Chengdu - What's entertainment?

We've been in Chengdu for a couple days now, coincident with the three day mourning period for the earthquake that started on Monday, the one-week anniversary of the disaster. The official mourning included a moment of silence observed by the entire country at 2:28pm Monday (Irene, Audrey and I were touring a cave in Guilin trying to bide our time until our delayed flight to Chendgu at that time - the moment was observed by the tour guide and and entire group of people), and three days where places of entertainment were to be closed.

We ate at several fantastic restaurants during our stay here, so restaurants are not entertainment. Highlights were a Tex Mex place (can't remember the name!) with really good salsa; an Italian place called Peterpan with great pizza, lots of attention from the owner, and even a special digestif made with walnuts that was delicious; and last but not least lunch at a place that specializes in vegetarian food, including fake pork, chicken, beef, duck, and even spare ribs! This place was also in Shanghai (where we had our first meal in China), and the food was absolutely amazing. I could not distinguish it from the real thing. The pork was pretty good, the spare ribs had lots of sauce that helped but were surprisingly close, and the duck was a very satisfying imitation. Who says vegetarians have to pass on the meat?

We got to visit a Panda preserve this morning, so apparently that is not entertainment. Audrey was very concerned about the well being of the "little xiongmaos (Pandas)" after the earthquake. The preserve seemed to be undamaged, although there were not many other visitors. The pandas were captivating - relaxed, playful, napping and chewing on bamboo. They can very quickly strip the green bark off a piece of bamboo with their teeth and then eat the insides. It was a beautiful place, with bamboo lined walkways, and the high humidity left a mist everywhere. Audrey thoroughly enjoyed seeing the xiongmaos!

Next up, our friend Jon and I went to "computer city" - a place in Chengdu where several buildings have multiple floors of all the technical gadgetry you could ever want. Again, not entertainment - wide open for business. We saw lots of phones (even cracked and VERY expensive iPhones), mp3 players, hard drives, memory cards for cameras, cameras, printers, computers and screens...most was new, but the higher up we got in the building, the older the equipment got until there were literally old and used parts for sale - piles of items you would expect to be in the recycling in the states. The funny part for me was price shopping for hard drives - they are actually cheaper in the US! Never thought I would find anything in China that was actually more expensive than at home...

Lastly, Jon and I attempted to try out his new golf clubs at a nearby driving range. We loaded up small bags with a couple clubs and a couple beers and biked over there. On the way, we passed a large number of people sitting out in tents in all the grassy and open areas between their apartment and the driving range. Now, night before last the Chinese news predicted another earthquake during the night, and recommended that people stay outside. So, pretty much everybody camped out - there are literally tents covering every open spot of grass in town that we've seen since we've been here. So - the folks in tents were looking at Jon and I like we were nuts riding bicycles with golf clubs at night; while we were looking at them wondering how long they were all planning to stay outside in their tents (many have been outside fearing building collapse since the quake - over a week and a half now). In any case, the driving range was closed - so that is entertainment! But for the folks camping out all over town - definitely NOT entertainment. I hope they feel comfortable enough to go back to their homes soon.