Tags
Chengdu, Chinese snacks, Kuanzhai Xiangzi Alley, PRC China, Sichuan Province, travelling with friends, Wide and Narrow Alley
A slow stroll down a long alley
Whilst visiting Sichuan Province our friend Peter took Jon and I to a famous alleyway called Kuanzhai Xiangzi which consists of a wide alley (Kuan Xiangzi) and a narrow alley (Zhai Xiangzi). There are actually three parallel ancient city alleyways and forty-five courtyards along them and I am sure most Sichuanese were out on the same day as us [it was a Sunday so it is lovely to see everyone out and about]. But boy oh boy; so many people!!There was plenty to see along the way including lovely entry ways to courtyards and shops and beautiful large wooden doors with brass knockers…And of course ‘interesting’ figures. But I feel this one made some sense [much more than others I have seen] as the province of Sichuan is known for its spicy chilli dishes and the figure was outside a shop grinding fresh chillies…One thing that the alley has is plenty of food stores selling all sorts of wonderful hot and cold dishes to eat like beautifully displayed tofu with lots of chilli, sweet fried balls and bread along with cold rice and noodle dishes.
The history of the alley way is dated back to the Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1911 AD). At that time, the area was a city called Mancheng City or Shaocheng City where its residents were troops. As with most places left unrestored, the city decayed but in 2003 renovations began and the alley way opened in 2008. It has small restaurants/souvenir shops created to look like those from the Qing Dynasty and of course tea rooms selling delicious Chinese tea.
I really enjoyed seeing the local drinks and desserts as they are very different to what we enjoy here in Australia. Pretty drinks with what looked like hot ice coming out of the top of a very large plastic cup.And all flavours and colours of ice cream (some more interesting than others), ice blocks, small rice cups, cups full of cream and fruit and of course watermelon.We walked one length of the alley on the right hand side and then turned around and walked up the other way to make sure we saw all the shops…a lovely afternoon out even though most of Chengdu was with us!!
JohnRH said:
Are Chinese cities generally clean, with not a lot of trash blowing around. Everything looks clean in your photos. What a novel idea. The food, as usual, looks delicious, and I’m reading this is bed before trying to go to sleep. Argggh.
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Gaz said:
All the food looks delicious Sue. I like the Sichuan photo 😃 especially.
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CrazyChineseFamily said:
I definetely have to go to Sichuan again for some nice food! We were there in 2015 I think for a few days visiting several ancient towns
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vinneve said:
Unfortunately I cannot eat too much spicy foods or with Sichuan sauce. I generally like Chinese foods but without a chili haha!
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twobrownfeet said:
I love walking through those streets. Reminds me of Suzhou. 🙂 Those drinks look amazing. Haven’t seen them on our travels. 😦
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Little Miss Traveller said:
I enjoyed your stroll along the narrow lanes Sue and the food and drinks on offer looked very appetising!
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Hi John. Yes the cities and country areas are generally clean. Some country areas where people are incredibly poor have a bit of rubbish but cities are kept very clean. Beijing is a prime example of cleanliness. People seeping the paths and streets all the time. Ha ha. You need to not read before going to bed. Too much food food to think about.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Yes thought you would Gaz.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
It’s a great province isn’t it.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
I do understand that Vinneve.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Thank you Marion.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
I agree about the similarity to Suzhou. I wonder if those drinks are in Sth Korea.
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Sophie said:
I love this post, so full of colors and how beautiful are these alleys, houses and small shops!!! And I want to eat everything on your pictures!! haha, I am so pinning this on my Pinterest for later travels!
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CrazyChineseFamily said:
It is really wonderful, especially when traveling by bus from Shaanxi to Sichuan through the mountain range
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Marta said:
This looks similar to Nanluoguxiang in Beijing!
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Amy said:
Delicious food in Sichuan Province, so many wonderful choices. The alley restored nicely! Thank you so much for the tour, Sue! 🙂
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Lignum Draco said:
A fascinating tour through this area. Thank you. No doubt the walk was a very aromatic experience.
Recently I thought about going to HK at the end of the Chinese New Year period but was warned off it by my friends who were born in HK and China. There’d be too many people travelling locally at the same time and your Sunday experience is kind of proof about how many people are out and about on days off.
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twobrownfeet said:
I’ve never seen them here. But you never know! 🙂
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raastha said:
What a colorful post, the food looks so inviting. Hope you must have had a sumptuous treat.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Sorry for delay. I actually forgot to read comments on my posts. So glad you liked it. The Alley food was great. I know you would love it all Sophie.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Oh I would love to do that.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Yes I agree. It’s very similar. Crowded and
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Oops sent before I finished…commercial/crowded and similar stuff to buy.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Thank you as always Amy.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
You made the right choice about not travelling at the beginning/ during or at the end of CNY. Don’t ever do it!!!!!
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Thank you very much.
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Lignum Draco said:
The voice of experience. Thank you.
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sileas said:
The streets look really pretty but what got me right away are these fancy desserts! I’d love to try them 😉
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Ha ha.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
They are really good looking desserts. The Chinese seemed to be loving them.
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Kyle said:
Do you remember the name of the shop that sold the jars of Chilli oil? We bought and ran out of some when we were there and would love to track some more down somehow. It was the most amazing chilli oil we’ve ever tasted.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
I’m really sorry I don’t recall.
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