Day 9: Yangtze - Fengdu - ChonqingSep 28, 2009
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| Most of us decided to do the optional excursion to Fengdu Ghost City. This is the largest scenic spot of ghost culture in China, which represents the theme of "Punishing the Evil and Awarding the Good". This folk culture was strangely integrated with Confucius, Sakyamuni, Toaism and Buddhism. It was all quite a weird mix, with quite a focus on torture!! There were a lot of unique buildings and statues to take photos of though! Paid a porter 10 yuan (A$2) to carry my heavy bag up a huge flight of stairs in the heat - I love beng able to do that on the cheap! I get a distinct feeling that within the next 5-10 years the Chinese will cotton onto this, and everything will become equivalent to western prices. Our group took some little taxis, before getting on a long and windy four hour journey to our overnight stop in the bustling and hilly city of Chonqing. It was along this stretch that we stopped at a second trench toilet (this one I managed to get a photo of!) At Chonqing a couple of us went with the luggage, which was the option for me with my bright-red sunburnt legs from sitting outside on the boat deck too long! Our hotel overlooked the Yangtze River and a gorgeous view of the tourist office all lit up at night. In comparison I have taken a great photo from our bedroom window - a brick wall. While our room has no view, our shower does have a window looking into the bedroom - I guess so one can watch TV while they shower? This area is famous for its spicy food, so for dinner we tried the local delicacy - Sichuan hotpot. This consisted of a big pot divided in half, with half being a boiling chicken broth and half an extremely spicy, dark red chilli broth. Into the broth we cooked lots of different types of meat and vegetables, and ate it with a bowl of sauce consisting of more spices, coriander, spring onion and something nut-like. Without dipping into the middle chilli dish it was delicious, and I really enjoyed it. Afterwards we walked a short distance into the city centre, sort of like the equivalent of Piccadilly Circus, with trendy shops, neon lights and all the young Chinese out and about with their modern western haircuts. A couple of us checked out a huge six storey bookstore, and I bought a keyring from a deaf school student, before heading back to the hotel. |
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