Chengdu-- a crash course in contemporary China

Some of the amazing scenery between Shenzen and Chengdu...why one should always grab the window seat.
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Part of the reason I wanted to travel around Tibet now was my sense that Tibetan culture is disappearing as we speak. Ironically, in Chengdu, I saw part of Chinese culture's disappearance, too.  Chengdu is a mega-city filled with malls, electronics super-centers (my favorite was the one that played country-western music) and towering apartment buildings. I got lost on my way to the statue of Mao because all of the malls looked the same. Many people love the city (especially those in outlying areas where it's harder to come by cheap goods), but it is HUGE, and the smog is intense. LA on smog-alert days seems like paradise in comparison. And, the malls seem like they're taking over the city. (It is as if you found a Glendale Galleria or Mall of Manhattan on every other block.)

The hostel I stayed at-- Sim's Cozy Guesthouse--is on an ancient street in the middle of all of one of the newer crops of apartment buildings and malls. The owners recently found out that their site would be razed. They won't be compensated because they don't own the place. Quite common here, apparently. A couple visiting from Beijing estimated that the hostel's bar alone would be worth 50,000 USD and the whole place worth a few million. Wow! No wonder people don't buy property here. (The next day I met an aerospace engineer that said that property in Shanghai had hit 130,000 RMB/square meter. Random note: he also felt Taiwan was huge threat to China. News here has been covering US officials speaking with Taiwanese leaders quit a lot--there's a sense that allows Taiwan to "split" and shows US policy goals against one china.)

At any rate, the owners have found a new location, downtown, but who knows how long that space will last. It's sad, though-- the hostel was a beautiful place, just the kind you'd expect to backpack through. (It would be a great setting for a traveling sit-com or a good place to plop down for a few months and write a great travel novel....)

While in Chengdu, I also stopped by the Grand Buddha of Leshan. It is quite grand!

The flight from Shenzen was also gorgeous-- check out the photos (when i post them)! Also, travel tip-- enter mainland China from Shenzen and you're rewarded witha 90-day stay stamp. Cool! It meant I didn't have to waste a day in Chengdu extending my visa.