This is the first of the four backdates I'd planned on for China, although it now means I'm falling behind on Thailand. I really should be able to handle a 20 minute weekly blog. However, it has had the desired effect - I've been doing a lot of academic writing and I think a lot of it is coming out better than my MA work, although it's taking a lot longer too. I had Claire to bounce ideas off before, so without being able to really talk through things it's slow...

Whenever you talk to somebody here, you will be asked why you came to Chengdu and if you like it. Any negative comments will be met with incredulity as they assume that you have misunderstood the question. Or, you will give a token “Yeah, it’s great”. If they hear you over the sound of beeping horns and people hocking up to spit at your feet, then the logic begins to show. Sichuan people are proud of two things, beautiful women and delicious food. I don’t...

Du Fu lived from 712-770 and is, apparently, a key poet in the history of China. He moved to Chengdu as a political exile, where he spent 5 years living in a thatched cottage and writing about how happy he was, despite being destitute. Coming to China to see a thatched cottage seemed a little odd considering where Claire lives in the UK is full of them (in fact we had our goodbye to England meal in a thatched pub), it would be like going all the way to Beijing ...

The next 2 weeks are public holidays in China, which means the language school only has a few classes. We're in this week, mainly afternoons, and have 9 days off from Saturday which means only one thing for me - it's panda time! There are 3-4 ways to see pandas around here. There is a 'nursery' where baby pandas are bred and kept, and this is probably all artificial. I really think this is where pandas are sadly heading - they're like living museum curiousi...