China: Chengdu

Sunday 8th October

Our hostel, The Bell Tower, is situated right next to it's namesake - The Bell Tower. We've been here a few days now and still haven't been inside. It's 'twin', the Drum Tower is 200m from the Bell Tower and marks the entrance into the Muslim quarter of Xi'an. The views from both are excellent and even more so because, at last, we had a less polluted day, altho' the haze still hung around. Inside both, the atmosphere was like that inside a monastery. Peaceful, calming and beautiful with their richly colourful interiors. We were very fortunate to hear the daily musical perfomance inside the Bell Tower with the musicians dressed up in their ornate traditional dress. The Drum Tower is much larger and all around it's outside walls are the biggest drums I've ever seen. When I was standing staring gobsmacked at the size of them, I only had to go inside to see an even bigger drum!! There was also a room which displayed a huge selection of beautifully painted, ancient Chinese drums, of all shapes and sizes. A real treasure trove.

"Teddy Bears" and The Opera

In the evening we were off again - to Chengdu - in the south western province of Sichuan. The Chinese trains really are good, especially compared with their Russian equivalents. Our 3rd class hard sleeper, with 2 sets of triple bunks [!] had us concerned at first about space. However, we were surprised to find that they were more spacious and longer beds than in the Russian trains - and so clean. Even the toilets, the asian variety, were super clean with no overpowering stench as is often the norm on other trains. All in all we had a great 16hr trip and slept like a log.

Monday 9th October

On arrival in Chengdu, we were collected by our hostel staff using their free pick up service and were warmly welcomed into their really cool establishment. We spent our whole first day in Chengdu planning our onward trips as this is where loads of excursions originate from going south and also to Tibet. Planning almost becomes fun here as everybody is contagiously talking about things to come or thngs already done. It's THE place to pick up important and useful tips.

Tuesday 10th October

Today was a long awaited one for both of us. A trip to the Giant Panda Breeding Research Base. Only 10km outside Chengdu this sanctuary is a once in a lifetime experience. Four of us took a taxi [the cheapest option over a tour group], and arrived there early in order to see the pandas feeding before they become all lazy and lethargic and hide away to sleep!! Pioneering work is being done here to help keep these utterly adorable 'teddy bears' from extinction and one can see the results of the centre's work as you wander around. We were incredibly privileged to see the panda nursery where 5 new borns were still in their incubators fighting for their survival, with the help of the dedicated staff. One panda cub was only 1 month old, still had it's eyes closed and at it's birth, weighed a mere 49grams!! To see these cubs, knowing that they are the continuing future of the species was a very special moment. I hope the cubs we saw today survive to produce many more like them. We spent 54 hours here and could actually have stayed all day just watching these gentle giants - but we had to move on... A truly memorable morning.

In the afternoon we headed off down to "computer street", home to 2 multi-story buildings bursting at the seams with computers and anything remotely digital or gadgety. What a place! David was in his element and I was shopping around for a laptop. the variety is endless and it's hard to know where to begin. Nothing bought, just brochures colleted, we returned to the hostel to do more planning...

Wednesday 11th October

A super frustrating day fighting off the claustrophobic crowds in a typical Chinese street market. We'd just bought our next train tickets to Kunming and spied the hectic and packed alleyways opposite the station. Crazy as we were, we ventured in amongst the hundreds of bicycles, tuk-tuks, people and stalls!! You can barely see the merchandise, let alone stop to look at it or evey buy! It's manic and we were maniacs to set foot inside!! An experience in practising the art of patience, stamina and determination. Shew!! After an hour or so of being josteled around, we found a side street and managed to escape the noise and mayhem, heading back to the peaceful haven of the hostel. In the evening we treated ourselves to a truly spectacular evening at the Sichuan Opera. the evening began in the foyer with us being given Jasmine tea in beautiful Chinese teacups with lids. Masseurs were wandering around offering neck, back and arm massages [at the cost of a donation] and the whole place had an air of mystery and grace. This isn't opera as the westerner knows it. More like a variety spectacular of incredible balancing acts and giddy acrobatic tumblers. Of superbly talented ladies manipulating their ornately dressed stick puppets. A shadow show displayed the artistic perfections of how 2 hands and 10 fingers can produce amazingly realistic characters and tell stories, behind a backlit silk screen. Then the Chinese musician with the haunting and complex sounds created from a basic 2-stringed fiddle callan Erhu. The show stopper was the mind defying mask changing show. As hard and as close as you look at the lightening quick movements of these artists, you just cannot see any hint of a new mask being retrieved from "somewhere", the old mask being removed and put "somewhere", and the new one being perfectly placed on the face!! Each colourful mask portrays the different emotions and characteristics of the actor and there can be up to 10 mask changes in the space of 15 seconds! It's beyond comprehension as to how it's done so fast. Magic? I don't think so. Just a mond blowing artistic talent second to none. The Sichuan Opera is a must-see for everyone who visits Chengdu and especially for the foreigner. It gives a glimpse into China's long tradition of story telling, their elaborate costumes and fascinating use of make-up and face painting.