China Trip (April 2007): Sichuan and the Lower Yangtze

Last month, I went to China’s Sichuan province and various cities of the Lower Yangtze. I wanted to taste the local cuisines and get a better understanding of the nuances of each place. It was quite a hectic trip—six cities, two thousand miles, and fourteen days. Along the way I met many interesting people as well as some of the rudest individuals I have ever met. Through them all, the sights, the sounds, and not the least the sensations of the great foods made for a most memorable trip.

My journey began in Shanghai after arriving in the evening of April 25th on the nonstop flight from San Francisco. After two days there, I took a train to Hangzhou, two hours away. Then I flew west to Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province. From there, a quick hop (by plane) to Chongqing, another hop to Nanjing, followed by Suzhou and Zhouzhuang, before coming back to Shanghai to stage for the return to America.

China is a fascinating place. I shall post periodically the interesting stuff I did and saw.