Imperial China Day 22
Imperial China
OAT Day 2-18 - Sunday, April 27, 2008 - Fly from Guilin to Chengdu-Walk to People’s Park-Chinese Massage Optional- Szechwan Province Opera Optional- Chengdu, China
The weather in Guilin held for us and only rained today as we were leaving for the airport. Matt arranged for us to pick up a breakfast box at 6:15 AM.
As we got to the airport it was raining very hard - this being the rainy season. Matt said it rains most of April through October in the summer months. No wonder they grow such an abundance of rice here!
On the early morning ride to the airport, Matt gave us a brief history of the unification of China over 2000 years ago. With such a long history, the Chinese people have a legacy of conquering and being conquered.
Our China Southern flight left almost on time and was not totally full. We had a little room to move about. Marvin had agreed to change places with me so I had an aisle seat next to Genie. What a smart and nice guy!
We arrived in Chengdu at 9:15 and met our local guide Mr. Feng or Johnny and our driver, Mr. Ye, or Jack. Johnny will be our host in his home city for our brief return to Chengdu.
Chengdu is the capital of the Sichuan/Szechuan Province, where over 87 million people live. It is home to the hot and spicy food many people equate with Chinese cooking.
The province is known for its rice production and also for cooking oil. They also grow vegetables, fruits, and flowers here.
The major industries are technology, tourism, textiles, communications, education, and banking. The city is very conscientious about the environment and has earned awards as a Green City.
Chengdu is an old city of 10 million people and has been called by its original name for over 3,000 years. The altitude is only 1500 feet. The temperature was 60 degrees 70% when we arrived at our hotel at 10:45.
We are staying again at the Xin Hua International Hotel and it did not seem to have improved since we left it four days ago. We claimed our baggage that we stored in the main lobby and found our room on the 11th floor.
Matt explained that the government passed an edict that air conditioners could not be turned on until May 1st. Although our window is open, it is not getting much cooler, but we will survive!
Our lunch was at the same restaurant we ate at when we were here before. Today was Sunday and there was an added surprise, a huge wedding and reception!
As we went in we were invited to take pictures of the happy couple and their parents. Matt translated while we offered our greetings and best wishes and then went up to the third floor to our small dining room adjacent to their gala reception!
After our lunch we watched the wedding ceremony for a few minutes and then Matt took us on a walk around the city. So many people were out enjoying the Sunday afternoon with their families.
We walked all the way to the People’s Park, past the huge city square with a very imposing statue of Mao overlooking the people below. Our stroll through the park took us past children doing art work, families eating, all ages playing the game of mahjong, and even couples dancing!
Knowing how much I like to dance, imagine my surprise when a woman asked me to dance! Of course, many of our group offered to hold my camera, and I was whisked off to the dance floor.
The music was a pretty standard waltz, so I did well and was saved when other couples joined us. Don asked Gennie to dance so the two of us with bad legs, (Don & Vic) were the brave souls performing for the hundreds of Chinese people snapping photos and making movies!
We continued our walk back to the hotel, taking photos and posing for the folks here who wanted to have their pictures taken with us. Our walk back was warm to say the least, 81 degrees 54% humidity. After all of that dancing and walking, we were ready for a shower before our next activity.
The optional this afternoon was a Chinese massage. Although Gennie was not too excited about participating, she went along with us at 4:30 PM. The women started with our feet, then legs, arms, and then back. It was not as vigorous as the massage I had had in Thailand, but was still an interesting experience.
We made a quick stop at the hotel to pick the rest of the group to go to another hotel for dinner. The meal was described as a Western buffet, but still had many vegetables and meats cooked in the Chinese style.
At 7:30 we arrived at the second half of today’s optional activity a Sichuan/Szechuan Province Opera. We started with a cup of tea at a nearby tea house and then went to the theater next door.
We saw a combination of singers, dancers, acrobats, musicians. There were also hand puppets and shadow puppets. The highlights of the show were the world renowned fire spitters/breathers and the changing faces performers.
Our evening was over at 9:30 when we had our last adventure of the day. Matt put us in cabs and we had one more transportation experience here in China. As we darted in and out of traffic, we were reminded of the big bucks we would pay at Disneyland for a ride like this!
Accommodations: Xin Hua International Hotel - - - Meal: B, L, D
Picture 1 - Map of Flight from Guilin to Chendu
Picture 2 - Bride and Groom
Picture 3 - Chairman Mao
Picture 4 - Sunday Afternoon at the People’s Park
Picture 5 - Szechwan Province Opera
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Comments
Post a Comment!Dad dancing-- wow!
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