September 17 (Thursday) – Dazu and Chongqing

Dazu

A two hour drive took us to Dazu for the Boadingshan grottos. There are over 10,000 figures carved into the 31 grotto walls. The figures date from the eleventh and twelfth centuries (Song Dynasty) and depict various Buddhist teachings and principles. Romy, our guide, explained the meaning behind many of the statues, making it more interesting.


















Dazu Album


Chongqing

Our next stop was the old section of Chongqing called Ci Qi Kou – Old Town Street. First stop was a covered food market with large quantities of vegetables already cut and prepped for the local Hot Pot specialty, live fish and eels, cages of chickens, butchered meat, and lots of peppers for the hot pots. Some of it was very interesting and some was a bit gross. All was very fresh. 












Most of the buildings dated back over 300 years and the street led down to the original city port. Many of the homes had been in the same families for many generations. We saw one cobbler sitting in the alley repairing a pair of shoes. Further along the street was the touristy area with many colorful shops and street vendors selling the usual touristy merchandise plus some clothing, shoes and swords/knives (a specialty of the area). We saw a lot of mahjong and card games being played on the street in front of homes and shops.  

After dinner Paul and I took a walk through the streets near our hotel. We found an upscale shopping pedestrian square, and a narrow street with lots of vendors – vegetables, fruits, nuts, prepared foods and flowers. We love street markets like these, where the locals shop for food and household items. Chongqing appears to be a very scenic and beautiful city with many hills and surrounding mountains and clusters of high rise apartments. Unfortunately, the smog is so bad that everything is hazy and hard to see. They only get 10 or 20 blue sky days a year…such a shame for such a beautiful city.