Matt in China 2011 - Week 1

[Matt]

Just outside of the temple ate rows upon rows of gift shops selling the cheapest of trinkets. [img2]http://nyfalls.com/posts/china2/41.jpg[/img2]

[img2]http://nyfalls.com/posts/china2/42.jpg[/img2]

I walked by this teahouse and had to snap a pic of the entrance. Chinese tea house entrances always spark a bit of mystery and rarely lead directly to the seating area.
[img2]http://nyfalls.com/posts/china2/43.jpg[/img2]

For the first time in my experience, the sun makes an appearance in Chengdu. This is the view from my shitty hotel.
[img2]http://nyfalls.com/posts/china2/44.jpg[/img2]

The technology market, conveniently located across the street from yet another technology market.
[img2]http://nyfalls.com/posts/china2/45.jpg[/img2]

Some lights in a mall
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Out with girls for dinner, which means they have to stop ever few feet and make me take photos. Here is Jing.
[img2]http://nyfalls.com/posts/china2/47.jpg[/img2]

Me in front a Japanese restaurant.
[img2]http://nyfalls.com/posts/china2/48.jpg[/img2]

Joni is from Japan, studying International Business in China.
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[Matt]

This is a pretty cool mall... small floors with not many shops, but several floors
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A mall with a triangular layout
[img2]http://nyfalls.com/posts/china2/51.jpg[/img2]

Each shop is small, and very specialized.
[img2]http://nyfalls.com/posts/china2/52.jpg[/img2]

On the street, small family run shops show off their fresh Hot Pot ingredients.
[img2]http://nyfalls.com/posts/china2/53.jpg[/img2]

Jing poses on Chunxi Rd, which is Chengdu's "Times Square"
[img2]http://nyfalls.com/posts/china2/54.jpg[/img2]

Jing and Joni
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Swenson's is a Californian ice cream joint. What it's doing in an alley in Chengdu is a mystery to me.
[img2]http://nyfalls.com/posts/china2/56.jpg[/img2]

[Matt]

I moved to a better hotel, a Tibetan-style one.
[img2]http://nyfalls.com/posts/china2/57.jpg[/img2]

A place for prayer in the hallway.
[img2]http://nyfalls.com/posts/china2/75.jpg[/img2]

The view from the hotel.
[img2]http://nyfalls.com/posts/china2/74.jpg[/img2]

Joni's happy we stop for Japanese food.


Just as I am feeling comfortable eating like a Chinese, she shows me that I suck at eating like a Japanese.


Off to a grocery shop because I'm thirsty and I can't drink the water from the tap.... so every night before bed, I have to make sure I pick up a bottle of water for the night and juice for the morning. At my previous hotel there was a closet-sized window of a shop I could buy drinks from. This new hotel only has a giant 3-floor grocery complex nearby.

Camera's not allowed, but i snapped a few photos. They are usually on multiple floors, within a mall-like environment, often surrounded by food vendors, small jewelry shops, tea shops, pharmacies, and restaurants. I guess they aren't too concerned about the competition, which seems to be normal in China.

I can't say their supermarkets are much different from ours. It's really just the selection of products. Mostly everything else was the same. The produce and meat sections of these grocery shops have much much more than what we have. Also, in Chengdu at least, preserved (dried) meats, fruits and vegetables are a whole isle or two. Another startling difference is the number of staff and how helpful they are. The candy isle of the local TrustMart (owned by Walmart) has a staff of three working it. One Hersheys girl handing out samples and answering questions, another girl dedicated to Nestles, and a general store employee. There are employees everywhere and the are very pro-active about helping.
[img2]http://nyfalls.com/posts/china2/60.jpg[/img2]



Just finished our first meal at the American-style cafe- gastronomic shock-- success!
[img2]http://nyfalls.com/posts/china2/62.jpg[/img2]

[Matt]

Night entertainment district along the river
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I noticed a lot of these bars bring in American musicians to perform. I saw 3 or more along this street... and on my flight from Shanghai to Chicago and then Chi to Rochester I met a jazz guitarist (mostly does covers) who is from Rochester that was hired to go to Shanghai to play for a club.
[img2]http://nyfalls.com/posts/china2/68.jpg[/img2]

The Anshun Bridge, home tot one of the most prestigious restaurants in all of China. The bridge was constructed in 2003 to replace a really old one (more than 200 years old).
[img2]http://nyfalls.com/posts/china2/69.jpg[/img2]

Me in horrible light
[img2]http://nyfalls.com/posts/china2/70.jpg[/img2]

Joni and I
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The girls stop to check out some cakes.
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[hobkyl]

Yeah Im sure you mind stopping to take photos of them

[Bill_K]

Matt your pictures along with the narrative really show the culture and diversity of China. And how lucky to have such beautiful tour guides, No wonder you keep going back.

[ApproachingLight]

Great pics and narrative. The newer China is looking less like the old China!

[Matt]

Here is the cake they are looking at.
[img2]http://nyfalls.com/posts/china2/72b.jpg[/img2]

My hotel was room 1313 on the 13th floor. In China, 14 is the unlucky number.