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Tag Archives: Sichuan Province

Kuanzhai Xiangzi Alley (Wide & Narrow Alley) – Chengdu – Sichuan Province – October 2018

04 Monday Mar 2019

Posted by SueT唐 梦 琇 in Travels inside China

≈ 32 Comments

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

fullsizeoutput_5ebWhilst 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!!fullsizeoutput_5fdfullsizeoutput_5d6There was plenty to see along the way including lovely entry ways to courtyards and shops and beautiful large wooden doors with brass knockers…fullsizeoutput_5dcIMG_3052fullsizeoutput_5eafullsizeoutput_5f6And 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…fullsizeoutput_5ddfullsizeoutput_5e7One 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.fullsizeoutput_5f3

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fullsizeoutput_5f1fullsizeoutput_5f2The 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.IMG_3054

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fullsizeoutput_5e2fullsizeoutput_5f8I 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.fullsizeoutput_5ecfullsizeoutput_5edAnd 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.fullsizeoutput_5e3fullsizeoutput_5dbfullsizeoutput_5effullsizeoutput_5dafullsizeoutput_5f5We 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!!

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Chongqing Hotpot – Chengdu – Sichuan Province – September 2018

14 Thursday Feb 2019

Posted by SueT唐 梦 琇 in Travels inside China

≈ 24 Comments

Tags

Chengdu, chilli dishes, Chongqing hot pot, dining with friends, hot pot, Sichuan Province

Casual Restaurant; fabulous spicy foodfullsizeoutput_55b

Whilst in China last year, my friend Jon and I travelled by plane from Inner Mongolia to Chengdu [the capital of Sichuan Province] to meet our friend Peter (who we first met at my favourite Chinese restaurant here in Canberra).

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(source: http://www.inthetaratory.wordpress.com)

 We arrived around 7pm and would have been happy to take a taxi but Peter and his father arrived to pick us up from the airport and take us to our hotel.  It was very kind of them as it had taken two hours from their home but let me say it worked out really well as the traffic was horrendous and it took us nearly three hours to reach our hotel – I got to sleep in the back of the car [yay!!].

Peter’s father does not speak English, only the Sichuanese dialect and Peter told us later that his father had asked how he should greet us – he was told to say ‘hi’ as it’s easy to pronounce and that is what he did at the airport and every day with a huge smile – his only English word!

We arrived at our hotel nearing 11pm.  Peter wanted us to check in and come straight to his home to meet his mum and have a late supper.  I was just so tired from a full day of travelling so declined as I knew we had lunch at the family home the next day.

The next day Peter came to our hotel and we walked to his family home and along the way saw something I thought was very amusing…a take on the US originated KFC…Chinese KFG…ha ha.fullsizeoutput_55fPeter’s family home is an apartment in a beautiful and very large complex complete with lake and lovely gardens.  img_2964.jpg

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We enjoyed an absolutely delicious lunch cooked by Peter’s uncle who is a chef.  Peter’s grandmother who also lives in the very large apartment was there for lunch and we enjoyed telling stories of Peter’s life in Canberra.  We then sat around with Peter’s parents and relaxed until it was time to go to dinner [oh my gosh more food!!] and in-between Peter’s father poured us some different varieties of Chinese wine to taste [or rocket fuel as I like to call it].  fullsizeoutput_57dIt only took us a short time to reach the restaurant which was quite small with plastic chairs and little wooden tables. Peter’s dad said it was his favourite restaurant and that the cuisine was Chongqing hot pot. (Chongqing used to be under the administration of Sichuan Province but now is separated and is under the direct administration of the central government similar to Beijing and Shanghai).  Chongqing hot pot is spicier than Sichuan hot pot – I was a bit scared of my mouth burning!!!fullsizeoutput_55cfullsizeoutput_585I do like my food a little spicy but certainly not lip-tingling hot.  Peter’s dad and Jon love spicy food so they both put an additional packet of oily chilli into their dipping sauce.  (my blogging friend Gary would love the spicy food I am sure).  fullsizeoutput_594fullsizeoutput_58aNow for this dipping sauce – the cooked food is eaten with the sauce which is a combination of spices and herbs and made by the customer from a wide range of ingredients.  Peter’s mum made mine and it was absolutely delicious with oil, garlic, tahini, chives, chopped peanuts and chilli.fullsizeoutput_58fAs for the actual hot pot – each table has a two sided simmering pot of soup stock.  On our table, one of the pots contained meat stock and chilli and mine of course contained no meat but delicious spices, tomatoes, goji berries and vegetable stock.  fullsizeoutput_584IMG_3132We were seated at our little table and then the process is you walk up to the kitchen area and select what you want to eat, bring it back to the table and cook!  I selected some fresh tofu, noodles, cabbage, mushrooms, thinly sliced potato and sprouts.  These were also to be shared by others not just me.  Another large fridge had shelves and shelves of meat and seafood which Peter’s dad selected for the table.fullsizeoutput_587IMG_3136fullsizeoutput_58eWe returned to the table with our uncooked food and found the waitress had turned on the stove to heat the stock and ensure the hot pot is kept simmering.  All ingredients are firstly placed on bamboo skewers and then placed into the pot. In true Chinese tradition both Jon and I were served by our hosts all night.  Peter’s mum was so lovely ensuring that no meat was placed into my pot and kept the heat at a simmer rather than a boil to make sure the meat water did not bubble into my pot.  IMG_3133 fullsizeoutput_591Peter translated throughout the meal but Peter’s mum who speaks mainly Sichuanese can also speak some Mandarin so this enabled me to converse with her rather than have Peter translate all of our conversations which I know was very tiring for him.

We had bought a bottle of wine from a shop close-by our hotel as I know that it is very rare for the smaller restaurants in China to have international wines [for anyone who has tasted Great Wall white wine – you will know you won’t ever buy another bottle]. It turned out that this supermarket sold Aussie wine so that is what I bought – warm of course as the wine is usually not kept in the fridge in supermarkets.  fullsizeoutput_58bThe boys enjoyed some local beers which were bought from the restaurant.
fullsizeoutput_58cOne thing I did think was particularly cute about this restaurant was the small drawer in the table which contained our paper napkins – lots were needed.  fullsizeoutput_592Dessert and snacks are also available from the kitchen area but we were all way too full to eat anything else.fullsizeoutput_590fullsizeoutput_588I must say I genuinely enjoyed this evening and the food was really really good.

Yangtze River (Cháng jiāng) – Sichuan & Hubei Provinces – PRC – October 2018

19 Friday Oct 2018

Posted by SueT唐 梦 琇 in Travels inside China

≈ 37 Comments

Tags

Chang Jiang, Hubei Province, PRC China, Sichuan Province, Yangtze River

Cruising down China’s longest riverfullsizeoutput_3d9

After a great week in Sichuan Province [more on that later], my friend Jon and I took the bullet train to Chongqing where we were picked up by our guide and driver and taken to dinner at a hotpot restaurant before boarding the Victoria Anne cruise ship for our cruise down the Yangtze River. Jon loves spicy food and said this was probably the spiciest food he had eaten in all our travels around China (and he had some seriously spicy food in Sichuan).

I hadn’t eaten all day so was famished; the food was sensational. One side of the pot was [for me] seasoned water with mushrooms along with some spices and a little bit of chilli and the other side was [for Jon] a meat stock also with vegetables but with lots of chilli. fullsizeoutput_3efOur guide kindly made us a dipping bowl of oil, shallots, ginger, garlic, sesame seeds and sesame oil.  This fabulous concoction we used to dip our cooked food into before eating.  Jon added more chilli to his bowl and told me he regretted this as it was ‘so’ hot, but he still ate all his meat and some vegetables.fullsizeoutput_3edI cooked and ate so much food; incredible noodles, bean sprouts, sweet potato, cabbage, three types of mushrooms, some tofu and delicious tofu skin.  What a meal!!fullsizeoutput_3ebfullsizeoutput_3ecThen it was time to hit the traffic and head to the ship.  Once on board we were asked if we both wanted to upgrade our rooms to suites; we did!  And really glad as the standard rooms were very small but the suites had a lovely lounge area with a little balcony.fullsizeoutput_3f0Usually non-Chinese are seated in a different eating area to the Chinese which I didn’t like so Jon and I asked to sit with the Chinese and we met some really lovely people.  We sat on the same table for each meal and enjoyed the company of a range of very friendly Chinese.  These two gorgeous little girls were our favourites – they spoke some English but loved it when I spoke Chinese to them.fullsizeoutput_3daI had previously taken this cruise in 2013 and was lucky enough to travel through the five ship lift locks but we were told now-days passenger ships cannot travel through the lift locks.  This is a photo from 2013 looking out the back of our ship as we had travelled through the locks.  It was an amazing experience.Our ship sailed through three gorges; Qutang, Wu and Xiling over four days and three nights.   yangtze-river

(source: http://www.yangtze.com)

I really enjoyed the views from the front of the ship and also relaxing in the Yangtze Club with a glass of sauvignon blanc and my book looking at the villages along the shore.P1020323fullsizeoutput_3e6P1020291fullsizeoutput_3d8fullsizeoutput_3cefullsizeoutput_3defullsizeoutput_3d5The views of each of the gorges was lovely and some better than others due to the time of the day or just plain bad weather.fullsizeoutput_3e0fullsizeoutput_3ddP1020323fullsizeoutput_3e1The crew put on a show each night which was lovely.  Wonderful costumes and great singing and dancing.fullsizeoutput_3cd

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fullsizeoutput_3d1One day we took a smaller boat to a part of the river that could not take the larger boat; so beautiful!fullsizeoutput_3e8fullsizeoutput_3e9fullsizeoutput_3eaSuch a wonderful relaxing time as after four weeks’ travelling around China, I think we needed this.IMG_3565

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Qingyang Taoist Temple – Chengdu – Sichuan Province – September 2011

02 Saturday Jul 2016

Posted by SueT唐 梦 琇 in Travels inside China

≈ 21 Comments

Tags

Chengdu, prc, Qingyang Taoist Temple, Sichuan Province

Visiting a local temple whilst in Chengdu

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Qingyang literally means ‘green ram’ and the temple got its name from the two blue-green goats made of bronze in the main hall of the temple (Sanqing Hall).  I don’t know why but I didn’t take any photographs of the goats so I have used two photos from the internet.

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The temple was originally built in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), which is a period in Chinese history when Taoism was flourishing.  Over time the temple has been partly destroyed mainly from natural disasters and wars, and most of the parts of the temple that remain in existence are restorations from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

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The Octagonal Pavillon at the front part of the temple is really beautiful and set within a lovely garden of lush green plants and trees where pillars are spectacularly decorated with dragons.

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The grounds of the temple are really well maintained.  Lots of different things to see including, the ying/yang symbol as well as the Chinese zodiac animals depicted in one of the pavilions.

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IMG_0884The temple grounds were pretty quiet really with only a few locals lighting incense and our guide told us that there are often nuns and monks training at the Two Immortals Monastery toward the back of the temple; unfortunately on the day I went I didn’t see any.IMG_0883

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A lovely temple in beautiful grounds so well worth my visit.

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