Ciqikou and Visitors from Shanghai

This past weekend, my friends from Shanghai came to visit. I stayed with Tony and Jenni earlier in the summer for a week after landing in China, and in return I tried to show them a good time around Chongqing, now that I have my bearings.

After catching up a bit, we headed to Ciqikou, the old redeveloped part of Chongqing that's known to be touristy, or as my colleague here put it, "crowded, dirty, and not good." We didn't find it to be nearly that unpleasant, and actually had a pretty good time wandering around two of the main sites: the Zhong Residence and Baolun Temple.

We sort of accidentally visited the Zhong Residence, thinking at first that it was the Baolun Temple. Only realizing after we paid the 5 yuan apiece that it was not, we stayed to look around and it was pretty worthwhile. The Zhong Residence was built about 120 years ago, at the end of the Qing Dynasty. The residence used to have 46 rooms but only about 20 have been maintained, the ones that surround the central courtyard. Here are some photos.

The Courtyard of the Zhong Residence

Some antique furniture

Jenni photographing the ornate bed

More furniture

Can I have one of these awesome bed/rooms?

We ultimately did make it to the Baolun Temple, which is considerably older than the Zhong Residence - built over 1000 years ago. Probably the oldest thing we have seen so far in China, even older than the Dazu Caves! This temple manages to stay quietly separated from the snack shops, noodle shops, knick-knack shops, and hoards of people in Ciqikou.

Chongqing Sightseeing: Hua Yan Tourist Spot

Last weekend, our friend Frank offered to take us to his favorite temple in Chongqing. This turned out to be a fantastic afternoon, if a little hot. The temple complex, called Hua Yan Tourist Spot, was not listed in the Lonely Planet, so Lucia and I felt pretty lucky to have found out about it from someone in the know.

It was about an hour and a half away from our house, via two metro transfers and a bus transfer (almost feels like living in LA!). We stopped mid-way for some noodle lunch with Frank after meeting up with him at the appointed metro stop.

The most incredible thing about this "tourist spot" is how tucked away it is, yet how firmly it remains in the urban landscape. It doesn't look like much from the street, albeit a beautiful gateway.

Hua Yan Temple on the approach...

Lucia, Frank and I in front of the entrance gate to the Hua Yan Tourist Spot

 Once inside, though, the intricacies of the extensive temple grounds begin to present themselves.

The Dazu Buddhist Caves - An Epic Day-Trip

Lucia and I had been hearing a lot about these Dazu caves. Lonely Planet writes about them, lots of the China travel blogs I've read mentions them, and they are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. So, we figured, it was worth a trip, only two hours outside Chongqing.

The Dazu Caves actually refer to all the caves within Dazu County, about 75 locations comprising over 50,000 statues. So specifically, we were headed to the Baodingshan cave carvings. According to the tourist information at the site, the cave carvings were built under the supervision of Zhao Zhifeng, between 1174 and 1252, AD. (I'm quite certain this is the oldest thing we've seen in China so far.)

The caves were absolutely incredible, and definitely worth the journey. But before I go further about the caves, I'm going to give a quick sidebar about the trip required to get to the caves.

ChaoTianMen, an Evening Boat Ride, and Chongqing's Cable Car

This weekend, our friend and classmate, Carlos, visited Lucia and I here in Chongqing. He's living in Chengdu for the summer, working at the Chengdu Institute of Urban Planning and Design. Chongqing and Chengdu are very close cities, and Lucia and I plan to return the visit in a couple of weeks. Having a guest gave us a chance to show off Chongqing, to see some of the tourist attractions we haven't been to yet, and to trade stories about living in central China as a foreigner.

On Saturday, we visited the Chongqing Urban Planning Exhibition Hall. They had some pretty neat scale models of the city and the region, but I won't bore you with more photos of tiny buildings. If you really want to see them, feel free to email me and I'll send them your way.

The Exhibition Hall is right under the plaza at ChaoTianMen, which is the tip of the peninsula that makes up the Yuzhong District (downtown) of Chongqing.

Part 1: Shanghai

Tonight is my last night in Shanghai. I've been here five days, hosted by some wonderful friends. It's made for a smooth transition from Western culture to Chinese culture, though I guess that remains to be seen when I make it out to Chongqing tomorrow.

I spent the past few of days exploring some museums and neighborhoods. I first visited the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum, at the recommendation of one of my professors. The (Chinese) ticket-taker asked if I was Jewish, and when I said yes, he replied "Shalom!" Strange, strange introduction to the country.