Chengdu, Sichuan, China
We had a good rest on the sleeper train and upon arrival into Chengdu, were met by our prearranged driver who was holding up a sign for us. He drove us out to Robin’s AirBnB in town (near the US Consulate).
The accommodation was spacious and had an awesome view, but the getting of the key was convoluted (ie: pick up the key from one apartment, then go to our apartment). The kids quickly got mesmerised by a Chinese comedy called ‘Fat Buddies’.
Once they were able to pull themselves away from the TV, we set out for brunch, settling for a restaurant just outside the apartment’s complex.
We then caught the metro to People’s Park where we saw a multitude of interesting things and a cacophony of people and percussion. People singing, dancing, performing plays, exercising (badminton and kickbo – Rhys even had a go), parents advertising their children for prospective marriage … it was on for young and old. ROAMAS particularly liked the ‘weary looking’ amusement park where we were like little kids again and had a go on the bumper cars, a pedal powered rotating sky buggie and the swinging chairs.
We also fed the koi fish (some people were feeding the fish with milk bottles) and had a rest/cuppa of oolong tea in one of the tea houses.
Next we walked a block or two to Wide and Narrow Alleys (Kuānzhǎi Xiàngzi 宽窄巷子) the scene dating back to the Qing Dynasty. There we tried a heap of interesting foods, watched a Sichuan Opera Show featuring a teapot dance, shadow hand plays, a balancing feather performance, a comedy skit, calligraphy and the famous ‘Sichuan Face Changing’ performance. They were all really excellent and worth the $15 AUD! We then walked some more of the alleys (which are made up of three lanes) and ended up at ‘daydream lane’ (that’s what we call it anyway) as there were many art installations that provided great photo opps for the kids.
We headed home on the subway soon after, after a great first day out in Chengdu.
2025-05-23