Last Days in Chengdu
Chengdu definitely exceeded all of our expectations. We went to Chengdu expecting a run-down, congested and fairly poor city, but we discovered that Chengdu is a surprisingly modern and prosperous city. The students really liked it. A short cab ride from our hotel was an incredible, new pedestrian shopping street, complete with huge video screens, up-scale clothing stores (someone found pants for $600!), and places like Starbucks and Haagen-Daaz. Amazing. We don't have anything like it in Pittsburgh -- possibly in New York, Chicago or San Francisco.Here's another interesting aspect of Chengdu. Very few Americans have even heard of Chengdu, but guess what it's population is? ELEVEN million people.
That's China!
We spent the last full day taking the bus to the city of Leshan ... which has 3 rivers coming together and has a spot that looks somewhat like Pittsburgh's point -- but without the park and the fountain. (And Leshan is definitely not as nice as Pittsburgh ... really!) Leshan is the home of the world's largest Buddha, and I'm here to tell ya that it's pretty big: about 250 feet high. We climbed from the top to the bottom and back to the top on a very hot and humid day. But it was very interesting.
Later we stopped at a restaurant for some of Chengdu's famous "hot pot" cuisine. It's supposed to be very spicy, but unfortunately they turned down the heat on the presumption that we wimpy Americans couldn't take it. We said: "Too mild!" ;-)
This morning was probably the highlight of the Chengdu portion of the trip: a visit to the Panda research facility just outside of the city. It is a VERY nice park-like setting, with a lot of bamboo and other plants, and we saw at least 10 Giant Pandas up close. Many of the students also were able to hold a red panda, which is much smaller and actually looks more like a cross between a fox and a raccoon. They are all really cute. The Panda facility was a BIG hit, as you would guess!
This evening we are in Xi'an (population SEVEN million), which used to be the imperial capital of China. It's a fascinating city with a completely intact, medieval wall around the central part of the city. At some point we are hoping to ride bicycles on the top of the wall ... the complete circle is about 9 miles. (Right now it's raining, but we're hoping that clears out soon.)
Tomorrow we go to see the world-famous Terra Cotta Warriors, and will also see the factory where replicas of the soldiers are made (uh oh, it's another buying opportunity!). Monday -- hallelujah -- will be our first (mostly) free day since we started the trip. We need it ... we're all exhausted, particularly after the trek to Everest and back. (That said, the ability of the modern college student to 'hit the town' never ceases to amaze me!)
Sorry about the lack of photos. The picture-taking opportunities have been limited, and I think I need to give the students a 'photo' break. ;-)
Still ten days to go, and we still have some travelling to do. Stay tuned for more updates!
posted by Dr. William Spangler @ 8:44 PM
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