Snapshots of My Recent Tour to Chengdu/Chongqing China

The blogger’s introduction:

On November 20, 2013 (Wednesday), my wife Soh Ai and I, together with our four friends Yong Yew Khoon and his wife Tan Kah Bean, Tang Ma Li and her sister Li Na, flew to Chengdu, China by AirAsia for an 8-day vacation.

The first 4 days were ‘Ground Arrangement’ tour booked through Mangga Travel & Tours (Selangor) Sdn Bhd, while the remaining 4 days were ‘Free and Easy’ planned by ourselves. 

On the 5^th day of November 24, 2013 (Sunday), we went to Chongqing by high-speed train (CRH) and stayed there for 2 days.  We joined a local city day-tour package on the 6^th day for sight-seeing in Chongqing area.

We returned to Chengdu on the 7^th day and concluded our trip on November 27, 2013 (Wednesday).

One of the reasons for my desire to visit Chengdu is that it was the capital of southwest kingdom of Shu-Han (蜀漢; 221-263) founded by Liu Bei (刘备) during the era of the Three Kingdoms (三国时代) and I am the descendant of Liu.  It is in a way a 'place of pilgrimage' to me.

Below are photographs snapped during our tour under separate categories of places visited, food eaten, shows watched, group photos and my solo photos.   A more detailed travelogue can be found in my Chinese blog:

http://lautaionn.blogspot.com/2013/12/2013.html.

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Brief introduction on the 2 cities we visited:

1.         Chengdu (成都), is the capital of Sichuan province (四川省) in Southwest China.  It is also known as “Brocade City” (锦城) or “Hibiscus City” (蓉城).   Yet another nickname is  the "Country of Heaven" (天府之国) or "The Land of Abundance" because of the fertile Chengdu Plain on which Chengdu is located.  It is one of the most important economic, transportation, and communication centers in Western China.

Chengdu is famous for being the home to giant pandas, China’s national treasure and one of the rarest animals in the world. The total number of pandas is estimated to be 1,500, including those living in the wild, and 80% of which are in Sichuan Province.

For more details, refer to:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chengdu.

2.         Chongqing (重庆) is used to be a part of Sichuan province and now administratively one of the Peoples’ Republic of China (PRC)’s four direct-controlled municipalities (the other three are Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin).  It is the only such municipality in inland China and also the largest one comprising 19 districts, 15 counties, and 4 autonomous counties.

Chongqing is officially abbreviated as “Yu” (渝) and the city was the Republic of China (ROC)’s wartime capital during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945). The abbreviated name is derived from the old name of a part of the Jialing River that runs through Chongqing and feeds into the Yangtze River.

Chongqing has a significant history and culture and serves as the economic centre of the upstream Yangtze basin.

For more details, refer to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chongqing.

1.  PLACES VISITED

    

Jinli Ancient Street (锦里古街) is a pedestrian street about 550 meters long.  The buildings are in the Qing Dynasty style with ancient “Three Kingdoms” cultural theme.

  

Strolling down the narrow street of Jinli, one can find oneself surrounded by a world of stores selling Shu embroidery, lacquer products, folk handicrafts, curios, calligraphies and paintings.  A lot of famous local snack food is found over here.

Wuhou Shrine or Memorial Temple of Marquis Wu (武侯祠) combines the Temple of Liu Bei, the founding emperor of Shu (蜀), and the memorial hall in honour of Zhuge Liang (诸葛亮), the Martial Marquis of Shu in the Three Kingdoms Period.   Zhuge Liang was the personification of noble character and intelligence.



Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, the biggest facility of this kind in the world.  This Panda Base serves as a sanctuary for the giant pandas.

Due to habitat destruction and other reasons, giant pandas may be the most famous endangered animals on earth.  Chengdu Panda Base is home to some 60 giant pandas, some red pandas and a colony of black-necked cranes.  It is said that these pandas are basically on display for tourists but views are much closer than is possible at most Western zoos.

The giant pandas are observed to be either non-stop feasting on bamboo shoots or resting/sleeping like this one.

Cute giant panda cubs in the “Sunshine Nursery House”.

Chunxi Road (春熙路), the shopping street located in the center of the city complete with various clothing stores, bookstores, restaurants, arcades, and cinemas.

The 1.8 meters high bronze statue of Dr. Sun Yat-sen dressed in a long robe, sitting in a straight-backed chair in the Zhongshan Sqaure of Chunxi Road.

Huan Huaxi Park (浣花溪公园), a place of display of Chinese literature in particular famous ancient poets and their poems.

The “Avenue of Poets” displaying on the floor prints of poems from famous poets of different dynasties, similar to the "Avenue of Stars" in Honhg Kong.

The "Poetry Wall".

Bamboo forest.

Mural painting of trishaw rider attracting tourists to take photos in Kuanzhaixiangzi (宽窄巷子).

The Narrow Lane

Chengdu Railway Station at night.

Chengdu Railway Station in the morning.

China Railway High-speed (CRH) is the high-speed rail service operated by China Railways.

Walking towards the People's Liberation Monument or Jiefangbei, located in the center of Chongqing city, and surrounded by numerous shopping centres. It is now a symbol for the city and a busy commercial centre.

Hong Ya Cave

The Hongyadong stilted houses.

Jialing and Yangtze (Chang Jiang) River Cruise to view Chongqing's night scenery.

Yuwanggong, a temple in honor of  Yu the Great (大禹,2200 - 2100 BC), a legendary ruler in ancient China famed for his introduction of flood control, inaugurating dynastic rule in China by founding the Xia Dynasty, and for his upright moral character.



Zha Zi Dong (渣滓洞), one of the two Kuomintang prisons located in Shapingba.  It offers a unique look at a 1940's era prison and the horrors that took place there when nearly 300 communist political prisoners were massacred at the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949. The entire area was also once the location of the Sino-American Cooperative Organization (SACO), a camp where Chiang Kai Shek’s elite troops were trained.

Baigong Guan (白公馆).  Originally the villa of a Sichuan warlord, it first became a prison in 1939. A decade later the major massacre took place with almost 30 prisoners executed in November 1949. There are displays in the various cells and a rather creepy torture chamber set into a mountain behind the prison.

Great Hall of the People (重庆人民大会堂), an architectural symbol of Chongqing City. It somewhat resembles an enlarged version of the Temple of Heaven in Beijing.

Dujiangyan (都江堰), an irrigation infrastructure built in 256 BC during the Warring States period of China by the Kingdom of Qin. It is still in use today to irrigate over 5,300 square kilometers of land in the region.

Chengdu Metro (成都地铁)

Tianfu Square (天府广场) in the center of Chengdu.

2.  FOOD EATEN



Sichuan Style Noodles: “Dan dan” and beef noodles

Chuan Chuan Xiang (串串香), also called Ma La Tang (麻辣烫), is a kind of spicy hot snack in Sichuan province, somewhat like hot pot. Sliced raw meat, vegetables, sausages, shrimps, in fact almost anything edible is impaled on a bamboo skewer and dipped into a pan of boiling hot spicy soup.

Sichuan cuisine

Mapo Tofu (麻婆豆腐) is one of the classic Chinese food recipes, a favorite Sichuan specialty.  It is hot and spicy. According to legend, it was first created in the late 1800s by a Chinese lady who was reputed to have had a pockmarked face, hence the Chinese name for this dish: Mapo Tofu.

Chengdu snacks

Lamb set meal



Sichuan cuisine often contains food preserved through pickling, salting, and drying and is generally spicy owing to heavy application of chili oil. The Sichuan pepper (花椒, literally "flower pepper") is commonly used.  Sichuan pepper has an intensely fragrant, citrus-like flavour and produces a "tingly-numbing" (麻) sensation in the mouth.   We simply couldn't get used to this unique flavor.

Pic right: Maoxuewang (毛血旺), a dish of boiled duck blood in chili/spicy sauce that serves to keep body warm in cold weather.

3. SHOWS WATCHED



Shu Feng Ya Yun (蜀风雅韵) Sichuan Opera.  It is more like a burlesque cabaret than an actual opera, including traditional musicians, shadow plays, comedy (spoken in Sichaun dialect and not understandable by us), and dancers besides the traditional pieces. Of course the most famous is the quick face-changing and fire spitting performed by dancers clad in colourful traditional costumes.

Stick puppet

Hand shadow play

“Acrobat" comedian doing nifty footwork

Quick mask changing

Curtain call

5. HOTELS STAYED

Care U-well Hotel, Chengdu where we stayed for 3 nights (part of Ground Arrangement)

Chengdu Grand Hotel (not that grand despite 3 star rating)

Chengdu Grand Hotel room (RMB 148 per day)



Chongqing's 7 Days Inn, a popular Chinese budget hotel chain, where we put up for 2 days



7 Days Inn's room (RMB 177 per day)

Railway Grand Hotel Sichuan, Chengdu, 4-star rated, where we stayed one night prior to returning home

Railway Grand Hotel's room (RMB 330 per day)

5. GROUP PHOTOS

My wife and I at Wuhou Shrine

A group photo at Wuhou Shrine.  Pic (from left): Tang Li Na, Tang Ma Li, my wife Soh Ai, myself, Yong Yew Khoon and Tan Kah Bean

Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding

Me and my wife at the busy Chunxi Road.

Huan Huaxi Park, Chengdu’s largest and most invested Urban Forest Park

A group photo posed in front of the statues of 3 famous ancient China poets: Du Fu (杜甫 front left), Li Bai (李白 front right) and Qu Yuan (屈原 back).

Our 4 ladies posing in front of the one and only lady statue of Li Qingzhao (李清照, a female Chinese writer and poet of the Song Dynasty

Statue of woman poet Xue Tao (薛涛)

Wide and Narrow Alleys, Chengdu

Chongqing’s Jiefangbei CBD

Hong YaDong, Chongqing



Dujiangyan



Dujiangyan ( 都江堰), an irrigation infrastructure built in 256 BC during the Warring States period of China by the Kingdom of Qin.

6. SOLO PHOTOS

Jinli Ancient Street, Chengdu

Yuan's Chuan Chuan Xiang restaurant, waiting to savour the Sichuan style of steamboat dinner

Chengdu Panda Research Centre 

Wenshu Monastery, the best preserved Buddhist temple in Chengdu with a history of 1,300 years

Wenshu Fang

Chunxi Road

Care U Well Hotel, Chengdu where we stayed for 3 nights

Huan Huaxi Park

Statue of Xue Tao



The Wide Lane, Chengdu



Going to Chongqing by high-speed train from Chengdu with light luggage (for both my wife and me), as shown hand-carried by me.

Jiefangbei Commercial Centre, Chongqing

Jialing River

My favorite Chinese candied fruit or ‘bingtanghulu’



Zha Zi Dong (a former prison)



Baigong Guan (another former prison)



Ciqikou Ancient Town, Chongqing

Chongqing landmark: Great Hall of the People

Chengdu Metro

Dujiangyang, Chengdu

Railway Grand Hotel, Chengdu

Tianfu Square, Chengdu

Chengdu Tianfu Square, resemblance to the Tiananmen Square of Beijing

Chengdu metro

THAT'S  ALL FOLKS!