SICHUAN
FROVINCE

Sichuan, with over 100 million people, is the most populous of all the Chinese provinces. It was once an independent kingdom known as Shu, but became a permanent part of the Chinese empire about 1000 years ago. It is a very fertile basin, and the mountains that separate it from central China once prompted a poet to remark that 'the road to the Kingdom of Shu is harder than climbing to Heaven.' Much of the western part of the province is inhabited by Tibetan people.

During the Cultural Revolution, Sichuan was a centre of factional fighting and saw pitched battles between Red Guards and workers, and Red Guards and army units. The combination of political chaos and Maoist agricultural policies resulted in Sichuan becoming, by the mid-1970s, a net importer of rice and one of the poorest parts of China. The poverty was so bad that there were reports of families selling off their daughters in exchange for rice ration coupons just to stay alive.

The man credited with dragging Sichuan back on to the road to prosperity is Zhao Ziyang, the present Premier of China. He was purged during the Cultural Revolution, but re-appeared in the early 1970s, and became the Community Communist Party chief of Sichuan in 1975, apparently chosen for the job by China's present leader, Deng Xiaoping.

In 1978, with Mao dead, and Deng making his bid for supreme power, Zhao abandoned the radical agricultural policies which had led to such a drastic drop in production, and pioneered the more flexible 'capitalist' agricultural ones now enforced throughout China. Private plots, free markets and the popular contract production system were all first introduced in Sichuan.

In 1981, the province was hit by severe flooding, the worst in a century, during which more than 750 people died and 1.5 million people were made homeless. Railway lines and roads were cut and looting occurred in some areas. In order to ensure that production was kept as high as possible in the wake of the floods, the land in many areas was handed back to the peasants who were told that they could keep whatever they grew on it.

Chengdu

The capital of Sichuan Province, Chengdu is a delightful city with a lot of history, although there is less evidence of it now than there used to be - the city walls were pulled down in the 1960s, and in the early 1970s, a Ming dynasty palace once used by a relative of the emperor was pulled down to make way for a Soviet-style 'Cultural Palace'. One hopes that the man who gave the demolition order is now washing out toilets. The centre of town is a good place to walk round. Many of the buildings are made of wood and the architecture is very distinctive. Visitors to Chengdu generally pay a visit to the DUJIANG YAN IRRIGATION PROJECT, northwest of the city, an amazing engineering feat dating back to 250 B.C. The irrigation system, greatly improved and expanded in the past 30 years, controls the waters of the Mm River and provides irrigation water for a huge area of farmland. Half an hour's walk away is the Taoist ERWANG (two kings) TEMPLE, credited with contairung some of the most ancient buildings in the country. The kings referred to are Li Bing, chosen to rule Sichuan more than 2000 years ago by the first emperor of China, and his son. (Take a No.25 bus to the West Gate bus terminus in Chengdu, then take a mini-bus to the irrigation system. Buses leave every halfhour, and the journey takes about 90 minutes; tickets cost 7.50 yuan.)

Another excursion is to the county seat of XINDU about an hour's bus drive north of Chengdu. The main attractions are the BAOGUANG (precious light) TEMPLE, a huge palace dating back over 1000 years, and a small lake nearby called GUIHU. The temple, largely rebuilt in the Manchu dynasty following a fire, includes 300 Buddhas, each one different. (Take a No. i6 bus heading north from outside the Jingjiang Hotel to its terminus at the northern railway station. Buses for Xindu leave from there every halfan hour or so.)

Of the more centrally located sights, there is the PEOPLE'S PARK about 20 minutes' walk from the Jinjiang Hotel (head north and then west along Shengli Xi Lu), the wu HOU THMPLE, a shrine to a military strategist named Zhuge Liang who lived in the third century A.D. (about 20 minutes' walk west of the Jinjiang Hotel on Jiefang Nan Lu) and a SHRINE TO DU FU, one of China's most famous poets who lived in the Tang dynasty. He lived in Chengdu for a while after having been forced to leave the Chinese capital at Xi'an due to poverty. (From the Jinjiang Hotel, walk south two or three intersections to Yihuan Lu, then take a No.27 bus heading west to its terminus. Walk west for ten minutes and the shrine will be on your left.)



Chengdu, being the capital of Sichuan, has some of the best Sichuanese food restaurants in the world. The food is usually hot and Spicy, and one famous dish is Maopuo Doufu (pockmarked grandma beancurd) which consists of beancurd, mince and red peppers. The dish was invented, it is said, by an old woman surnamed Chen in about 1860, and a restaurant, until recently run by her descendants, called Chen Maoouo Doufu Dian is in the centre of Chengdu at 113 Xiyulong Jie. Another famous Sichuan dish is a type of noodles called Dandan Mian. Try them at a restaurant of the same name at 53-55 Dongfeng Lu Yi Duan (Dongfeng Road Section One). Other well-known restaurants include the Chengdu (Shengli Zhong Lu) and the Furong (27 Renmin Nan Lu).

For those who appreciate the unusual, may I also suggest a recently opened eatery called the Tongrentang Restaurant set up by the Cheng-du Crude Drugs Company in 1980 to serve medically beneficial dishes. The menu features such items as Pheasant Dumpling Soup (good for diabetes), Carp with Red Beans (good for oedema) and Ginseng Soup (good for neurasthenia, cardiac senility and splenic-gastric weakness). Customers may choose their own dishes from the menu or consult the deputy manager about their complaints and get his recommendations about what they should eat.

How to get there and where to stay
Chengdu is connected by air services to all major cities in China, and is on the main southwest railway line, accessible from Xi'an, Kunming, Changqing or, ultimately, anywhere else on the railway net-work.

Almost everyone stays at the Jinjiang Guesthouse (sometimes spelt Jingjiang: i80 Renmin Nan Lu). (Take the No. i6 bus from the station, get off at the seventh Stop, and it's on the right-hand side of the road.) It's a Stalinist piece of architecture, but not bad as such hotels go in China. There's a dormitory on the seventh floor, and beds cost four yuan each; there is more expensive accommodation if you want it. Opposite the entrance is what is probably the largest Mao statue in China.

Another hotel is the Dongfeng Hotel (2 Dongfeng L).

Chongqing (Chungking)
When you arrive in Chongqing, you realise instantly that there is something different about this city - there are almost no bicycles. The heart of the city is built on a Steep promontory at the confluence of the Yangtse River and another important river, the Jialing, and the roads are too steep for cyclists to stand much of a chance. As a result, the public buses are even more crowded than they are in other Chinese cities.



Chongqing leapt on to the pages of history in 1938 when Generalis-simo Chiang Kaishek made it the wartime Chinese capital following the capture of Nanking by the Japanese. Refugees flooded into the city from all over China, and it quickly swelled into a metropolis of over two million people. Barbara Tuchman, in her superb book Stilwell and the American Experience in China, described the state of the city and the corruption which sapped the Nationalist government's strength:

With its extra wartime population stuffed into meagre, overstrained facilities, Chongqing was more uncomfortable, unsanitary and ill-provisioned than ever - and the climate was stiil the same: humid heat in summer, rain and mud the rest of the time. Bomb-shattered houses were leaky and shaky, filth and smells were increased by the crowding, rats came out at night, clerks and workers were underpaid, giving rise to the article of belief among American correspondents that 'no one ever saw a fat Chinese under the rank of Minister of Finance.'

The Japanese bombed the city repeatedly although they never captured it, and many older buildings still bear the marks of that time. Since 1949, Chongqing has grown, and the city and surrounding countryside now have a population of more than six million. A large number of factories were relocated here from other parts of the country during the Second World War, and Chongqing has remained an important industrial city. Since the war, bridges have been built over the two rivers which once isolated the old city, and a large amount of building has been done. 'Old China hands' from pre-1949 days say that they hardly recognise the place.

The alleys and staircase-streets in the old part of the city are fascinating to walk round. Stroll down to the end of the promontory where the two rivers meet - CHAOTIANMEN DOCK - and watch the ferries and barges fighting the strong current. Walk west along Zhongshan Road to PIPA SHAN PARK, the highest point on the peninsula, which provides a splendid view of the whole city. There is a tea garden there which is open in the evenings.

The most interesting off-beat tourist attraction is the 'US-CHIANG KAISHEK CRIMINAL ACTS EXHIBITION HALL', a display of instruments of torture used by the Nationalists on captured Communist prisoners at the 'Sino-American Special Technical Co-operation Organisation' headquarters west of the city. Further up the hill, there are two prisons, the BAIGONGGUAN, about 20 minutes' walk west of the exhibition hall, and the ZHAZHIDONG, another 20 minutes' walk north of that. (Take a No.13 bus west to the end of the line, then get on a No.77 bus at the nearby terminus and say you want to get off at the Lieshi Mu - Martyr's Tomb. The exhibition hall is on the hand side of the road.)

Other tourist sights include the former Communist representative office in war-time Chongqing at HONGYANCUN (Red Crag Village; on the No.17 bus route closer to town).

There are lots of restaurants in the old part of Chongqing. Try the Renmin Fandian (iio Zourong Jie; take a No.1 trolley bus east to the end of the line) or the Lao Sichuan (200 Minsheng Lu).

For most of the year, the weather in Chongqing is unappealing. It is famed as one of the three 'furnaces' of China due to the intense heat of summer, and is cold, clammy and misty in winter. As with many other parts of China, the best times to visit are in spring and autumn, say, April and September. The local Friendship Store is on the top floor of the Chongqing Department Store on Minquan Lu.

How to get there and where to stay
Chongqing is connected to most major cities by air, and is on the Chengdu-Guiyang railway line.

Foreigners often stay at the Chongqing Binguan at 235 Minsheng Lu. Budget travellers should try the Renmin Da Litang (Great People's Guest Hall, Minsheng Lu; a dormitory bed costs five yuan).

Tickets for the ferries down the Yangtse River to Wuhan and Shanghai can be bought at the Chaotianmen ferry terminal at the top of the promontory, but it is best to book a few days in advance through CTS.

Dazu
This interesting town in central Sichuan is very beautiful, and feels almost as if it belongs in the Middle Ages. There are many small teahouses and restaurants, and the whole population seems to eat out at night.

Near the town are two places famous for Buddhist rock carvings. The closest is BEISHAN, a mile's walk up the hill. The other is BAODING SHAN (precious summit mountain) which is about 15 miles (24 kilometres) away by bus. The grottoes and niches contain some exquisite statuary dating from the Tang and Song dynasties, and some are also painted with murals featuring scenes from the daily life of about 1000 years ago. (The public bus for Baoding Shan leaves from the Dazu bus station at about 7.30 a. m. Turn left out of the guesthouse, buy the bus ticket from a kiosk on the main street and the bus station is on the left.)

How to get there and where to stay
The Public Security Bureau in Chongqing appears to be the only place at which tourists can obtain permits for Dazu. In Chengdu, the Public Security office has refused to issue permits for the town even though it is roughly halfway between Chongqing and Chengdu. Take a bus from Chongqing. The only place to stay in Dazu is the Dazu Guesthouse which has ordinary rooms and dormitory beds.

Emei Shan
Emei Shan (mountain) in the central province of Sichuan is considered to be one of the most beautiful areas of unspoiled countryside in China. It is possible to climb to the top, except in deepest winter, although it can be hard going for the unfit Some people spend two or three days doing the full trip to the peak and back, but everyone who goes up says that it was worth it. The mountain is often shrouded in clouds and mist, but when it is clear, the views are magical, each one an inspired Chinese painting. On summer days, there are hundreds of Chinese visitors and pilgrims climbing up and down the mountain. Ernei Shan is one of the most sacred Buddhist mountains in China, and apparently has special significance for Lamaist Buddhists from Tibet. At the way up the steep path, there are temples, many of which were damaged during the Cultural Revolution and have since been renovated.

Climbers start the ascent at the BAOGUO TEMPLE. There are two paths, a north route which is 27 miles (43 kilometres) long and a southern route which is 40 miles (64 kilometres). In the old days, there were supposed to be 70 temples scattered about the mountain, all dedicated to the Buddha Pu Xian. A common stopping-point for climbers and pilgrims is the ELEPHANT BATHING POOL TEMPLE (Xi-xiangsi), named after a presumably mythical incident when a Buddha who happened to be flying by on his elephant stopped off to give the animal a quick wash.

Those who have stood at the top of the mountain and watched the sun rise from the sea of peaks and swirling mists below talk about the experience in almost religious terms. It is said that some people have been so moved that they have leapt off the mountain into oblivion.

Recently, Emei Shan has become famous for a gang of three deformed monkeys, fugitives from justice, who have taken to waylaying and mugging honest travellers. The three, one of whom has a hare-lip, another only one eye and the third only three fingers on one hand, live in caves on the slopes of the mountain near the Elephant Bathing Pool Temple. They leap out at unsuspecting climbers in the hope of getting something to eat, and sometimes bite people who have nothing to give them. They are also known to steal bags and cameras and throw them down the steep mountain side. Security personnel have been scouring the area for the three outlaws, but at last report the apes were still at least one paw ahead of the law. When asked what would happen to the monkeys if they were caught, one official on the mountain drew his hand across his throat to indicate immediate execution.

How to get there and where to stay
Emei Shan is close to the main railway line running from Kunming in Yunnan Province to Chengdu in Sichuan. The town of Emei is a nice stopping-off point, and there are regular buses from the railway station there to the Baoguosi (Baoguo Monastery) at the base of the mountain. You can stay there or at the Hongzhushan Temple not far away. A good night's rest is recommended before starting the climb. You will also need a climbing permit, available at the hotel.

A number of temples along the way offer accommodation and meals at cheap rates, although conditions are understandably primitive. Temples with rooms available include the Xixiangchi, the Wanniansi and linding (golden summit) at the very top. It can be chilly on the mountain, so take some warm clothes.

Leshan
Close to Emei Shan is Leshan, the site of what is almost certainly the largest Buddha in China. The huge figure, carved out of a rockface beside the Mm River to the east of Emei Shan, is 400 feet (120 metres) tall and dates from the twelfth century. A bus leaves from close by the Baoguo Temple at the foot of Emei Shan and goes directly to Leshan. Once there, walk from the bus station to the river, about a mile (16 kilometres) away, and take a small ferry across to see the Buddha.