June 2014 (by Pat) Itinerary Link
CHENGDU
YK had not been able to get a mileage flight back to LA from Xi’an, so our return trip was from Chengdu. We had an early afternoon flight on Hainan Airlines from Xi’an to Chengdu on Sunday, June 22. In our wanderings in Xi’an we had noticed an airport bus leaving from near our hotel and, since our cab ride from the airport had been pricey, we decided to take the bus. As soon as I got on line to purchase tickets, a young woman approached me and asked when our flight was. She told me that the next bus was not until 11 and the ride was two hours. At first I assumed she was with the bus company, but she turned out to be one of those street entrepreneurs one finds in China. She said she could get us a ride to the airport for 100Y. Since the bus tickets were going to be upwards of 50Y, I said ok. She then introduced us to her “brother” and we all walked a block or two to his cab. After we had settled in, she reappeared with another couple and we were off to the airport. Worked out well for everyone.
Chengdu, with a metropolitan population of about 15 million, was recently voted (by someone) China’s most livable city. It’s easy to see why. It is cleaner and more modern than other cities we’ve visited in China.
Our flight from Chengdu to San Francisco was on the much delayed Boeing 787 Dreamliner, a nice plane. Its most notable feature is the larger window size with no window shade. Window tint is controlled electronically.
— YK added the following:
We had one afternoon + evening in Chengdu. We took a cab to our hotel, Chengdu Grand Club Hotel($62), about a15-20 minute walk north of the city center. We did not have enough time to visit the panda research center, but we could get to know the city a little.
Wenshu Yuan Monastery was not far from the hotel, but we were templed-out by then. So we took a cab to Jinli Pedestrian Street to have some snacks. We always have time and energy for that! We could have gone to Kuanzhai Ancient Street of Qing Dynasty, but we were getting tired of walking. So we went to eat dinner. Well, snacks are not meals, mind you! Chengdu offered lots of choices including pizza, burgers, Mexican, Italian, Irish – you name it.
Pat, an Irish-American, loves spicy food. I, a Korean-American do not. This meant no Szechuan dinner. I had been really burned at the last Szechuan place in Beijing we were invited to, and I was quite weary, no, afraid! We found a great restaurant without bloody red colored plates of food in their menu book. Can’t remember the name, but, there are lots of non-Szechuan Chinese restaurants in the city.
After dinner, we thought of going to the Szechuan Opera, but instead, we walked around the People’s Square a little to digest & went to bed.
[March 2018 Update]
We had a 24 hour layover in Chengdu on our way to Bangkok in March 2018. This time we stayed at a hotel right on the central square(Tianfu Square) so we could walk to a lot of places. We arrived late at night and went to bed. The next morning we strolled over to the People’s Park, their Central Park.
Spring was showing its force in March. There were lots of people already in the park
Tai-chi type exercisers were almost expected.
But we were surprised to find ballroom dancers. We’d met many excellent Chinese dancers on various cruises we’d been on, and we’d seen dancers in the parks of Shanghai, Guilin, and other cities. However, Chengdu dancers were there at 9 AM!
People were just slowly strolling in the park, and the vendors were out in force as well.
We had a brunch at Zhong Dumpling House in the park.
We ordered a set menu, and dumplings were delicious. Not expensive.
Then we walked over to a tea house next door which had a lakeview.
Aside from tea and snacks, you can order a special service: ear cleaning. Kill two birds with one stone — no, we didn’t try.
Not far from the park, there’s Sichuan Art Museum/Gallery in this distinctive building. Not a whole lot to see inside, though. Well, it’s free.
Then we took a cab to an old poet’s house museum, Dufu Caotang. Dufu is considered to be one of the greatest poets in Chinese history, and he had build a thatched roof house at this location and lived there from 759 to 763. Now it’s a museum honoring the poet, and its garden is beautiful & nice to walk around.
We meant to visit Kuanzhai Alley last time we were in Chengdu, but we didn’t. So that’s where we went next. The best people watching spot in Chengdu, maybe. Then, again, there were just too many people.
You can see many beautiful old houses that are restored to retain the exquisite details in this area.
There were many artsy galleries and shops among the endless array of cafes, restaurants, and stores of all kinds.
We had dinner near the hotel before heading to the airport to catch a late night flight to LAX. We had considered visiting the Panda park, but Pat said he had seen enough pandas already. So we had stayed in the city, and that worked out find.
Small Wide World 