Day 138: Country #15.2

After a rough night sleeping on a chair, we began to enter a mountainous region, passing through a few riverside villages and rice farms. Interestingly, they all featured relatively dense buildings and town centers.

Small Chinese town in Sichuan Province, China.

We arrived to Chengdu, and I made it to Tianfu Square by the afternoon with enough time to visit the Chengdu museum. The museum was well designed with numerous replicas of daily life and an extra emphasis on Sichuan cuisine.

I had just enough time to view everything, including a Russian exhibition, which felt a bit out of place, but I realize the museum is catered to the residents, not foreigners. On the way out, I got a cool view of the city center through the glass windows.

A view of Tianfu Square from the Chengdu museum, China

Having learned about the Sichuan food, I walked around looking for food stalls but was not able to find anything beyond standard restaurants. Most of the area was quite developed with dense malls and modern shops.

Monkey king celebrating Father’s day at IFS mall, Chengu, China.

I was surprised to pass by a disheveled beggar taking a break from pretending to be an amputee in the middle of China’s great excess and luxuries.

An awkward state where poverty is not enough to garner sympathy.

After finding a metro card, I made my way to People’s Park, a serene space packed with people taking evening strolls, running, and dance exercising similar to what I saw in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam.

Evening exercise at People’s Park, Chengdu, China.

As it got dark, I headed to the nearby Wide and Narrow Alley, a well preserved Qing dynasty style food and shopping street featuring tea tastings, skewers of all sorts and other tasty snacks.

Sneak peak into a tea tasting store on Dragon Old Street, aka Wide and Narrow Alley, aka Kuan Zhai Xiangzi in Chengdu, China.

Tip:
I rely much more on map pins and GPS coordinates than on location names because names can vary depending on who you ask, what language you’re using, or what historical perspective taken, especially in less popular places which may not be fully marked by western style maps.

Published by BE

I write about my travel and money experiences. View all posts by BE