Chengdu
Now enough of mountain climbing, because it is time for another round of CITY EXPERIENCE XD.
Ending the solo trip, I came to Chengdu (成都), the capital city of SiChuan (四川)! Being the final stop of this recess week, we should challenge the hottest province of them all! And the hottest city in the province!…. And the result was of course HOT. For our very first meal in Chengdu, we thought we’d keep it down and go for mild spicy (微辣). It turns out we were so bad that we couldn’t even handle that and we had to drink for every bite of the hotpot (Check out below for the hot stuff). Now that’s an experience HAHAH.
On accommodations, this was the most cosy and had the best facilities. There were three rooms, each equipped with a projector, but each with different styles. That turned to be the best screening room and karaoke room for the next three nights of our journey there.
On Day 2, we went to the world renowned panda research facility in Chengdu and some of the pandas were cute. However, it was quite wasted because the pandas looked very tired and lethargic, so we didn’t have many good shots, but under the hot weather, it was no wonder the pandas behaved like that. But on the other hand, they maintained the entire facility very well, so the whole trail around the park was visually aesthetic. We were also fortunately enough to see the newborn pandas, who only came into the world abut 13 days ago. You’d think that they look the same but a newborn panda looks more like a guinea pig, pink and small, totally different from the black and white pandas we see in the zoo.
On our final day, we went out of Chengdu… back to nature XD So we came to this place called 都江堰, which is an irrigation system structure, designed in the past and reconstructed to suit present needs. The irrigation system serves many purposes, including irrigation, regulation of flooding, water transport and supplying water to the city. But the most relevant purpose for tourist would be the beauty of the place. At first glance, it was already spectacular because one could see the irrigation system in from one end and out from the other…. Except you cant see where it starts from and ends. :O On that day, we were very lucky because water was flowing so quickly it seemed as if it was flooding, and the breeze was very similar to the type you’d get on a good day in East Coast Park. There were also food stalls akin to our pasar malam in Singapore. I even got a nice bottle of sand art as a gift for someone special! It was simply marvelling to see how the irrigation system transcended time, as a form of connection of the past and the present and a cumulation of knowledge and wisdom.
We had a great time back in our airBnB as well, with the projectors, snacks and drinks…. Of course I meant plain water XD. In any case I think the best part of the trip in the end was the company, and really after a day’s worth of travelling, what we needed was a calm slow night to chill. Looking back at this trip, I think more than just the scenic places, the great food, the historical attractions, it’s also about the company, the karaoke nights and late nights talks that we share together.
And that’s all for the recess week edition of whats not up in ZJU! 😀
