Seeing Green

Well, we're in Chengdu, one more long train ride later...

Just a note:  Yesterday, Darren and I were talking about how even though we're in another country, and there is a noticable cultural difference, something about being in China hasn't quite sunk in yet and we couldn't really figure out why.  We thought it might have to do with being in the cities.  As Darren put it, "modern is modern is modern"; the cities are just that, in a way that wasn't really what we were anticipating.  I mean, we understood perfectly well the population density of most of China and just how "modern" China was, but when we envisioned travelling to China, I think we both had a slightly different idea in mind.
When I woke up (at 5 am from the snoring above, below, and beside me) I looked out the window of the train and I felt what I had been missing so far this trip.  The China Darren and I both longed to see was just down the river bank.  For a couple of hours, the train tracks followed the river, and on the other side of the river was lush green mountains, and, what I have been waiting to see, rice fields terraced into the sides of most of those mountains.  Now, it may sound cliche to most of you, that what I had envisioned of China included rice fields, but come on... who doesn't think rice when they think China?  I have this strong desire to somehow be involved in the whole rice cultivating experience.  I would love to help plant rice, but I'm pretty sure that season has come and gone, but maybe I can help with the harvesting?  We'll see.

Otherwise, Darren and I have both longed for a Chinese landscape that wasn't covered in concrete, and waking up this morning to the green hills was exactly what we needed to really get into the last leg of our trip here.  The Wolong Nature Reserve and Panda Breeding Centre, which we were hoping to visit while here, has been closed because of the earthquake in 2008 (the year in which our book was published, but before the closure), so we're going to the one here in Chengdu tomorrow.  No nature reserve, but Darren and I will both get to see a real live panda bear for the first time... and if we're willing to pay 500-1000 RMB, we will also get to "hug" one.  As much as I'd love to snuggle with a little baby panda, I don't think 1000 RMB (almost $200) is going to be in our budget ;).  We will be taking a four day tour to Huolong Park and Juizhongou (sp?) Valley in the next couple days as well, which are supposed to be some of the most breath-taking natural sceneries in all of China.  After that, it's in villages such as Dali and Lishang that we'll be spending a good chunk of our time; so, the remainder of our trip should be seeing a lot more lush green and a lot less cement, and we can't wait!