A day in rural Chengdu was one of the highlights of our 48 days in China. Don’t get me wrong, we loved visiting all the well-known, traditional tourist sites: Great Wall and Tiananmen Square in Beijing, The Bund in Shanghai, the Terracotta Army in Xian, etc. However, whenever we travel, we like to see how real people live their daily lives. This is not always possible due to not knowing where to go, not having a command of the local language and other reasons.
We met Mr. Tray Lee at People’s Park one Saturday. He kindly explained the traditional sugar lollipop making process of a vendor in the park. We struck up a conversation and he mentioned that he had been a tour guide since 1989 and one of the tours he gave was of a few villages outside of Chengdu. It sounded interesting to us, so we agreed to the tour.
Mr. Lee and a driver picked us up at our hotel and we drove for about an hour to our first stop, a traditional market. The market is open on odd numbered days of the month. In addition to a lot of the things you would expect in a market, fruits, vegetables, meat, clothing, etc. there were things you just don’t see every day. Look at the pictures to see what I mean.
Man getting his pre-haircut shampoo by a street-side barber. Notice the kettle for hot water. A bean pod of a plant is used for the shampoo rather than shampoo out of a bottle.
Sitting around and drinking tea at a tea-house is a popular pastime. From the looks we were getting, I am sure the next subject of conversation was going to be, “I wonder what those pasty white people were doing here?”
Got aches and pains? Many people on the street will treat your ailments by “cupping.” If you watched the 2016 Olympics, many of the USA swimmers used cupping as evidenced by the circular bruises on their skin
What a great country! You can buy firecrackers and fireworks anytime of the year! They are used to celebrate numerous occasions: birthdays, store openings, etc. The blocks of paper are fake money that is burned at funerals to give relatives plenty of money in the afterlife.
Need a dentist? They are right here on the street
Some of the tools of the dental trade
Doesn’t look like you need fancy, expensive equipment either. A simple Dremel tool works fine
Toddler basket. Probably a little more convenient than a stroller when on uneven terrain
Alcohol for consumption. Our guide called it “Chinese vodka.” Not sure exactly how you would refer to the spirits – Chengdu Moonshine might be a good term? The numbers on the jars refer to the quality – higher price equals higher quality
I am not a farmer, so I don’t understand this very well. I thought you just plant a seed in the ground of whatever you want to grow. Apparently, some people buy seeds and grow the particular plant to a certain point and then bring it to the market. Other people buy the plant, roots and all, and then transplant it in their own field
Tobacco seller. The tobacco is long and rolled into a long stalk. You take a hunk of the stalk – about 3 inches or so – and stick it in the end of your pipe and light it. No papers, you don’t chop it up and put it in a bowl
Chinese Ben-Gay. Snakes and lizards in bottles of alcohol. You don’t drink this; you rub it on sore muscles or whatever part of your body is giving you trouble
Street side pharmacy. Roots, herbs, dried snakes and lizards. The “pharmacist” will mix up the ingredients for you to make a tea with to cure what ails you.
Fortune teller on the left. Not sure if the other woman is a friend or customer
Husband and wife making deep fried dough thingies. These are unique treats to the Chengdu area. We bought a bag for 2 RMB (about 30 cents USD) They were a great snack!
I don’t think we saw any other Westerners during our walk around the market. We did get quite a few looks. People were very friendly and curious.
People are fascinated with Susan. I think it is her blond hair. This lady was fascinated with her hair and wanted to touch it. On average, I would say that every other day there is at least one person that asks to have their picture taken with her. I have only had that happen to me once. Of course, Susan is very beautiful and me, well not so much.
Fresh tofu with hairy fungus growing off it. You tell them how much you want, they put it in the plastic tub, squirt something on it (vinegar, alcohol maybe?), then add spices, shake it up and give it to you
Poultry section of the market. No part of the chicken is wasted.
Cooked meat. Chicken, duck, pork. All parts of the animal.
Seafood section. All food is live – frogs, eels, fish
They will clean your fish for you, gladly, by the looks of the woman who saw us taking her picture
Vegetable section. Many familiar veggies, some not so familiar
I believe this is pork. Beef is not as common
Had to take this picture. The dog’s jacket says, “Addidog”
Our next stop was a small farm. We just pulled over on the side of the road and observed a husband and wife planting some crops. The couple looked in their 60s or 70s. They were using traditional tools, no tractors, roto-tillers or anything automated. Mr. Lee asked them, “I suppose your children live in the city?”
“Yes,” the man replied. “They are in the city making money.” Apparently, the couple keeps all that is produced on the land. In China, there is no private ownership of land. It all belongs to the government, but you can get a 70 year lease on property. In the past, the farmers were taxed on their crops. However, Mr. Lee told us that this is no longer the case for small farms like this.
A shot through the car window at some of the farmland
Husband and wife working the land
Manual labor only using a double tined hoe
Transplanting by hand
Just a few kilometers up the road we stopped to see the first step in making the straw hats that all the farm workers wear. The hats keep the sun off when sunny and shields from the rain when the rain falls. This was a very special visit for us not only did we see the process of making the strips of braided straw for the hats, but the woman took a liking to Susan and gave Susan her own hand sewn straw hat. It was very touching.
Hand sorting the straw for the best ones
Next step is weaving the straw into a one inch wide or so strip
Close up of weaving
Hand sewn hat that was given to Susan
Susan and the kind woman who gave Susan her own hat. It has only been worn in the sun she said
Next we drove a few more kilometers and saw the factory where the hats are made. These days, the straw strips are covered with a plastic braid. This makes the hat more waterproof so they last longer. We also saw where the hats were sewn together. It took about a minute to sew the long strip into a hat.
At the hat factory strips of straw like those made by the woman at the previous stop are put on spools
Straw strips are covered with a braid of plastic to make them waterproof
It takes about a minute on the machine to sew a hat
In between the couple weaving straw strips to the hat factory, we stopped in a village at a blacksmith shop. The blacksmith learned from his father in law. While we were there he was making chisels to be used to break up concrete. The skill is a dying art. You can’t do this in a large city since the burning of coal is prohibited.
Making chisels for breaking up concrete. The guy in the yellow hat is waiting for them to be made. Notice the forge: it serves multiple purposes. The main purpose is to heat the steel. A big pot on top is water that is being heated for tea and the small pot is the cat’s food
Next we drove to a pottery factory. This factory has been making pottery for over 400 years. The throwing wheels are now electric powered, but not too much else has been changed since then. The kilns themselves are called “Dragon Kilns” partially because of the way they snake up the hillside and partially because of the fire inside.
After being thrown, the pots are placed in the kiln, coal is shoveled in and lit, the doors of the kiln are bricked shut and the pots are fired for 15 days. Then they cool for 15 days. Quite a long process.
Large jars are made in sections. They are too large to throw all at once. This is the bottom of a large jar
Jars that are a grayish color have had glaze put on them
Kneading the clay to get bubbles and excess water out before throwing
Abandoned old kiln on the right. Kiln still in use on the left
Old kiln – not sure what the writing says. Google translate failed me on this one. Built in the Qing Dynasty – preserved, but no longer used
Once the pottery and coal is in the kiln, the doorway is bricked shut. Spacing at the top allows for air to get in and the brick that is sticking out can be removed to inspect during firing
To top off the day, we drove back to Chengdu for a traditional Sichuan lunch. Fantastic day! We got to see so many things that are not on the standard tourist list of sites. Definitely one of the most memorable parts of our trip to China.
Eggplant and garlic, pork ribs and peppers, pan fried bread, rice soup to drink and rice
Yum, yum!
Great painting of Mao and friends
Thanks for all your work making your blog and sharing your adventures Wonderful!
Glad you are enjoying them!
We met Mr. Lee at the People’s Park and we’ll do this amazing tour tomorrow.
I read your articles and i think it will be a great day.
Can’t wait.
I am sure you will enjoy it. We certainly did. Thanks for reading the article.