You heard them told you about the 71m Le Shan Big Buddha. You read about the spicy, tears inducing Sichuan hot pot. You knew you were going to make heaps of friends from the hostel. You loved the tea houses. You wished you had paid more attention when mum taught you about mahjong.
There's a Hakka ancient town that wasn't so ancient so more beyond the stelae. Local tourists love their dressing-up as Marie Antoinette and Geisha. House of ghouls numbered to a good sprinkle after a bountiful harvest. I bought a little sparrow to let him loose in the people's park (poor little thing was supposed to be someone's "pet" for sale) and sipped some really unique local brew at the Cha Guan. Paid for a really expensive Guinness later that night.
The Old Quarters were really cool, just mind the traffic when you cross the roads! Remember, you're the foreigner when you're in a foreign land.
They stared. They kept quiet. Some shouted. Others smiled.
This is one prosperous city and should you want to learn Chinese in a city in China, hook up with fellow travellers, kick back and do nothing. Chengdu is your dude.
Heck, even if you just want to do a decent machine-ran laundry round, come here! You'll find yourself wandering into the lanes, over bridges, across touts, eyes and mouth all wide opened to take in the foreign and the familiar. Guaranteed.
There is a different spin to this town but look hard enough, there isn't that much to be different about. Everyone wants to chill, have a good time, do something useful, keep civil, be proud.
Some are out-of-towners just like you and me. Some just live above the streets in little beehives of human dwellings. Some just want to live.
Keep an open mind. You'll be ensured by Chengdu to have a good time. That too, guaranteed.
