3 Days in CHONGQING
Everyone told me not to go to Chongqing. Just hours away, nearby counties had just experienced a 7.8 earthquake! But, I was determined to go now. I know I was being selfish, but I had already paid my money and planned out the time to do this – there was no going back. I did check things out first by contacting people in Chongqing. The City of Chongqing itself was not affected by the earthquake in any way. And, the historical site that was the primary reason for my visit, the ancient Dazu Rock Carvings, located 2 hrs west of Chongqing (toward Chengdu), appeared to incur no damage whatsoever. So, all things considered, I am really glad I didn’t postpone my trip! It was a huge success!
Chongqing is China’s most populated city, over 30 million people! It is also one of the departure points for the famous 4-day tour of the Yangtze River and the Three Gorges! The City is built on the sides and top of mountains, so the highways come as quite a surprise in that they are rarely straight, instead winding and criss-crossing the mountains. Forget about safety too – most taxi drivers gave me a hard time whenever I wanted to put on a seat belt! And, you need strong legs to live in Chongqing – many streets and alleyways involve tons of steps! (Think San Francisco). I hate stairs!
I arrived late and therefore got to see Chongqing by night. Before we landed, all I could see was a sea of ‘neon’ – almost like Las Vegas. Turns out there is a huge hotel complex located next to the airport – they have gone all out with their ‘neon’ signs and lights! Many of the city’s buildings actually look much better at night, with creative use of neon lighting!
Nanbin International Youth Hostel
We had a difficult time finding my hostel – my driver stopped to ask for help 2 times, and the hostel’s street sign misdirected us into an underground parking garage! We finally got there after much effort.
The Nanbin Hostel is quite nice and the rooms are much nicer than one would expect in a hostel. Most single rooms have TV’s. Hostels have come a long way indeed! I was quite surprised to see evidence of emergency preparedness here: each room comes equipped with a large flashlight and face masks in case of fire! They even provided me with a mosquito repellant machine to use at night. Unfortunately that didn’t help me much during the day. Mosquitos in Chongqing are nasty buggers! My ankles were badly bitten and I visited 3 different pharmacies during my stay. Despite this and my efforts not to scratch, my bites still got badly infected.
I would have to say that my hostel caters more to Chinese tourists compared to foreigners. Some of the front desk staff have little English ability and most information is available in Chinese only. And, the hostel is not located downtown. Rather it is located south, crossing a bridge over the Yangtze River, or at least a 40-minute bus ride away.
The nearby Nanbin street has tons of huge Chinese restaurants, most featuring Chongqing Hot Pot cuisine. A large pedestrian promenade offers views of the River. In my opinion, the area lacks character and is not suitable for independent foreign tourists. In fact, I never did find a place to have breakfast during my 3-day stay, not even a small noodle place! Next time, I would prefer to stay at the Three Gorges International Youth Hostel (located on a hillside downtown), or at the Perfect Time International Youth Hostel in Ci Ki Kou, a small village 14 km away.
I met a couple from France and, next thing I knew, we were talking about some friends of theirs who live in Vaudreuil (Quebec), just a 10-minute drive away from my hometown of Hudson. It’s a small world indeed! A friend of theirs, Carlos from Brazil, was acting as their guide as he is currently studying Chinese in Taizhan. (We met up again later as you will soon hear).
DAZU ROCK CARVINGS
The first thing on my itinerary for the next morning was to get to the Dazu Rock Carvings. My hostel did have a tour available for 240 RMB, but the time spent at the site itself is usually quite limited because such tours generally include unplanned stops at certain ‘shopping places’!
So, I decided to head to Dazu by myself. To do so would require several steps. First, I had to get a taxi to the Bus Station “Cai Yuan Ba” where I would buy a bus ticket to Dazu County. But, when I arrived, there were huge lineups at all the ticket windows. You will be very disappointed in me, as I decided to play the ‘dumb foreigner’. I approached the information desk, threw my hands up in the air, and showed them my Chinese note with the words “Dazu County” on it. In no time at all, the young ladies had arranged a bus ticket for me! Okay, I don’t do this often, but time was of the essence, as this first bus ride would take at least 2 hours!
Then I had to catch a local bus the rest of the way. It was a nice drive, allowing me to take in the scenery along the way. Lots of terraced rice fields, babies carried in baskets on women’s backs, and tons of new highways being constructed.
Upon my arrival, motorcycle taxis moved next to our bus in an effort to get everyone to pay for a ‘ride’ to the grottos. I didn’t fall for that stunt – the grottos are an easy 1km walk! I did take the time however to find, and pay for, an English tour guide. I came all this way to see the Dazu Rock Carvings and wasn’t going to be disappointed by my lack of knowledge!
More than 40 areas in the Dazu County area feature elaborate carvings in the surrounding sandstone cliffs. Often referred to as “Grotto Art”, many were created during the Song Dynasty (A.D. 892). Two of the most famous sites are Beishan and Baodingshan. Beishan has 290 small caves carved into a cliff. Most were carved around 892 A.D. But, the Baodingshan site is huge! It is made up of 13 groups of stone carving figures, totaling nearly 10,000 cliffside figures – spectacular indeed! These sculptures were created from 1174 to 1252. They are stunning and quite elaborate. The attention to detail is quite amazing.
I would have to say that the only thing that detracted from my enjoyment of the sculptures was the less than professional repainting that has been done on some of the figures. So much of its is peeling off that it is difficult to see the details of the carvings themselves. I did find some figurines where the paint had been left to fade naturally and you will see from my pictures that the quality of these carvings is really quite amazing. This trip was well worth it for me!
Hong Ya Dong (Red Cliff Cave)On the way back into Chongqing, I stopped at Hong Ya Dong. It’s a series of ‘Diaojiao’ traditional style buildings, which are houses built on a steep hill. Spread over 13 levels, its flows down a steep embankment. It features pubs, souvenir shops, crafts, local snack shops, restaurants, entertainment – you name it.
I found a tiny snack shop where the locals seemed to be really enjoying a local noodle dish. I asked them “Hao bu hao?” (good or bad). Everyone smiled and said “Hao!”. (Good!). So, I sat down at a tiny little table and ordered a bowl for myself. For 6 Yuan (less than a dollar) you get a bowl of noodles with toppings (green onion, ground pork, chilis, stirfried peanuts and vegetables. You stir them into the noodles and enjoy. Yes, it was pretty spicy but oh so good! I knew that Chongqing’s most famous dish, Hotpot, would be far too hot for me, so the noodles were a great compromise.
I eventually took the elevator up to the top where I exited onto a street (yes, at the 13th level!). Directly outside is a Starbucks and as I passed by I heard a shout “Carol!” Come on… how many people know me in Chongqing. It was Carlos! So I went inside and ordered a coffee so we could have a chat. Again, what are the odds we would run into each other like this? There are many Starbucks in Chongqing too!
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