Chengdu: never say goodbye
Updated: 2012-01-20 17:08
By Chen Zhilin(chinadaily.com.cn)
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It was Tuesday morning at 8:30 -- rush hour, but strangely there was no traffic on the street. I was in Chengdu, capital city of Sichuan province in Southwest China.
Unlike the hustle and bustle experienced in many other big cities in China, Chengdu kept an unhurried pace. I slowed my steps -- I was walking much faster than most of the pedestrians, and tried to observe.
The streets were well decorated with plants and flowers. It was December, but the leaves were still oily green. Like Koreans, Chengdu people made pretty good use of the space on top of their buildings. Instead of gardens on the top of the buildings, roof gardens were privately owned and occupied with self-cultivated vegetables and flowers.
I walked into one of the small lanes between the buildings. It was congested with vegetable and fruit vendors. On both sides of the small lane, there were residential buildings with bamboo poles sticking out of the windows with hanging dripping clothes. This scene is quite common, as Chengdu is reputed as China's "capital of fog".
To my surprise, many elderly local citizens were sitting outside on this drizzling day. The temperature was about 10 degrees, but probably no warmer than the dry, thermal-heated indoors of North China.
While sitting around a tiny table with a large umbrella, elderly residents sipped tea and playing mah-jong or poker cards.
In Chengdu, teahouses can be found on almost each block. I accidentally walked to Hejiang Pavilion, which was located at the conjunction point of Chengdu's two major rivers – Fuhe River and Nanhe River. The pavilion has existed since the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) and has been mentioned in the poems of many famous Chinese poets, including Du Fu and Lu You.
I went into a long, old gallery that I thought to be one part of the historical building, but turned out to be a teahouse. Ten yuan for one pot and you could sit along the picturesque riverside, sipping for as long as you like.
Across the street was a branch of Lan Kwai Fong, a place that gathered some of the city’s most vanguard youngsters. Not far away was Chengdu's famous "zebra line of love", a traffic line in the shape of two hearts and a must-go place for new couples to shoot their wedding pictures. Unlike grassroots graffiti, it was painted upon the approval of Chengdu's traffic department in January 2009.
In Chengdu, there are many combinations of both history and modern life. Wuhou Temple and Jinli Street is an example of this.
One night I was wandering in the ancient Jinli Street, one of the most popular places in the city with snack stores, specialty shops, bars, cafes and nightclubs. The street became a world of neon and an amusement park as the night fell.
I was watching a performance of two "metal statues" played by behaviour artists when I found an old and almost dilapidated temple in one of the narrow lanes. It didn’t quite fit in with the adjacent lively night activities.
I stepped forward and took a closer look at the tablet on the temple – Wuhou Temple. It was built in the 6th century to commemorate Zhu Geliang, or Kongming the great mind in the ancient Three Kingdom Period (AD 181-234). Legends have it that he was the Premier of the Shu, one of the “Three Kingdoms” of 211-263 AD.
I didn't expect to come across a historical site like this but was amazed by it. I wondered if this is why Chengdu is such a fascinating destination for many travelers. With all of its history and city glory, it seems natural that the city’s people would be proud of it.
It's said this is a city you do not want to say goodbye to. If you have troubles disturbing your life, you should visit Chengdu.
Edited by Tang Zhi and Rakhee