My Chengdu

I don’t know if anyone actually reads this thing. I know I wouldn’t haha!

2 weeks of classes down and the Chinese National Holiday over. That makes it about 4 weeks now that I have been in Chengdu.

So, what’s Chengdu like? Well, pretty good. The weather is strange. It’s true that the sun doesn’t come out much. Maybe similar to Ireland, so no big deal. I think Irish people can deal with dull, wet, changeable and windy weather. In autumn it seems the temperature can vary a lot from one day to the next. One day could be sunny T-shirt weather and the next day you’d need a jumper! Oh yeah, the rain is similar to Ireland. You get that misty, pissy rain here too! A, just like home!

The city is pretty clean, as clean as Dalian. The pollution isn’t bad. I heard that the government moved a lot of the factories away from the city, so now the pollution isn’t as bad here. However, some other poor muppet has to put up with it now! One thing I noticed is that the city is a lot more crowded than Dalian. The nearest bus stop to us is mayhem! Mainly cos there is a long-distance bus station across the road. Another thing that Chengdu has (which I like) is bikes and lots of them. Dalian was quite different from most Chinese cities cos it didn’t have many bikes nor did it have bike lanes. Even though there are a lot of bikes on the roads here, it’s safer than Dalian, cos the bike lanes are separated from traffic by railings.

The city itself I wouldn’t describe as beautiful, but it is not ugly. Chengdu has a long history, so there are old buildings here, like temples etc. There are also a lot of trees and bushes along the roads here, which makes it very green. Dalian was grey and dusty and the plants seemed brown rather than green! Being from Ireland, I like greenery!

I think one of the best things about Chengdu is its people. You might say they are the Irish of China (minus the alcoholism!) They have a great sense of humour and know how to relax and enjoy themselves. The pace of life is a little slower here. I have definitely had a great laugh with the locals!

Finally, the food. As usual, the Chinese myth is wrong; you can get non-spicy food in Chengdu. I’ve had both. I don’t mind spicy food from time to time, once it has flavour. Lots of people boast about eating blisteringly hot food. I don’t get it! If the food is that spicy, all you can taste is spice. You might as well eat curried cardboard! I have had some nice food here. The Chengdu people certainly like to eat and there are snacks at every turn! Lots and lots of things to try!