Chengdu China is famous for several things...spicy Sichuan food, tea houses, a large population of Buddhist Monks and pandas! Megan and I got to experience all of them and more as spring break started! Spicy bean curd, beef noodles, lamb kabobs, pineapple fried rice...excellent street food! A great pedestrian neighborhood near our hotel to see local vendors, fruit markets, majhong game houses, people just sitting out having tea (a very popular activity) and interestingly a large elderly population. We had tea & saw the famous Sichuan Face Change show...where the performers change masks within seconds such that the audience can't even see the change...a trade secret held close within the generations of performing families! We visited the Wenshu Temple & Manjushri Monastery - the most active monastery in all of China. Being the weekend before Tomb Sweeping holiday it was really crowded with very avid worshippers - bringing tons of flowers & fruit, lighting candles, rubbing the statues and burning incense. A sad reality for all the lost people there and a bit overwhelming so we didn't stay for long.
The highlight was of course...the PANDAS! We watched 3 cubs play endlessly...tackling each other, climbing trees, rolling around and then watched 7 sub-adults (I think they might be like teenagers!) eat bamboo! You just can't help to stay there & watch & smile. And then Megan had her 'Panda Experience'...getting a bit of panda education, washing bamboo and then holding one of the cubs. Can't count the number of times she said "They're just so cute!" God sure has made some amazing and adorable creatures in Panda Bears!!
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| Face Change Show |
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| Just some random elderly people on the street |
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| One of our favorite Starbucks in China! |
Chengdu China is famous for several things...spicy Sichuan food, tea houses, a large population of Buddhist Monks and pandas! Megan and I got to experience all of them and more as spring break started! Spicy bean curd, beef noodles, lamb kabobs, pineapple fried rice...excellent street food! A great pedestrian neighborhood near our hotel to see local vendors, fruit markets, majhong game houses, people just sitting out having tea (a very popular activity) and interestingly a large elderly population. We had tea & saw the famous Sichuan Face Change show...where the performers change masks within seconds such that the audience can't even see the change...a trade secret held close within the generations of performing families! We visited the Wenshu Temple & Manjushri Monastery - the most active monastery in all of China. Being the weekend before Tomb Sweeping holiday it was really crowded with very avid worshippers - bringing tons of flowers & fruit, lighting candles, rubbing the statues and burning incense. A sad reality for all the lost people there and a bit overwhelming so we didn't stay for long. 
