Our friends in Chengdu took us out to dinner one night. I really like the artwork on the walls. We are learning to eat like Chinese people - rice bowl, tea cup, chopsticks, five dishes and a soup.

On the way home, we saw the huge English corner Lee went to when he was in Chengdu three years ago. At that time, they were meeting at a hotel, but now they have moved across the street to the park beside the river. This is an informal gathering of people who want to practice speaking English.

The modern city of Chengdu is built on the pattern of the ancient city . There are three ring roads where city walls used to be. The Third Ring Road is on the outskirts of town, and the First Ring Road is near the center. Inside these, the Funan River flows around the city and was, in ancient times, the city's moat. Our hotel was between the First Ring Road and the river. You can see the river between the trees in the center of this picture. The bridge in this picture is Xinnan Men, or New South Gate.

This is essentially the same scene as the previous picture, but at night. We liked the way they lit the river up, and how the lights reflected in the water.

The area along the river is landscaped with many different kinds of flowers as well as willow trees and pomegranate trees. In some other areas of the city, there are large parks by the river. We also enjoyed watching the swallows flit and swoop over the water.

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On our last day in Chengdu we tried to find a street of artists Lee had visited three years ago, but it was gone. In many Chinese cities the old shops are being replaced with new modern structures. This picture is very representative of China right now - the old and the new side by side. In fact, the scaffolding around the new building going up is built in an old traditional way - of bamboo.

Copyright 2004, Dr. Lee Williams

Last Modified: 15 July 2004

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