Sichuan – HurricaneMaine

Chongqing at night

The first night we went on a river cruise along the Yangtze River which is one of the top 3 longest in the world. The Yangtze is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country

The second night we walked down to the river.

We weren’t sure what this building is but it is striking and when looking at the skyline it looks like a ship passing between buildings.

You can see the red triangle on the right side that looks like a ship moving left.

Hongya cave is at the junction of the Yangtze and Jialing rivers and is a 10 story, underground shopping complex that contains a lot of memorabilia and raw jade rocks. Always wanting to avoid crowds we did not go there but instead walked across the bridge to take a picture of the cave from across the river. The facade looks much like what buildings in past would look like and beautiful when lit up.

Stairs go down to the river and the rails are lighted here. You can see it in the left and right in the picture. This is just to the right of the cave.

Chongqing has been beautiful with amazing food. There are a lot of people here. 33 million to be exact. It is a city the size of an actual province. That is a lot of people and this is peak tourist time as well. Much like Hong Kong with an amazing metro system (just like other cities in China actually). The city design is impressive and so clean. What I liked is its people do not smoke as much here as in the southern part of China.

As nice as these days were, I am looking forward to Inner Mongolia and the grasslands, desert, and an old volcano. And less people….

Chongqing Hot pot, aka when I ordered pig intestine

Spices, peppers, broth are heated to boiling and you cook your own meats and veggies you order as the meal progresses. There are many hot pots I have had (the one using fresh coconut water is my favorite) but you cannot be in Sichuan province without trying theirs. It is considered the hottest.

Hot pot. The center is bone broth with medium spice and the outer ring is medium hot hotpot which is very spicy. Mushrooms, veggies, lamb, bean sprouts, and lamb.

We thought we were ordering fish but instead ordered pig intestine. Ever adventurous, we all tried it anyway. Chewy but not much taste.

The next night we went to a different hot pot place. Again we had the bone broth in one side and hot pot on the other. It definitely gets hotter in spice the longer it cooks. The bone broth did not have heat to it so added some of the other liquid to give it a kick.

There is sesame paste, cilantro, green onion, seasonings, etc. and you do your cooked foods in it before eating.

Excellent hot pot and trying different meats, fish, and types of veggies. Definitely a reason to visit again!

Chongqing, sanfu, one of the three furnaces

This summer vacation I planned to visit places I have wanted to go : inner Mongolia and ancient capitals: Nanjing and Luoyang. I had never been to Chongqing and people said it is a place not to be missed. It is very hot as it is surrounded by mountains and little air movement as a result. Because of this it is one of the “furnaces of China”. It is also in Sichuan, known for its spicy food.

Heading back to the hotel. It is pretty hot here.

Chongqing was the capital of the Republic of China for seven years during the late 1930s and early 1940s during the Anti-Japanese War (World War II). This isn’t one of the ancient capitals but a place I was told not to miss.

Chongqing Jiefangbei Pedestrian Street (重庆解放碑步行街) was just outside the Crowne Plaza hotel we stayed at. There is the People’ s Liberation Monument at the center of the city. It is in commemoration of the end of Japanese invasion during second world War.

Celebrating of the Anti-Japanese movement.

The city reminds me of Hong Kong with close buildings and hilly streets that seem to rise out of the water. We took the metro to view some spots. One is the metro line that runs through a building.

A video I took of the metro train: https://youtu.be/fhUylmYOcRo

We visited Ciqikou old town which was built in 1000 AD and was an ancient port. It is surrounded by a mountain and three rivers. Now it has beautiful tea houses, unique snacks and gifts and a temple (we didn’t make it to the temple as there were too many people). It was great to try some snacks and look around.

This is a cucumber carved into a Buddha. If you eat it you will live a long time. I don’t pass up vegetables when I see them.

This is yogurt quickly frozen on an anti-griddle.

The Art street is more graffiti than street art but the art on the buildings was pretty impressive and anyone can buy paint and a brush and become an artist. We took a didi to 501 Art Base which is the Art university and walked back taking in the sites and buying souvenirs. .