I'm not sure how familiar many of you are with Chinese history or holidays, but if you're at all like us, you're very much clueless. Well, as a teacher here, you learn to pay attention when a Chinese holiday allows you to take 7 straight days off from working! That's right, we will be taking a week-long vacation after 4 weeks of working to travel all the way to Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, another province close to the center of China.
First of all, we're just now beginning to understand what the National Day is, so let us explain. On 
October 1st, 1949, Chairman Mao Zedong announced the new People's Republic of China in front of 300,000 people in Tian'anmen Square and introduced the new 5-star red flag of the PRC. You may think of this as a Chinese July 4th. Just as our founding fathers proclaimed by signing the Declaration of Independence that America was to be it's own globally recognized nation, so Chairman Mao did the same for China. For many years after the day was marked with political gatherings, speeches, or military parades, but in recent times, thankfully for us, it has been marked by a country-wide week-long holiday. Tourist spots, restaurants, and stores are still open and we intend to take advantage of that during our travels.
October 1st, 1949, Chairman Mao Zedong announced the new People's Republic of China in front of 300,000 people in Tian'anmen Square and introduced the new 5-star red flag of the PRC. You may think of this as a Chinese July 4th. Just as our founding fathers proclaimed by signing the Declaration of Independence that America was to be it's own globally recognized nation, so Chairman Mao did the same for China. For many years after the day was marked with political gatherings, speeches, or military parades, but in recent times, thankfully for us, it has been marked by a country-wide week-long holiday. Tourist spots, restaurants, and stores are still open and we intend to take advantage of that during our travels.So back to our vacation. It was quite a hassle to get plane tickets to Chengdu. Buying with our credit card in China was like trying to get through airport security back in 
September of 2001 - it's just not fun. After 3 days, 5 e-mails, 2 authorization scans, and 4 phone calls, we have our tickets. On Saturday we will take a bus to Urumqi and fly out that evening to Chengdu. According to what many people have told us, the Sichuan province is absolutely gorgeous, set among mountain ranges, lakes, and many rivers. The food is famous all over China - although unfortunately for Tiff it is famous for it's spicy peppers! I should be fair, however: both of us (not just her) are doing much better handling spicy foods now. We look forward to trying any type of dish we can get our hands on. Located north of Chengdu is the Chinese Panda Reserve as well as a panda breeding center. We hope to see and get some good pictures of the many pandas they have. A little bit south of Chengdu is a place call Le Shan where the world's biggest Buddha is carved into the side of a rock much larger than the four president's at Mount Rushmore. Again, we're just going to have to post a few pictures.
September of 2001 - it's just not fun. After 3 days, 5 e-mails, 2 authorization scans, and 4 phone calls, we have our tickets. On Saturday we will take a bus to Urumqi and fly out that evening to Chengdu. According to what many people have told us, the Sichuan province is absolutely gorgeous, set among mountain ranges, lakes, and many rivers. The food is famous all over China - although unfortunately for Tiff it is famous for it's spicy peppers! I should be fair, however: both of us (not just her) are doing much better handling spicy foods now. We look forward to trying any type of dish we can get our hands on. Located north of Chengdu is the Chinese Panda Reserve as well as a panda breeding center. We hope to see and get some good pictures of the many pandas they have. A little bit south of Chengdu is a place call Le Shan where the world's biggest Buddha is carved into the side of a rock much larger than the four president's at Mount Rushmore. Again, we're just going to have to post a few pictures.Now I know this is a bit off-subject, but we are beginning to cook in our kitchen now! We 
are very excited to start figuring out things in the grocery store (remember, it's all in Chinese characters, so how would you know if something was a bag of salt, sugar, or some unknown Chinese "specialty" spice?) One of our favorite things to do is to walk through the vegetable market to buy our fresh vegetables. Farmers from around the area come in every night, especially on the weekends, to sell their produce. To give you an idea of prices here, last week Tiff and I bought about 4 carrots, a bag of fresh green beans, 4 potatoes, 3 onions, and 4 bell peppers for the equivalent of about US$2. Even in RMB (the Chinese currency) that is cheap! As you might believe, however, the fun is not in the price but in just walking around, seeing the people, and acting as if you know exactly what you are looking for. And, of course, we don't - we just buy what looks good at the time. Just a note: in this picture you see the market; the six story buildings set behind the market are very similar and very close in location to our own apartments. These are everywhere and they all practically look the same.
are very excited to start figuring out things in the grocery store (remember, it's all in Chinese characters, so how would you know if something was a bag of salt, sugar, or some unknown Chinese "specialty" spice?) One of our favorite things to do is to walk through the vegetable market to buy our fresh vegetables. Farmers from around the area come in every night, especially on the weekends, to sell their produce. To give you an idea of prices here, last week Tiff and I bought about 4 carrots, a bag of fresh green beans, 4 potatoes, 3 onions, and 4 bell peppers for the equivalent of about US$2. Even in RMB (the Chinese currency) that is cheap! As you might believe, however, the fun is not in the price but in just walking around, seeing the people, and acting as if you know exactly what you are looking for. And, of course, we don't - we just buy what looks good at the time. Just a note: in this picture you see the market; the six story buildings set behind the market are very similar and very close in location to our own apartments. These are everywhere and they all practically look the same.Well, that will be it for now. We leave on Saturday and hope to have pictures up here on Wednesday or Thursday of next week. Please keep us in your thoughts as we travel! Until next time...
4 Comments:
Let me be the first to wish you safe and happy travel. What an opportunity to get to do this! Have fun. Can't wait to see pics of the trip.
Thank you very much for your wishes of safe travel, we hope to have a very good time. The weather website says it might be raining most of the time, but we'll have fun anyway. By the way...who are you that sent that comment? Just curious, that's all!
Speaking on the subject of food - Paul (and Liana) say that brazed bean curd and steamed ox stomach are both VERY tasty, if you ever want to take the challenge... :)
Sandi K.
Ox stomach? It might take a few months before we're brave enough for that. As for the bean curd (known more commonly as tofu in America) we have tried many, many different types and textures, and although the taste may be gradually growing on us, it will probably take a while as well. One thing we hated, however, was when they served us bean curd tea at one restaurant...let's keep the foods and the liquids separate, people!
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