Chengdu, Sichuan province, China

We left Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and flew to Chengdu China on October 22nd. It's about a 4-hour flight north of KL. Chengdu is “mid western” China. It is about 2000km west of Shanghai. Chengdu is a city of about 15 million people. Its roots go back 4500 years.

Map of our travels in China. Click to enlarge.

From our experiences in various Chinatowns around the world we had expected to see some of the following in China:

“Snot-Rockets”

Lots of Spitting

Dirt, litter, etc

Chaotic Driving (like Argentina or worse)

Parking all over the sidewalks (they do this in Chinatown in Calgary!)

People dressed in color matching sweatsuits with rhinestone animals like rabbits on them

Smoking everywhere!

Peeing in the street, on the sidewalks, etc...

There is no doubt these things happen in China (and other countries), but Chengdu is very much the opposite of everything we expected, in the best ways!

Chengdu is clean! Very little litter is to be found as they have city workers constantly sweeping up all over the city!

Compared to most places in the US and Canada it feels very safe here.

The vibe/feel is laid back, no one ever seems to be in a rush but you don't get a sense of laziness either. People have been polite and generally helpful to us.

We have not seen a single “snot rocket” in 7+ days. We have seen very very little spitting, on par with what you might see in US/Canada.

The driving rules are interpreted very loosely but it's not as bad as Argentina and it's not aggressive.

Parking on the sidewalk is actually kind of orderly and does not interfere with pedestrian traffic. Sidewalks are very wide.

People generally dress smartly here. A mix of business, casual and fashion with varying degrees of mix but most people here would not stand out in a business/shopping district of a major city in US/Canada.

For the most part smoking seems to be under control but you can smoke in many restaurants. You will find people smoking in the bathrooms at shopping malls (even the high-end ones) and sometimes in cabs but overall it's not bad. Its not near as much smoking as we expected but still more than you see in US/Canada these days.

We have not seen anyone pee on a sidewalk or street, etc!

There are very few foreigners here, save from the area right near the Pandas. We may see one other Caucasian a day. Everything is in Chinese and very little English is spoken. This all adds to the experience! We use a lot of inventive sign language and make sure we load the Chinese names for things on our cell phones before we leave for the day so we can get directions or take a cab there. At restaurants we point at pictures. People pick up on body language and interpolate what we are trying to say pretty effectively.

They have not pestered us “tourist” foreigners at all, in any way.

Cab drivers here have been very honest, taking very direct routes to our destinations, tips seem to be a foreign concept to them and they hand they money back. It was a nice change from Malaysia where the cabs can be crafty and complicated at times.

Chengdu is a very modern city, with modern highrise condo projects going up by the dozens and dozens. We saw about 25 highrise (25-30+ stories) condos going up in a 1km walk from Wal-mart to a mall. There are about 6 condo highrises and commercial sky-scrapers being built in the area we are staying in, which is about a 12 minute drive away from the Wal-mart. They don't build them too high here as they have had some pretty devastating earthquakes, some of the worst in history in fact.

Their metro train is very new (about 2 years old), built very much like the ones in Singapore. They are clean, on time and the platforms are enclosed and bright! It's very easy to get around by train and they are adding three more lines so they should have the city covered in a couple years. Each station has security/police presence and they are safe! The trains are heavy rail like many in Japan as opposed to the light rail you see in smaller cites.

There are the occasional poor/homeless begging on the sidewalk but its dramatically less than what you see in Vancouver. Overall it feels like a thriving middle class and upper middle class city. The cars you see on the road are a mix of Volkswagen, Buick, Ford, BMW, Audi, some Chinese brands and the occasional Toyota/Honda.

The only thing that hampers the livability here is the unbearable smog, it is very bad. Smog is a plague in China due the heavy reliance on coal fired electrical generation. At this point we had not seen the sun, sky or a cloud in 7 days! Hopefully they can get those nuclear reactors built ASAP! If it wasn't for the smog, taking the cost of living in to account, this is one of the more livable cities we have experienced.

Overall Chengdu is a classy modern city. It has been a wonderful surprise, an enjoyable, comfortable, fun experience!

         

Near our apartment.

Shopping, it goes on FOREVER!

The largest building in the world by floorspace.

The streets and intersections are huge. It doesn't feel crowded here.

Traditional and modern compliment each other nicely.

Next stop, Xian, China

- Jason

Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding

The panda is a conservation reliant endangered species. A 2007 report shows 239 pandas living in captivity inside China and another 27 outside the country. Wild population estimates vary; one estimate shows that there are about 1,590 individuals living in the wild. -Wikipedia

Pandas are a very rare animal, literally.

If you ever find yourself in Chengdu, China (which we highly recommend), a wonderful experience is to visit the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. This organization does research, education, breeding and conservation of the pandas.

            

This is our experience and your how-to:  

Step 1: Take a taxi, it is easy and inexpensive.

We took a taxi from the Rhombus Fantasia Hotel and left at 6:50 am, the ride is about 25-30 min and cost 58-Yuan, the return trip was only 46-Yuan...less traffic maybe? And taxis were easy to find at the exit when it was time for us to leave. As very little English is spoken in Chengdu, we developed a system where the night before we go online and try to find the name of where we want to go in Chinese (characters), and finding a picture or two of the building or landmark related to it, then emailing it to ourselves so that when we get in a taxi, we can show it to the driver (don't forget to down load the images to your phone before you leave the hotel). So far, this has been working well!  

Step 2: If possible, visit early on a weekday morning during "off-season".

We went on a Thursday morning in late October (the first week of October is Golden week in China, try to avoid travel during this time). This allowed us a fairly quiet (not crowded) visit. Weather is also an important consideration if you are flexible as the pandas are mountain/hill creatures and prefer the cooler weather (ie visit in the morning or cooler months). If you visit in the summer, the panda’s are inside a good part of the day due to the heat.

Online the park operating hours show it opens at 8am, but the information on the ticket wickets says 7:30am. Adult admission is 58-Yuan each. We arrived early with the goal of not only visiting the park, but to register for the opportunity to hold/sit with a panda and take pictures.

Step 3: First stop, the Sunshine Nursery House.  
 

It is approximately a 10-15 min walk to this Nursery. As we were the first people in the park, the walk to Sunshine was very nice and peaceful. Beautiful actually. We were the only ones at Sunshine or so we thought until we walked around...the pandas are outside! These guys are VERY active in the morning. They were playing around with each other and just acting silly. These one-year old pandas were behaving like children! They were climbing over each other, eating bamboo, and maneuvering through their obstacle course! Then, around the corner, we saw the baby pandas! Only 2-3 months old, still not strong enough to support themselves, just sleeping away in a giant crib!

Toooo cute toooo handle! 

When we arrived at Sunshine, nothing was open. Where do we sign up for the Panda experience?! Apparently the registration (which happens in The Giant Panda Keeper Experience Station at Sunshine), does not open until 8:30am.

When the time arrived, we put our name on the list (we were asked if we had called before, I guess you can try to call to be put on the list?) and were told to return before 10am to make the required donation of 2000-Yuan per person (required to personally meet a Panda). At this point we wandered the park and returned to Sunshine at 9:30am to make our donation. We were then given a badge and lanyard with a number to identify us as having made our donation. This donation helps to take care of the pandas (which is VERY costly). NOTE: there are no ATMs at the park so bring lots of cash with you!

There were 20 of us in the group, and we were given an audio receiver to put on so we could hear the guide talk. We were taken to a small room to learn a little about what they do at the facility and about pandas themselves. This took about 10-15 min and we learned a lot about what they eat, reproduction, birthing, the research, etc. Very educational! Then we were taken to the prepping area. We were given a few tips as we were suited up with booties, gloves and a smock to protect the Panda - be very quiet (pandas do not like noise), and do not touch the ears, hands or face.

When you visit will determine the panda you will meet. The babies were born in July/August and thus were only 2-3 months old. They are not ready to meet people until they are at least 6 months old.

As such, we got to meet Miao Miao (pronounced Meow Meow), who is 1 year old. At this age, pandas weigh approximately 60-80lbs, and we were not allowed to hold her or place her on our lap (discomfort for both the human and panda), so we sat beside her. She was too adorable, and happy to sit with each one of us (of course someone was constantly giving her bamboo with honey! She is a bear after all :) We each had a brief but not rushed time with her (which does not sound like a lot but it is respectful for the panda). If you came as a group/couple, you could also take a photo that way with her. Not only do they take a picture of you as part of the thank you for your donation, but they will also take plenty of pictures/video of you using your own equipment as well. The guide and people taking care of the pandas (and you) were wonderful! Once everyone had a turn, you waited in the office area again for your picture. They put it in a frame for you (along with the group photo if you did one), and you also get a donation certificate, re-usable bag, magazine, t-shirt, DVD and pin.

The entire process took about an hour and afterward we visited the rest of the park. There are plenty of pandas to see in the park even if you do not do the photo/meet experience. They are all adorable. You can also see red pandas, peacocks, koi fish and both white and black swans at the park as well.

Later in the morning and a lot of the afternoon (or in the summer), the pandas do nothing but sleep as a way to conserve energy. So if you visit the park later in the day, you may not find it very interesting, but you have to remember that these are living creatures who are not there to perform for you when you arrive. They are doing what they would normally do, eat, sleep and play.

Visit the park regardless of whether you meet a panda or not. It is a worthwhile experience to see them this close.

 ~ Christine and Jason

PS. There is a post office at the park so you can purchase and mail your postcards as well!

http://www.panda.org.cn/english/

Experienced 24 October 2013

Hungry anyone?!

Some of our eats while in China...

A new favorite - Hot Pot!

 We ate A LOT of Hot Pot...

 Best Dim Sum ever at Din Tai Fung

They have several locationsand have even earned a Michelin Star at 

one of the Hong Kong locations!

Tom Cruise learned how to make dumplings at the Taiwan branch in April.

 Best Gai Lan at Din Tai Fung

 More dumplings at Din Tai Fung

And more dumplings at Din Tai Fung...

I told you we love them!

 Water spinach

Chicken

Lotus Root stuffed with rice

 BBQ sticky rice

The most beautiful chicken foot I've ever seen

 And, well, I'm not sure what I ordered...

this was street food and it looked good so 

we ate it! Yes, it was amazing!

~ Christine

We are back!

After almost a month in China, we are finally able to access our blog again. Websites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and blogs are inaccessible throughout most of China which is why you have been left waiting until now.

We are now in Seoul, South Korea and over the next while we will post some blogs we wrote while in China as well as what is happening at the moment. You can also read our tweets for quick little updates https://twitter.com/QatuQatsi.

The time in China flew by. In 25 days we traveled over 3,600 km via trains. We left Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on October 23rd, and flew to Chengdu, China. We stayed 7 nights there, then took an overnight train to Xian. After a couple days we took a bullet train to Beijing where we stayed for 7 nights, then another bullet train to Shanghai for another 7 nights. We also did a day trip out to Nanjing/Nanking.

At the Forbidden City in Beijing

China was incredible! We enjoyed it a lot. As a result of covering so much ground, we were able to get a good feel for the country. Most people will visit Shanghai and/or Beijing, but taking the time to explore other places is very worthwhile as well. There are so many wonderful things to see and do in China! It is definitely a place to put on your list of where to visit.

Thank you for not forgetting about us! Now let the adventures of the past month in China begin...

~ Christine and Jason

Written 15 November 2013