Charm of Chengdu, China

Hi, I’m Janette, and I live and work in Chengdu, Sichuan, China.

Mentioning Sichuan usually conjures images, smells and memories of traumatized taste-buds as a result of attempting the famous Sichuan hotpot cuisine comprising generous amounts of dried chilies bubbling in crimson chili oil and laced with numbing prickly ash peppers for good measure. Coming from Malaysia, where spicy food is necessary to keep the soul happy, this is the right place to be.

Yes, the skies are usually hazy, so imagine how genuinely thrilling it is for us tropical folks to see blue skies after a bout of heavy rain! Blue skies are rare and are a legitimate cause for celebration. The folks here happily stop whatever they are doing, point their cell phone cameras skyward and joyfully snap photos every time the haze dissipates to reveal the clear, blue heavens. I have done it myself, I won’t lie. You would too if you’ve lived here for an extended period of time.

I clearly recall falling under the charm of the place as I got off the plane and set foot on Chengdu soil for the first time, though at that time, I had arrived with every intention of working and staying here for two years at the most. Nine years later, I’m still here, the city still retains her slow, easy pace and rhythm, tea houses are still found everywhere, and the chilies are still as wicked. I remember being captivating the scent of the osmanthus blooms as my first summer here transitioned into autumn, the season I absotively love the most till today. Actually, probably will forever.

Back in 2007 when I was a fresh expat, I taught English and music in the centre. This was the first of our preschools to be set up in southwest China. After a thirty month stint in Shanghai, I returned to Chengdu in mid-2013 and am now based in our smart, new regional office as head of our children’s music program. Rapid progress is not an adjective here; it is real. In the course of my work, I have had the pleasure of visiting all our schools around China, and still do every year. We have about thirty preschools now and counting.

In Chengdu itself, we now have three schools, and we teachers are kept busy for sure. We teachers are also friends, so, busy is good, and busy with friends is even better.

I religiously go on home-leave every Christmas; it’s mandatory. The distance from the Land of Abundance to home is approximately 3,250 kilometers or about five and a half hours flight. Why work so far from family, friends and rendang?
The real deal sealer for me back then, was the pandas. Now you know.
I mean, how can you have a pulse and not want to come to Panda Land and see real, live, breathing, tumbling pandas?!
Being on the endangered list, our precious pandas here are pampered to the gills. I am always delighted to go visit them at our Giant Panda Research Centre, and have done so at least half a dozen times already. I have also since visited a couple of other zoos to see how their pandas fare, and I do truly feel sorry for their circumstances.

I’m going to end with an invitation to come visit us here in Chengdu. Come see our pandas. They are adorable and the babies are super cute. Super. Cute.

Copy these coordinates 30.5728° N, 104.0668° E and give them to the pilot, just in case the haze is ruling the skies.

I will be your Panda guide when you arrive. See you soon!

Janette de Silva