I spent the entire day with my cousin, who took me around Chengdu to see some of the more well-known sights and lesser-known treasures of the city. First, we took the bus to Chunxi Road (春熙路), a very popular tourist spot with many high-end shops. We had lunch at the Modern Toilet Restaurant, which is exactly what the name suggests. If you ever dream of eating lunch while sitting on a toilet, surrounded by other toilets and plenty of poop cushions, you must go here!
-
- Notice the golden toilets on the wall
-
- The centerpiece of our meal — a huge, spicy fish!
After lunch, we headed down underground to a very large bookstore called Fang Suo, an award-winning bookstore chain in China. It’s very well hidden unerground, but once inside, the stunning ceiling is something to behold!
-
- A view of Fang Suo from the mezzanine that encircles its interior.
-
- The ceiling of the architecturally stunning Fang Suo bookstore in Chengdu. It makes you feel like you’re inside a giant cave!
Chengdu is a city that loves its pandas. You will find pandas just about everywhere. The crowning sculpture in Chunxi Road is this giant panda, that can be seen from street level as well as the roof of the IFS building.
A few days ago, the New Hall of the Chengdu Museum (成都博物馆新馆) opened, after being under construction for many years. This museum is dedicated to exploring Chengdu’s history from the earliest of times to the present, and to a lesser extent, Chinese history. The exhibits are very well designed, and the building occupies an entire city block. We followed a tour guide throughout the museum, and despite her quick pace, it still took two hours to see all five floors!
-
- The atrium of the Chengdu Museum
-
- The entrance to the Chengdu Museum. That’s me in the front!
-
- On the fifth floor, a showcase of the puppet-making traditions in Chengdu and other parts of China
-
- A sculpture depicting the process of making Mapo Tofu, a very popular dish from Sichuan
-
- A statuette depicting the meridians in acupuncture
-
- A machine used to make clothes and other fabrics
Our last stop before heading home was the campus of Sichuan University (四川大学, or 川大). Most of the students there are already done with school, but many people were out in the evening doing recreational activities.
-
- The main entrance to Sichuan University
-
- The gymnasium building of Sichuan University
When the day was done, my cousin and I walked a record 18 kilometers over more than 25,000 steps. This was the most that I’ve walked in a very long time!