Arriving in Chengdu
Thursday, 13th September.
Chengdu is a city of 12 million people located in the Sichuan Province of China. It is famous for it's panda breeding centre and exhibit.
We flew in at about 5pm on 13th of September and discovered that there had been a change in our hotel reservation from the Chengdu Tibet hotel to the Minshan Hotel. We were assured that it was equivalent in quality, but in a much better location being in the city instead of out in the 'burbs among the immigrant workers. The hotel was indeed very comfortable and within walking distance we could visit the Rinmin (People's) Park, the Science and Technology Museum or walk along the river.
After a deep and comfortable sleep and a sumptuous breakfast, I set out to discover the city. A statue of Chairman Mao dominated the square in front of the Science and Technology Museum. Mao is dropping out of favour with the Chinese for his indiscretions of the Cultural Revolution. Notwithstanding this, whenever his name has to be mentioned, it is done so with an air of reverence and respect. After all, he is the one who headed up the Long March and founded the People's Republic of China. Like a revered great uncle, who once was head of the family but fell and ended up in prison, once spoken, his name is put aside and the subject is changed. One day, perhaps he will no longer appear on their bank notes and when that happens, we will know that his banishment from their consciousness will be complete. But that will take several generations.
The Science and Technology Museum is modern and proudly displays everything from information technology to space and nuclear science. Throngs of school children fill the halls, filling the air with the musical sound of a thousand young voices electrified with excitement.
A group of young girls surrounded me as if I was a rock star. They wanted to shake my hand and speak with me in 'In-galish'. They enthusiastically posed with waving hands for my camera. I was swamped by a sea of eager faces vying for a look at the result on my digital camera screen.
Further on in the mechanical science section, a lad of about 12 years old wanted to engage in a deep and meaningful conversation with me about the exhibit in front of us, but a look of disappointed resignation came over him when he realized that my Mandarin was limited to "nihow" (hello) and "shay shay" (thank you). He didn't speak any 'In-galish'.
Chengdu is a city of 12 million people located in the Sichuan Province of China. It is famous for it's panda breeding centre and exhibit.
We flew in at about 5pm on 13th of September and discovered that there had been a change in our hotel reservation from the Chengdu Tibet hotel to the Minshan Hotel. We were assured that it was equivalent in quality, but in a much better location being in the city instead of out in the 'burbs among the immigrant workers. The hotel was indeed very comfortable and within walking distance we could visit the Rinmin (People's) Park, the Science and Technology Museum or walk along the river.
After a deep and comfortable sleep and a sumptuous breakfast, I set out to discover the city. A statue of Chairman Mao dominated the square in front of the Science and Technology Museum. Mao is dropping out of favour with the Chinese for his indiscretions of the Cultural Revolution. Notwithstanding this, whenever his name has to be mentioned, it is done so with an air of reverence and respect. After all, he is the one who headed up the Long March and founded the People's Republic of China. Like a revered great uncle, who once was head of the family but fell and ended up in prison, once spoken, his name is put aside and the subject is changed. One day, perhaps he will no longer appear on their bank notes and when that happens, we will know that his banishment from their consciousness will be complete. But that will take several generations.
The Science and Technology Museum is modern and proudly displays everything from information technology to space and nuclear science. Throngs of school children fill the halls, filling the air with the musical sound of a thousand young voices electrified with excitement.
A group of young girls surrounded me as if I was a rock star. They wanted to shake my hand and speak with me in 'In-galish'. They enthusiastically posed with waving hands for my camera. I was swamped by a sea of eager faces vying for a look at the result on my digital camera screen.
Further on in the mechanical science section, a lad of about 12 years old wanted to engage in a deep and meaningful conversation with me about the exhibit in front of us, but a look of disappointed resignation came over him when he realized that my Mandarin was limited to "nihow" (hello) and "shay shay" (thank you). He didn't speak any 'In-galish'.
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