What’s Sichuan? Where can I find it? How can I profit from it?
Whoa, whoa, chill out with all those questions, this ain’t no mafia flick. In fact, it’s just a boring travel blog entry, so unless you want to hear about the most adorable creatures in the world, explosive dining and the faceless men doing acrobatics, then you can steer your interest towards a different and more interesting topic somewhere in other corners of Steemit…(Good luck with that!)
However, if you know what’s good, then stay and break out some popcorn ‘cause this will be a ride!
And the ride starts as an actual ride! In a train! A freaking bullet train in fact! What does that mean? That the train travels as fast as a bullet! Ok, that may not be entirely true – I actually looked up the average speed of a bullet which is apparently around 370 mps (1,332 kph) and the bullet train travelled with the speed of only about 270 kph. Lame!
Anyways, I was travelling from the city of Yichang to Chengdu, the capital city of the Sichuan province in China. That pathetically slow train got me there in about 8 hours. I can barely sit 5 minutes without fidgeting, so you can imagine the torture of this trip (insert pathetic whining).
If you have never been to China, let me summarize the country from the view of a simple-minded European:
China sure is impressive!
It’s so huge, crowded and unbearably hot and humid in the summer. Thank god, you can buy ice cold bubble tea on every corner. Oh, how I miss that sweet treat, that always made me feel extremely nauseous after I had chugged it in a 3-minute time. Yep, I’m a pig, nothing surprising, moving on.
I have a hunch that I might be talking about China in some future posts, so how about I skip all the uninteresting stories about being locked in on the last floor of a five-storey building, sneaking on the top of a skyscraper through a convenience store, almost getting arrested or making cartwheels down the Great Wall (a pro tip – DON’T!) and get to the stuff I actually wanted to mention.
SICHUAN
For those of you not so good in Chinese geography (what are you doing with your life?!), Sichuan is a province in the southwest China, with the capital of Chengdu.
It’s somewhere here…
Ok, so I’m also not good at geography. I just thought this map looked pretty dope.
Now, you may ask: “Why should I go to Chengdu, if there are better places to visit, like Shanghai, Beijing…and…uh…what other Chinese cities are there?”
Great question!
Because those cities totally suck, and Chengdu is just like the best Chinese place ever. And I am not saying that just because of the food…ok, maybe I am.
THE FOOD
Chengdu, the capital of Chinese food, is famous for its native Sichuan peppers. They make a chilli oil out of them and soak literally EVERYTHING in it. After each meal, it seems like there was a giant explosion in your mouth in which all your taste buds were either brutally murdered or committed suicide. But damn, you’ll just keep coming back because all other food is suddenly tasteless, and you need your daily shot of chilli medicine to taste again.
These were the BEST noodles I EVER had. Sometimes, when I get bored at work, I daydream of the noodles…spicy, salty, with a pinch of sugar and some kind of marmalade…I usually snap out of it when my colleague points out that I drooled all over my laptop. DAMMIT!
SICHUANESE OPERA
If you watch Game of Thrones, you know the Faceless Man – those cool killers for hire, able to change their face on a whim. Those are totally awesome, by the way!
Well, Sichuan has a similar cult…except they don’t murder people (I HOPE but you never know.). They dance, jump around, make jokes (at least I think), spit fire, juggle swords and screech (?). BUT THEY DO CHANGE FACES!
The artists wear several silk masks and change them in a split second during the show. Apparently, how it’s done is a secret passed within a family, so no one from the outside knows how to do it. It’s really cool though, you can check here on YouTube to get an idea of what it looks like.
…AND FINALLY, THIS!
Does this really need any words? I’m so done now.
I have visited many places in China, but Chengdu is by far one of my absolute favourites. So much culture and vibrant life inside the city and gorgeous nature around it.
Still cannot get that food out of my head though…
