Chengdu

Chengdu (成都)  

大家好！ 

成都 is the capital of Sichuan Province. It is one of the most populous cities in Western China. The other two are 西安 and Chongqing 重庆. Today 成都 is an important economic, financial, commercial, cultural, transportation, and communication center in Western China. The name 成都 may mean "turned into capital.” 

We arrived in 成都 really early so the first day we spent sleeping and then in the afternoon we went to the Wide and Narrow Lanes. It was very similar to a hutong in Beijing (北京). However, it had more unique architecture. The architecture is historical to the area and the government has made sure to maintain it. These lanes were originally built in the Qing Dynasty for Manchu soldiers. People used to live in these lanes until 2003 when they were turned into an assortment of shops, restaurants, tea houses, and residential houses. After we went there, we went to Chunxi Road (春熙路). This is a commercial shopping area. It was built in 1924. Today, it has many trendy shops with luxury brands and shopping malls. We found a food street while we were there. There are many food streets around this area. I ordered dandan noodles (担担面). It was one of the best things I’ve had in China and I’ve had a lot of good food here.  

On the second day, we went to the Panda Research Center. It is a non-profit research and breeding facility for giant pandas. The Chengdu Panda Research Center was founded in 1987. It was so cool to see so many pandas. We got to be very close to them. Also, the goal of the Chengdu Panda Research Center is to one day be able to release the pandas back into the wild. It will be hard to fulfill this goal, but they are trying. There’s been land purchased in Sichuan Province – where the pandas originally lived – and they are going to preserve it. Hopefully, one day, the pandas will get to return there. But until then, the Panda Research Center is educating others about the pandas as well as making sure the species doesn’t go instinct. After our day at the Panda Research Center, we visited Jinli Street (锦里). Jinli Street is also a commercial and dining area. Its architecture resembles western Sichuan. The name Jinli means “making perfection more perfect.” There are also many tea houses, restaurants, handicraft stores, and specialty shops.  

Our final day in 成都 we visited Dujiangyan 都江堰。Dujiangyan is a famous irrigation system in Dujiangyan City in Sichuan Province. It was constructed in 256 BC by a man named Li Bing and is still used today. After the system was finished being built, there were no more floods in the area. The irrigation system made Sichuan the most productive agricultural region in China. There is even a shrine there that was built for Li Bing. In 2000, it became an UNESCO World Heritage Site and today it is still a huge tourist site. It was honestly one of the most beautiful places I’ve been to in China. There was so much water around and it was so peaceful. We ended our day with a group dinner. We had Sichuan hotpot. I’ve had hotpot (火锅) before in 北京. This hotpot was very hot. Sichuan is known for having spicy cuisine. It was also very oily. Even though it was very delicious, I think I like 北京火锅 more because it is less oily and spicy. We left 成都 early the next day and headed to Lijiang (丽江). See you there! 

再见！ 

马乐