Chengdu 成都

From democratic China, we continued to socialist China. A country that we hadn't even considered at the start of our journey, but the now simplified entry (30 days without a visa) led us to the idea of following the ancient Silk Road route towards Central Asia. Since we both really love Sichuan cuisine, we first headed to Chengdu. The entry was surprisingly easy, despite the lack of exit tickets; after two or three questions about our travel itinerary, we were already in the country. Even here, a huge degree of automation was evident, as one could pre-read their passport data at kiosks and scan fingerprints. However, the kiosk was too clumsy for Freddy to read the passport number correctly, so the procedure had to be repeated with the border officer.

The metro ride to the city center was straightforward and hassle-free; it's quite astounding how large the network is and how many lines there are. After checking into the hostel, there were still plenty of culinary options available late at night, so after enjoying a noodle soup with our Sichuan pepper-numbed mouths, we happily fell into bed.

But then the fun was over because Freddy suddenly couldn't get out of bed by himself - a backache (which had been hinted at in Taiwan). After a painful night, our schedule involved a visit to a pharmacy and cautiously hobbling around to relieve the blockage.

As the days passed, things improved and were eventually completely fixed by a visit to a TCM place with a miracle masseur (we usually aren't so into this, but they really knew what they were doing). Unfortunately, this meant we couldn't visit everything that was a bit further away (Panda breeding center, the Giant Buddha of Leshan, or the millennia-old irrigation system of Dujiangyan), but health comes first.

Still, we really enjoyed Chengdu - even though it was incredibly touristy and sometimes felt like an amusement park with all the playful panda mania at every corner. First and foremost was the food, which exceeded our high expectations. The mala spice 麻辣, which combines the numbing effect of Sichuan pepper with the heat of chili, was perfectly balanced everywhere - an absolute dream! Strolling in People's Park and watching elderly people draw calligraphy with water on the paths, reading the personal ads that parents post for their children (of course, pink slips for girls and blue slips for boys, everything must have its order), drinking tea or observing the passionate groups playing cards or Mahjong. Visiting the beautiful Wenshu Yuan Temple complex. In our neighborhood, walking by the river in the evening and people-watching.

And then we braced ourselves for the first long-distance challenge - over 16 hours and about 1400 km to Zhangye! And because we hadn’t taken care of our tickets in time, it wasn’t as nice as we imagined in a sleeper car, but rather on hard seats - good thing Freddy’s back was straightened out again!