturday morning Jay and I went to the Panda Breeding Research Center in northern Chengdu. We got there early because we wanted to get our pictures taken with a little panda, but we couldn't find the place to do that. There were no signs for it. Eventually we found a place that had a line of people, and sure enough that was the place.
Baby panda with mother panda
To get your picture taken with the little panda you have to donate 1,000 Yuan to the research facility. Jay forgot his donation at my apartment, so I gave him mine so he could pose with one of the pandas.
Jay and his panda
I think this panda was only a few months old. They are quite small when they are born and grow quickly. After visiting the pandas we went back to town; and my friends Cynthia, Tony, Phyllis, and her sister Jessie took us out for a Sichuan dinner. We had a variety of dishes that I think are only found in Sichuan. It was very good.
Tony, Cynthia, Jessie, Phyllis, and I at dinner
A whole lot of Sichuan goodies
After dinner Phyllis and Jessie took Jay and I to a place called Shunxing Ancient Teahouse. We enjoyed some tea and some snacks, and watched a Sichuan Opera/variety show. At one point some guys came over and gave Jay and I a shoulder/back massage while we watched the show. They also had someone who went around cleaning ears, but we passed on that.
Performing with an old style instrument
Kung Fu tea pouring
Face changing
Jay gets a massage while chatting with Phyllis
On Sunday Jay and I got up early and met up with my friend Jolly and her friend Scarlet. We went to a place called Leshan which is about two hours drive from Chengdu. We were going to see the giant Buddha, which at 71 meters high (about 233 feet) is the largest statue of Buddha in the world. The first viewing of the giant Buddha statue was by boat.
Jay and I on the boat in Leshan
Scarlet and Jolly
Jay and I with the giant Buddha statue in the background
The river current here is very strong, so the first time going by the Buddha statue was very quick as we were going down stream. The boat then turned around and slowly went upstream by the Buddha, so everyone had time to take pictures.
Some souvenir sellers outside the dock and park
For the second viewing of the Buddha statue we went through a large park and came up to a place by the head of the Buddha and then walked down to the bottom. It was quite a hike, and all of us were pretty tired afterward.
The steep climb down the side of the giant Buddha statue
A look down where the feet are
Jay and I check out a really big toe
Down past the Buddha we found a small place with some shops and restaurants, and we took a little break with some cool drinks and some souvenirs.
Jolly and Scarlet help Jay do some souvenir shopping
We then made our way to the Wuyou Temple nearby. The bridge leading to the temple was very pretty.
The bridge to the Wuyou Temple
On the bridge
When we got to the bridge we discovered that if we wanted to go up to the temple we would have to do a lot of hiking up a small mountain. We were all too tired for that and decided to call it a day. We called our driver and he picked us up nearby and we drove over to Leshan to buy some snacks (sliced beef, sweet duck, and fruit). I think I caught a cold from the air conditioning in the car, since I woke up Monday morning with a slight head cold.
On Monday Jay and I went to JinLi Street in Chengdu. JinLi is a market street that is decorated like an ancient Chinese market street. It's not totally authentic since there are places there like Starbucks and Dairy Queen there, but it's nice.
Jay bought some Chinese KungFu-type shirts and also had a painting done with some Chinese calligraphy that resembles his name in Chinese.
Nice job with the calligraphy
There were also many pretty Chengdu girls to see there.
A pretty girl poses for the cameras
Actually, there were a lot of pretty Chengdu girls just about every place we went. I think if Jay comes back to Chengdu it will be more to see the pretty girls then to see me. Haha!
A pretty girl plays a guqin at a teahouse on JinLi Street
On Tuesday we didn't go do any sightseeing. My cold was getting worse, so I didn't want to go anywhere. Jay went for a walk in the area around my apartment and I tried to sleep some. We also spent time preparing for the next day's trip to Hong Kong.
In the evening we went to join my friend Kitty for some hotpot. The place we went to was called Lao Ma Tao, and it has been around for a long time. We had beef, lamb, stomach, liver, quail eggs, enokitake mushrooms, and lotus root. I didn't eat any of the liver, but Jay tried all of it. It was really good! It was also helpful for my cold.
posted by Steve Harms at
7:27 PM
2 Comments:
Talked to Gillian about going to China and she likes the idea. Told her Uncle Steve would take care of us and show us around. She liked that. So yes eventually we will come visit.
GG
By
Greg, at 10:48 PM
Glad to hear it! :)
By
Steve Harms, at 8:50 AM
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