Chengdu- Pandas, Peppers, and Buddhas oh my!

Well here I am again, massively delayed in writing this post. I won’t say I am sorry because man it’s just been hectic, as we moved into our new apartment for the next 2-3 years and all the things that go along with that, which led straight into the Christmas Season. Phew.

All that to say, I still don’t want to miss out on sharing our trip to Chengdu with you all so here goes….hope I remembered everything!

We took a trip to Chengdu as a family this past November over a long 4 day weekend that the kids had off school. We wanted to travel but knew we wanted to stay within China since we only had a handful of days. Once we started looking online, it became clear where we needed to go- to see the …….PANDAS!!

First, a little geography and info lesson for you. Chengdu is located in the southern portion of China, within the Sichuan province. Warmer than Beijing by a slight touch at the time of year we went, Chengdu is the capital city of the Sichuan province at around a population of 21 million people.

Any guesses what makes the Sichuan province so worldwide?…..well if you are any sort of a “foodie”, you would say the Sichuan pepper…..yep, the cuisine is outstanding in Chengdu! Sometimes spelled Szechuan, this tiny little pepper can make the toughest of men and women cry like babies. It’s SO HOT. it’s like your mouth is on fire with tiny little numbing prickles. Yep, numbing hot is the description I would use. That being said, it’s so freaking good!!!

Any other guesses on what makes Chengdu so worldwide? I mean, besides the fact that it’s one of the 9 central cities in all of China……if you guessed the PANDA, you would be correct. Chengdu is home to the famous “black and white pandas” the world has come to know and love, as well as it’s lesser known but still beloved “red panda”. It’s home to China’s great Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding.

Alright, now that our little history and information lesson is over, let’s chat about how the weekend unfolded. We ended up staying near the center of the city with all the hustle and bustle so that David could visit some colleagues our first day which led us being invited to join them all for lunch for a traditional Sichuan Chinese meal!! What a treat for the kiddos and us.

One of my favorite things about exploring new cities is just wandering the streets. It was such a treat to do this our first day and watch the kids take it all in. We walked along Chunxi Road, and nearby the cars & scooters zoomed by, people shoving their way between down the sidewalk, vendors selling their freshly pressed juices and warm chestnuts, getting stared at and stared at, checking out the dichotomy of skyscrapers and hawker stalls. We also checked out Taikoo Li, an upscale shopping center…..I just LOVE Asia.

We also checked out a super cool Temple smack dab in the middle of a fancy upscale mall and office skyscrapers called the Daci Temple. So rad to walk around inside and see the whole vibe change from the hustle and the bustle to serene and calm. People offering up their prayers, their wishes…..and then continuing to sit with friends over tea and just BE. I could stand to learn MANY a thing to just BE STILL. I move too much, haha.

Kids had more gas in the tank so we just kept going. We wandered around alleys near our hotel and found some interesting street side market vendors……not very appetizing but amazing to see.

 

And the finale of the day- we headed over to the famous Kuanzhai Alley, and wow it did NOT disappoint. This alley was a maze of shops and restaurants and of course, tea houses. I will say this about Chengdu. Immediately, coming from Beijing, I noticed that although it still is a very large city, it definitely felt more chill, more laidback. Not so hurried and busy and serious. They take their time and chat over tea for HOURS with friends and family. I loved the feel of Chengdu for this reason, and many more!

We woke up the next day so very excited as we had booked a full day private tour, encompassing the Panda Research Base as well as a drive to nearby town Leshan to see the famous Leshan Buddha, the largest stone buddha in the WORLD. We found via Tripadvisor, a tour company called West China Go which was highly rated, all 5 stars, glowing reviews, and booked via Viator! We do NOT regret it at all, what a fabulous, albeit long, day!

Fifi, our tour guide, was amazing. She spoke fantastic English and gave us all sorts of history and information as our driver drove us in our private van. For instance, did you know that the (black and white) Panda is over 8 million years old?! That means they are older than dinosaurs!! Pandas are an endangered species and there are only 1800 total pandas in the world. Did you also know that the Pandas eat 30kg of bamboo per day? That’s 66lbs btw. Each panda also has their favorite type & flavor of bamboo. Yep you heard right, they can decifer which bamboo they want to eat and pick only that kind. And finally, did you know that the Chengdu research base shows Pandas something called “panda porn” to show them how to mate?! Yep. I’ll let you do more research as I don’t want to spoil all the facts so click here to get started. In the meantime, let’s see some Pandas shall we?!

One thing to note- there is a famous Panda called Hua Hua here at the Chengdu Center. People line up for HOURS just to see her {maybe} for like 3 minutes. Its INSANE. So of course we took pictures of people waiting for their glimpse of stardom- hahaha. Not sure what makes her so special except that they think she’s silly but whatever, lol!

Also note sure what’s more fun- watching for Panda sightings or watching grown adults get excited about Panda sightings with their panda ears. It’s like Disneyland!!!

Phew, that was a morning!! After about an hour and a half van ride where we napped and got more info from lovely Fifi on Pandas, on the Buddha, and on Chengdu in general, we arrived in the town of Leshan for lunch!

Now onto the Buddha. We opted for a quick boot ride instead of hiking, mainly because I hate feeling claustrophobic, especially on the side of a mountain with a million people, plus with the boat it stops exactly in front of the Buddha so you get to see it straight on in all its glory!

The Leshan Giant Buddha was an experience for sure. I think regardless of your religion you will find it peaceful and inspiring. it’s a UNESCO world heritage site and I can see why. It was so beautiful to witness many Buddhists paying their respects. I am glad we experienced it but I warn you its a LONG day to do both the Pandas and the Buddha!

The next day we ventured around Chengdu more- experiencing Tianju Square (Chengdu’s version of Beijing’s Tiananmen Square), and meandering to People’s Park, also known as Chengdu Renmin Park where Mac talked us into renting boats to paddle around in, haha. We also stumbled upon a “children’s playground” which was like a super basic amusement park and laughed our way through it. There were vendors selling these sugar treats where the kids would spin to find what the character was, then the lady would melt it, attach it to a stick, let it cool, and hand it over to eat. Smelled ridiculous and tasted amazing!

We ended this amazing day with a nighttime food tour via tuk tuk!!! We found the tour company Lost Plate Food Tours and it did NOT disappoint. It was raining all night but we made the best of it and had a blast. They took us around to I believe 5 total stops and we ate delicious street food at every single one. HIGHLY recommend this if you are a foodie!!!

Alright so final day we ventured to the famous Jinli Pedestrian Street, which was very similar to the Kuanzhai alley we had previously seen. Regardless, amazing people watching while strolling around the shops. We picked up some new tea cups. We ate more sugar. We loved every bit!

Final evening was planned for the Chinese Opera but beforehand we got a few treats- looks at these fun plates for the kids that the hotel surprised us with?! Also a happy hour tradition of theirs to pop a bottle of champage- they gave David the honors. Loved the flowers here. 

So David had heard about the Opera and that we needed to check it out even though we didn’t know the language. He was right- what an amazing time! Only an. hour long, there was singing, there was acting, there were acrobatics, and even comedy. Please don’t pass this up!! The Sichuan Cultural Opera Show in Chengdu– look it up, promise you will love it!

I wish I could figure out how to upload videos, maybe someday I can get my act together enough to do it. I have so many videos. But then again we all know whether it’s pictures or videos, it’s truly hard to capture all the magic unless you are truly there…..so when are you booking your trip to Chengdu, China?!

As always, thanks for reading!

xo,

Kimbra