Huanglongxi and Chengdu (6-7)

Last weekend was the three-day Dragon Boat Festival holiday. It was another Saturday, Sunday, Monday. Since Monday was the official holiday, we didn’t have to make up Monday classes. I spent the three days in Chengdu, where I met up with another Peace Corps Response Volunteer who arrived this year and whom I had met during the In-Service Training in January. She was in Chengdu to meet her 76-year-old friend Willoughby, who is a PCV in Kyrgyzstan. It was a good opportunity for me to play tour guide since I know the city.

Ercilia had sent Willoughby a list of places to visit in Chengdu and she chose Du Fu’s Cottage, a lovely garden area with replicas of the thatched cottages where he lived and wrote poetry. So we headed there Saturday morning. I hadn’t been there for over a year and it is a lovely place to walk around and the flowers are different each season; so I enjoyed hanging out with them there. I didn’t take too many photos because I’d taken them all before. 

But I couldn’t resist a few more especially in the bonsai garden where the huge bougainvillea was blooming. 

In one place a man showed Ercilia how to hold her tablet to take the photo and then insisted on taking photos of the three of us. 

Another highlight was a man painting with his fingers. Amazing work. 

And the exhibition room had a display of Australian aborigine art. That was a surprise that we all enjoyed.

When we left Du Fu’s Cottage, we were ready for lunch. I took them to the food court place that I had liked so they could see the choices and select what they wanted. Willoughby, of course, wanted Sichuan food; so they chose a dry pot and a dish with beef and eggplant that Ercilia wanted. The latter came without eggplant. The former was pretty typical—mostly lotus root and potatoes. Willoughby was not impressed, but it was typical low end Sichuan food, not the delicious variety she wanted.

At a grocery store we stopped at, the country of origin of products was displayed with flags. It was fun to see where various item came from.

Sunday we went our separate ways, as they wanted to take the boat to see the Leshan Big Buddha. I did that last year and wasn’t interested in spending a total of three hours on the bus (which ended out being over four hours due to holiday traffic) for a 30-minute boat ride. So I went to Huanglongxi Ancient Town. April had told me about it, and it’s only an hour out of Chengdu. When I arrived at 9:30, there were already a lot of people there. A specialty of the town is floral wreaths worn as hats. 

Vendors make them along the streets, and both women and men buy them to wear. 

Another specialty—at least for the Dragon Boat Festival (I’m not sure it is available other times or not.)—is seasoned beans wrapped and cooked in corn husks. I decided to buy some to share with my friends. Willoughby was not impressed; so Ercilia didn’t even try them. I ate the rest from that packet and liked them OK. When I gave them to Chinese friends, some recognized what they were and said they are delicious. I have to agree because as I ate more, they grew on me and I liked them a lot.

The town is known for its river. One area was full of people—mostly children—shooting each other with water guns that they refilled in the river. 

I walked down a street away from the river and came to a beautiful covered bridge. 

Then I walked back through a series of tea houses and cafes along the river. Since it was only 11:00, they weren’t crowded yet, and I decided that it was a perfect place to relax for a while and purchased a glass of flower tea. When I sat down, a woman came to offer a shoulder-head-back massage. I told her I didn’t want one, but she massaged my shoulder to entice me and said I did want one. She was correct; I just thought the price was high; but it’s a tourist town and one expects higher prices. The massage was short—about 10 minutes, but it was good. And she was right, I did want it. With my newly relaxed body, I enjoyed my tea and read for almost an hour. 

I had seen fresh tofu, which I like and don’t see other than in these ancient towns. So when I encountered a woman selling cups of it, I bought one. I was happy. 

By the time I finished, the area was crowded and most of the tables were full, as it was after noon.

Next I headed along the river, which was then more crowded than when I had arrived. After the play area, it gets wider and there’s an area with bridges and islands. So it’s a lovely walk. And it wasn’t crowded. When I wandered to the shopping area, it was crowded; so I didn’t stay there long. I wasn’t interested in shopping that day, anyway. By three o’clock, I was done and was ready to get back to the bus. However, that was a challenge. There were so many people on the sidewalks that it was hard to maneuver through them. Then I didn’t quite remember how I’d gotten into town and followed the signs to the bus station. That path went all the way through town with packed sidewalks the whole way. I did see places I hadn’t been to, which as nice, but I was ready to be out of town. An hour after starting to leave, I arrived at the bus station and got in line. Another 45 minutes later I was on a bus.

Ercilia had commented on the high number of twins she has seen in her city and suggested that they were not all by chance. Since the one-child policy allows only one birth, some women use in vitro fertilization to produce twins. I noticed three sets of twins as I walked around Huanglongxi. Either there were more that day or my heightened awareness  noticed more.

Ercilia and Willoughby arrived back shortly before I did. We went to the restaurant at the hotel next to the hostel, as I had noticed that it looked pretty nice. Conveniently, the servers have a tablet with pictures of the dishes. So we were easily able to find a few we wanted. And, happily, Willoughby loved this Sichuan food.

Sunday morning on the way to a park we stopped at the vegetable market in the neighborhood we were in for In-Service Training. Surprisingly, the market was closed. But many people were selling and buying long plant fronds that obviously were special for the Dragon Boat Festival. I learned later that these are used for bathing. They are put in water to add their special scent. Or they are rubbed on the body for the scent. The scent can also be used for protection against mosquitoes.

Our destination was River Viewing Park, as Ercilia wanted to go there during the day and to show Willoughby the bamboo, one of the things the park is known for. I’d been there before, too, but it was another pleasant place to hang out together. 

We especially enjoyed a few young women in costumes waiting to be photographed.

Next we went to the art market so Ercilia could buy some gifts to take to friends in the U.S. She was successful. After a quick lunch, it was time to return to the hostel and head our separate ways home. I really enjoyed hanging out and chatting with the two women who are both near in age to me. I haven’t had that opportunity for a long time.

At school, last week was the final week of classes. It was sad to say “good-bye” to a few of the classes that I’ve especially enjoyed. I did the mini-assessment that I usually do, and, as usual, many students made nice comments about my teaching and how the class has helped them. A few told me in person that I am a very good and professional teacher, which was nice to hear.

Saturday Grace and her roommate, Stacey, came to cook dinner here. They brought only vegetables, which was nice. Stacey did the cooking: fried green beans and fried corn with green pepper. Grace prepared steamed yams, steamed corn on the cob, and pineapple. My job was to wash the yams and put them in the rice cooker to steam. I learned that the secret to Chinese fried green beans is to boil them prior to frying to make them soft. Stacey took each corn kernel off the cob whole, where I would have just cut them. The food was good and it was fun to prepare it together. They cooked for over an hour, and then we ate and chatted for almost two hours. A nice evening.

Grace had surgery last week. Her problem was something about bad water in her stomach—or somewhere in that region. She had not been able to eat for over a week and had taken both Western and Chinese medicines. She is not to eat cold foods for another week. Cold both in temperature and in the Chinese traditional medicine sense in which foods are considered to be hot or cold: watermelon is cold; pineapple is hot. She cannot use cold water. So her roommates are washing her clothes. She is taking Western medicines. An interesting combination of the two medical practices.