One has to take advantage of the rare times when schedules coincide for friends to combine business travel with an extended visit, which is exactly what we did with our friends AB and N. who live in Memphis. N. had a conference in Guangzhou and AB had a break from her university teaching schedule, so they made the long trip to China more worthwhile by taking time to hang out with the Millers. AB studied abroad years ago on the same program as C. in Nanjing, so it was a bit of a homecoming for her, and it was N.'s first visit to China, so we had lots of exploring to do in a little time.
Standard procedure for visiting the Millers includes dinner at our favorite "local" noodle shop and a stroll through the Jing'an Sculpture Park, right near downtown Shanghai. We trusted AB and N. to do some exploring on their own, which they enjoyed by setting out some destinations and covering a bit of the city while their hosts were at work.
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| Our Favorite Local Restaurant in Shanghai |
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| Jing'an Sculpture Park |
When the weekend arrived we were able to hit the road. Again, with just a few days we decided to stay relatively close and make a trip to Chengdu. I knew they would love the pandas, and we had a fun time discovering the quirks and charms of the city of Chengdu. Fortunately everyone loved spicy food, so we took advantage of every opportunity to get tongue-tingling Sichuan cuisine. AB had fond memories of the "old-fashioned" crunchy rice in broth dish called "guo ba" from her study abroad days, so we also made a point to get some of that too. Imagine a savory Rice Krispie treat soaked in chicken broth - it was really tasty!
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| Mapo Dofu, Spicy Green Beans, Fresh Cucumbers |
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| Old-Fashioned "Guo Ba" |
Chengdu is China's fifth largest city (with about 13 million people), but it retains some of its "old" charm amidst the hustle and bustle of a growing megacity. We chose to escape the mayhem by wandering through the sprawling River Viewing Pavilion Park. It is dedicated to a famous (and of course hundreds of years old) female poet, and is known for having over 150 varieties of bamboo. We were able to appreciate the calm meandering paths and the tall pavilion nestled among flowering trees.
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| Garden Bridge in River Viewing Pavilion Park |
We also made a day trip out to Chingchengshan: yep, that's one of my favorite landmark names because it sounds like you're making fun of Chinese language, but that's the real name! It's a small mountain with hiking trails and a little town, so we enjoyed getting some fresh (cough, cough) air and seeing the early buds of spring dotting the hillsides. I'll always love visiting "rural" areas because the people and products you encounter are just outrageous. It was a little concerning that four educated people, two of whom are biologists, could not identify one of the split animal carcasses strung up to dry. Ah well, some mysteries of Chinese culture continue to elude us.
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| Entrance Gate to Chingchengshan |
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| Bizarre Dried Carcasses |
Our visit finished with a morning visit to the Buddhist Weihu Temple, a massive collection of gardens and temples and museums. Although I could see the appeal of the place, by that point I just reached my threshold of wandering and nature-watching, so I was done in about an hour. I'd still recommend it to anyone visiting Chengdu; it just wasn't my cup of tea that morning. You can see my waning enthusiasm in the lack of photos I took.
We love having visitors, and we've got the standard Shanghai package pretty well figured out. We're also experts at planning and leading "tours" all over China, so come on over and let us wow you with the unexpected surprises this place has to offer! Or, stay put in the comfort of your clean city with full access to social media, and enjoy more of my photos for a virtual visit:
Jing'an Sculpture Park Chengdu Chingchengshan Weihu Temple
Panda Video
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