Chengdu, China. Sunday morning.

[questa]

I had a Saturday/Sunday in Chengdu on the way home from Tibet. I arrived at the little hotel near the airport, (more a working men's lodgings) about 10pm and all the staff were well on the way to getting drunk, as were the residents. There seemed to be card playing parties up and down the street and the noise was pretty full on, with many different Chinese pop songs and loud laughter.

Next morning I ventured out about 9am to get a bowl of noodles for breakfast but found the place deserted.







Yup...that's an almost empty street





Just the laundry from the flash hotel waiting for pickup.










A few vehicles standing about. All of the motor bikes are now electric, they make no sound and scare the daylights out of me when they come up behind me and nearly hit me.



Some of the shophouses have little gardens.



gradually life returns to the street







The red menu boards go out on the road...ah my noodles.



Two nice lads stopped for a chat and photo. They said not to email them pics as "they wouldn't get through to them"



MMM...dumplings.



The cook has a smile like the Mona Lisa.



Down at the cross road a market has materialised from nowhere.







The men play Mah Jong, with an automatic table that sets the tiles for them









Then it was time for me to go to the airport.

[anshjain97]

Very interesting having never been to China. And seems clean and orderly too!

[bixaorellana]

Too wonderful, Questa! You really captured that feeling of being in a strange city and being out and about in the pre-busy hours of the morning. And your photos! So many of them are stand-alone wonderful, particularly the domino players candids and the perfect portrait of the Mona Lisa cook.

I enjoyed seeing the various vehicle customizations. In reports on Asia, I'm always intrigued by how so many things are similar to things here -- the same, but different. The customizers here could get some great ideas from your thread.

Such clean streets! Any idea what those cage things are on the sides of the buildings?

[Deleted]

The reports about daily life are always the best. And the Chinese will always get up earlier than the Parisians.

[questa]

Thanks Bixa and K2. I'm pretty pleased with the cook myself. I think the cage structures may be around air con or at least a heating system. Chengdu is a cold area...it is where the panda sanctuary is. I zoomed in on a pic of the cage... it shields what looks like an electric motor and fan.
Not dominoes...mah-jong. I have recently been playing it online so was pleased to watch it live. The guy in the white T-shirt was obviously doing well. The table impressed me... at the end of a game it would open up and swallow the tiles then in a second or 2 present the set up for the next game.

[questa]

The reports about daily life are always the best

That's it Kerouac...I'll do the series of a Balinese wedding

[mossie]

A super look at life.

I had to notice the way rough concrete ramps had been made to enable cars to access the garages, but your people pictures are excellent.

[komsomol]

Best report ever!