Arrived in Chengdu at about 2030 hrs on Friday night, I was met by my guide Billy and taken to my hotel ready for an early start in the morning. My hotel is in the Tibetan district so I see monks wandering around the streets and the Wuhouci (Temple) is just 50 metres walk from my hotel. Hotel is VERY average with a "box" breakfast and cold showers….only 2 nights thank heavens.

Chengdu is the Capital of Sichuan Province and the 4th largest city in China (population over 10m). Sichuan is one of the most fertile areas in China and is often called "the land of milk and honey". This province is renowned for its HOT food so I was not sure how I would manage…..with difficulty I have to say….even their mildest dishes were far too hot for me!! Billy thought it was hilarious as I downed copious amounts of water while trying to eat lunch!! I think I would quickly fade away to a shadow if I lived here – the food is simply TOO hot and yet Billy added extra spices to his dish!!

Billy picked me up at 0900 on Saturday morning and we headed to our first stop – Research Base of the Giant Panda!!! I was so excited to see real live panda's in a natural setting. Unfortunately there were no babies to see at this time of year (only in August-October) but I loved watching the pandas going about their daily business. I found out that a panda can eat 40 kgs of bamboo in 1 day and basically they eat, play and sleep…..I think I’ll come back as a panda in my next life!! I also got to see the Red Panda which looks kind of strange….not like a panda but more like a fox with its big bushy tail. Within the base, which covers 106 hectares, there is also Swan Lake where I got to see the endangered black necked cranes, storks and black swans. The whole base is very peaceful and as you walk around you could be in the middle of the forest – not a big city.

We then headed back into the city and saw Mao’s statue which denotes the centre of the city itself. If you look at a map of Chengdu the city roads all go out from the square where the statue is and then there are ring roads around the city as well giving it the look of a turtle shell. Rather ingenious I thought given that turtles mean good luck! Went walking through the city streets so I got a real feel for the city even if it was very cold – about 3 degrees. Visited a few famous streets – main ones being Qintai– where the Sichuan Opera is performed and Jinli- famous for its cultural presentations.

Then it was off to the Qingyang Temple (or Green Ram Temple) which is one of the most famous Taoist temples in China and was originally built in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Today most of the buildings that remain are from the Qing Dynasty (1644- 1911). Of all the exhibits the stand out one for me was the eight trigrams pavilion. It is built on square foundations and has a colourful glazed dome roof and reflects the ancient Chinese philosophy that “the sky is round and the earth is square”. Behind the pavilion there is a stone carving depicting Yin and Yang, Chinese Zodiac and the Eight Elements of the earth…fascinating. Within one of the halls are 2 bronze goats but if you look closely one of them is not really a goat – it is a combination of animals – with a mouse’s ears, ox’s nose, tigers claw, rabbits mouth, dragon’s horn, snakes tail, horses face, goats beard, monkeys neck, chickens eyes, dogs belly and a pigs thigh……sound familiar….what year were you born in???

Back to the hotel with VERY tired legs but glad I walked around rather than drive as I really enjoyed the sights of Chengdu despite the hot food and cold weather!! Next stop…..Xian.

Bye for now. xx