We arrived in Chongqing – a city built on a very hilly site, surrounded by mountains. The streets are reminiscent of San Francisco – up and down, curves instead of long streets. The locals don’t give directions like east or west; it is “up right” or “down left”. There are porters everywhere in the city to carry your things from groceries to building materials. They carry long sticks wrapped in red rope and are called “stick-stick men”. There are lots of cars, buses and trucks, but no bicycles!
On our first night here, we all split up for dinner after a basic tour of the city. Chris and I were ready for a break from Chinese food and went to a “Western style” restaurant, C Stairs (?). There were very few people in the dining room, which had a large mural of the pilgrims celebrating the first Thanksgiving. We had bacon wrapped steak with a fried scallop on top – it was delicious! Our waitress was charming, trying her best to speak English. We got a 40 %“discount” on the bill (we never figured out why), so it ended up costing about $28 each including a bottle of wine!
This morning Chris and I ran to the local shopping center (this place is lousy with shopping centers, all at least 6 stories high) to look for film for her camera. Yes, film. She doesn’t have a digital camera yet and it is becoming almost impossible for her to find film here. She slipped on the wet pavement and twisted her ankle, but was a real trooper and did not complain about it all day. I wanted to suggest putting ice on it, and then I realized, she’s the physical therapist! She knows exactly what to do! We had no luck finding film and raced back to the hotel to be on time to leave for the rock carvings of Dazu.
About 20 different sections of carvings from Buddhist to Tao to Confucianism are represented in this last surviving area of this art form. Huge god, goddesses, Buddhas and stories of damnation if you don’t live a good life are carved into the side of the mountain, some brightly colored and all very impressive. Our city guide, Tommy, had to tell a very detailed story about each section, and in the heat and humidity, it was getting to be a LONG walk up and down the hillside. But it was amazing. During the Cultural Revolution, when Mao decreed that all signs of religion and history should be destroyed, this place was protected by the local farmers who hid it by planting a lot of trees around the site and confusing the Red Army.
After lunch, where we met a bus load of American tourists, average age 75, we went back to the city to a beautiful park. It is a cultural center where anyone may practice singing, dancing and playing instruments. It was landscaped as a traditional Chinese garden with lots of pavilions. Up the hill was the former home of Chiang Kai-shek, who left China after World War II to escape Mao and establish the Republic of Taiwan. There is a wonderful view of the city from this point, although it is always foggy here so you can’t see much.
Next stop was Huguang Guild Hall. Well preserved and restored, hundreds of years ago it was headquarters for immigrants from outside provinces. They have set up rooms with life size figures depicting trading, handing out food for the poor and a fellow being congratulated for passing his exams, while his bride-to-be looks on behind a screen. We saw a rehearsal for a performance with singing girls – I don’t know what it meant, but it looked traditional. In the gift shop they sell items donated by local artists and I bought a lovely jade bracelet and pendant of the Buddha. It is good luck here for the women to wear a jade Buddha; the men wear a Goddess of Mercy figure.
We met the rest of our tour here: 3 women from Darwin, Australia. So again, I am the token Yankee. They seem like they will fit in just fine. The tour so far consists of me and Chris, Kathleen and Bob – dairy farmers and race horse owners from New Zealand (they are terrific!), Fiona and Gai from New South Wales, Australia , and the new group, Bev, Carmen and Jan – Jan and Bev are sisters and Carmen is Jan’s daughter.
Photos:
http://public.fotki.com/mjlang4952/2011-06-20-china/
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