On day 7 of our 9D8N Jiuzhaigou / Huang Long / Leshan / Chengdu travels with Chan Brothers, we left Yu Quan Wan Jiu Dian (峨眉御泉湾) aka Royal Spring Hotel Emeishan City Leshan at 8am.
Our first stop for the day? Leshan River Cruise!
Leshan River Cruise
If you remember, we actually missed this boat ride 2 days back because it was low tide. This morning, we were finally able to confirm that the boat rides would be available and we reached the boarding area at about 9am.
The boat ride to reach the stone-carved buddha statue took about 10 minutes and it is the world’s largest stone-carved statue, listed as an UNESCO World Heritage Site. Architecturally, it was beautifully carved into the mountain. We also noticed that it was carved quite deep into the mountain. Definitely alot of effort needed to remove the rocks from the mountain. It was also shared by Xiao Zhu (our guide) that the stones moved were placed onto the river which reduced the erosion of the mountain. If you look closer, there are stairs carved into the mountain and even a boardwalk next to the Minjiang river. One of our group mate also took a beautiful photo of us by the cruise – beautifully framed. We left at about 1030am for our next stop for lunch…
@2bearbeartravel Did the #LeShan #Cruise and marvelled at the architectural wonder enroute – thinking about the determination of the people, digging into the mountain to reveal the statue. For more details, visit 2bearbear.com today! #travel #rivercruise #china #travel #traveler #traveling #traveltiktok #travellife #traveltok #traveltheworld ♬ 7시에 들어줘 (Feat. Peder Elias) – 부석순 (SEVENTEEN)
On the bus ride back from Leshan to Chengdu, Xiao Zhu began to sell us several products throughout this journey. Throughout the trip, we had already been sold products such as mushrooms and yak combs. This time, we were sold Le Panda bags and wallets, snacks and biscuits. So even if there are no shopping stops advertised on Chan Brothers’ itinerary, shopping is brought to you on a bus！😅
Xiao Zhu would explain all the required information about all the products that he would be selling on the bus. We did check against SG shopee prices and they were indeed cheaper in some cases – such as the Le Panda products. During the entire trip, we bought a comb (200RMB), a box of walnut (120RMB) and 2 Le Panda items – a wallet (80 RMB) and a bag (170 RMB). Not too bad an option as the items would be brought to the hotel and there’s no need for you to lug them around.
For lunch, we went to a Michelin restaurant, Ba Guo Bu Jia (八国布家), which has alot of dishes and they actually won for the last couple of years. The dishes were actually nice but nothing really stood out for us. In terms of quality, definitely above average as compared to our last few restaurants. Outside, we also bought a panda that changes its face whenever you click on it – to resemble the mask-changing (变脸) shows in Chengdu. We bought it at 10 RMB ($2 SGD), which we thought was a relatively good deal.
Chengdu People’s Park – 成都人民公园
We arrived at the People’s Park at Chengdu (成都人民公园) and stayed here for an hour. This was also “part of the trip that we didn’t pay” for as we didn’t sign up for the river cruise this evening. Read our post 2 days back where we expressed our displeasure about what was mentioned to the tour group.
Nonetheless, we arrived at People’s Park where we spent an hour checking out the sights and sounds. It was a Tuesday afternoon, yet it was SO crowded! We were told about the match-making corner at People’s Park Chengdu and that was where we headed to first. There, we found that there were 2 sections. The “pink” area would be where the ladies data were, for the relatives of the men to look at. The data usually includes age, height, description of the individual and what they are looking for as a partner. Likewise, the “blue” area would be where you’d see the men’s data. It was also interesting to see that ages were across a spectrum. Younger ones for their first marriage, middle age ones for remarrying or late marriage as well as the older ones (in 50s/60s) – looking for a partner.
For the rest of our time at Chengdu People’s Park 成都人民公园, we saw various groups gathering for dancing or playing of instruments as well as art exhibitions. The calligraphy on the floor was particularly beautiful – bold and well-written Chinese characters. We also got to see some real kungfu tea – complete with somersault. Check them out in the video below…
@2bearbeartravel We visited People’s #CentralPark in #Chengdu on a weekday but were surprised by the number of people in #人民公园 on a Wednesday. There were also alot of activities going on. There were people singing and dancing. Art exhibition and an uncle doing calligraphy on the floor using water and a huge paintbrush. There were also people doing matchmaking and looking at profiles listed at the matchmaking corner. Many were enjoying tea in tea houses and simply enjoying the atmosphere and greenery in the #park. In essence, it was #bustling! For more details, visit 2bearbear.com today! #chengducentralpark #centralparkchengdu #peoplescentralpark #nature #tea #2bearbear #travel #traveler #traveling #travels #china #traveltheworld #singaporetravelblog ♬ 去旅行 – 欣雨歌
Shopping and Dining at ChunXi Road Chengdu (春熙路)
After driving past Tianfu Square Chengdu to wave hi to Mao’s statue, we alighted at Chunxi Road Chengdu (春熙路) for shopping from 3 to 5:30pm this afternoon. According to Xiao Zhu, Chunxi Road is actually where the locals go to do their shopping – as opposed to International Finance Square (IFS) Chengdu where the high-end shopping malls are. Close to where we dropped off was a wholesale shopping mall for clothes where items were going at a relatively affordable price. However, we didn’t really buy because the quality was not the best. Along Chunxi Road, you can get anything from casual to sports wear, food to fast fashion, panda souvenirs to snacks and soft toys. Everything that you need, you’d probably be able to find it here at Chunxi Road Chengdu. We also stopped by Chagee for a drink (Gui Hua Lan Xiang – 桂花兰香) for 20RMB which was very fragrant. We had previously tried Chagee in Malaysia and had written it off but after trying it in China, we were converts. Really fragrant and tasty teas here.
For dinner, we returned to 盛世锦城印象 (Sheng Shi Jin Cheng Yin Xiang) for hotpot buffet dinner – close to the area where we dropped off at the start of Chunxi Road in Chengdu. We must say that the hot pot was relatively shiok with unlimited meats (except duck innards) along with some cooked items as well. Our favourite was the pork, which was so tender! Probably tenderised manually before serving. The mala was also not that spicy as well – which meant that we were able to handle the lowest level of spiciness in Chengdu with ease 😅
There was also 变脸 (Mask-changing) performance at the hotpot dinner and the artiste would go from table to table to perform close-up and allow guests to take photos as well. The performer would strike a really suave pose which guests (including those in our group) enjoyed taking photos with. An interactive performance while we had our dinner.
@2bearbeartravel Thanks to @chanbrothers.sg , we were able to try out the many different delicacies during our trip to #JiuZhaiGou, #LeShan and #Chengdu! Including the famous #Malahotpot 😋🥵 For more details, visit 2bearbear.com today! #food #foodie #foodtiktok #foodlover #foodtok #chinesefood #hotpot #shiok #yummy #2bearbear #whattoeat #wheretoeat #delicious #travel ♬ Here With You(抖音重置版) – 王梦瑶
Stroll Along Jinjiang River Chengdu (夜游锦江)
After dinner, the bus dropped off the rest of the group for their 变脸 (Mask-Changing) performance while we headed to Xin Liang Hotel Chengdu (新良大酒店). From there, we walked about 30 mins from 745pm to 815pm to reach Jinjiang River. The rest of the group (except the 3 of us) had paid 500RMB each for the river cruise as well as the mask-changing show, which we thought was something that we didn’t need to do, having seen the mask-changing show so many times before – especially so, having seen it during dinner this evening. Eventually, we found that the tickets themselves were about half of what was quoted – so either the local company or Chan Brothers are earning additional bits here – in addition to the advertised itinerary.
The walk from Xin Liang Hotel to Jinjiang took about 30 minutes via a relatively straightforward route through the city. We were able to check out the sights and sounds of Chengdu at night which was nice, especially with a balmy cool temperature of about 20 degrees. Enroute, we also saw Luckin Coffee and although we didn’t have the app, the staff was able to help us order via another phone in the stall and we had the 鸳鸯 (Ice Tea mixed with Iced Coffee) at 13.9RMB which tasted different from the usual cham that we’d try – probably due to the fragrant teas of China.
When we arrived at the jetty for the river cruise, we saw that the views along the river Jinjiang was nothing much really. Definitely not as good as a cruise down the Singapore River. At the start of the cruise, we saw the rest of our group as they queued for their cruise and we didn’t miss out on a group photo here 😅
We continued to walk along the same direction as the cruise, hoping to catch a shot of our group mates from the bridge as they sailed by. However, the wait was just too long and we just continued to walk along Jinjiang River instead – passing by a busy area with live music, resembling that of Clarke Quay. Eventually, we reached a wider channel at the intersection of the tributary and the main river where there was a beautiful Chinese bridge across it.
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@2bearbeartravel One of #attractions in #Chengdu at night is the #rivercruise at #jinjiang also known as #yeyoujinjiang #夜游锦江 . This time, we decided to do a walk along it’s route, much like the #SingaporeRiver and catch the sights and sounds enroute! For more details, visit 2bearbear.com today! #cruise #river #travel #traveling #traveler #traveltheworld #leisure ♬ 每天都有好心情 – 欣雨歌
Along the way back to our hotel, we bought a strawberry ice cream (in the shape of a heart) from Family Mart for 6.6 RMB. Back at Xinliang Hotel Chengdu, we arrived just as the group returned to the hotel after the cruise as well. There, we collected our comb and snacks, turning in a little later at 11pm tonight.
Stay tuned for our Day 8 of travels in Chengdu as we check out some really HOT, yet delicious Sze Chuan cuisine in Chengdu as well as Raffles City – yes, a Raffles City in Chengdu!
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