From Grits to Chopsticks

We just returned from a visit to Chengdu, classified as one of China’s four “furnace cities.”  Unlike our city, they actually have air conditioning here which is a good thing, especially if you go out to dinner at one of their local “hot pot” restaurants.  Fortunately for us, we only got the “mild” version:

This was still more than sufficient to numb the lips and bring on a good sweat.  The local theory about extremely spicy food originates from the desire to achieve balance (yin/yang), but based on our limited experience, it seems like a good time to toss in a few pounds of unsalted grits.

We also had the chance to attend the Sichuan Opera, something that you shouldn’t miss if you ever get to visit Chengdu.  After an amazing display of talent by erhu and shadow puppet masters, we watched the famous “face changing” performance in which a group of actors instantly change their masks and costumes with the swipe of a hand.  Guarded as a national secret, we joined the ranks of amazed audiences who couldn’t figure out how they do this in the blink of an eye.

Although there are eleven million people (and nine million cars) in this city, it does has some beautiful spots.  Our hotel was directly across from a river park, allowing us to take some walks in relative serenity.  Of course, the fact that I would say such a thing shows we’ve lived in China for a while now (“relative” is the operative word here):

The highlight of our trip came at the very end.  After an overnight delay in Beijing, Timothy arrived in Chengdu airport in time to catch a flight with us back to our city.  We’re excited to have him join us here for two weeks.