WATERMELON WONDER

In the evenings, there are trucks like this one parked on almost every street corner. It is watermelon season right now, reflected by the price, NZ40c per kilogram. After wondering where they could all possibly come from, I asked my "Lanzhou Mum" Jun, who said that they come from the villages outside the city. All very well in theory but when the land outside of Lanzhou looks like this... it's a bit harder to reconcile.

A CHINESE STYLE DINER

As you may have noticed, I have a thing for Chinese breakfasts! This place delivers on that front. Specialising in soymilk (it's called Soymilk King!), it has a menu full of almost every kind of breakfast food you could want. Despite all the variety, the customers are only eating one thing. I had to try it...

HOW TO... MIAN PIAN

We first made Mian Pian soon after I arrived in Lanzhou, when the weather was still somewhat cooler. This homemade noodle dish is most often eaten in winter because after eating it you feel lovely and warm inside. Now that it's getting cold in NZ, I thought you could try it! 

CHENGDU EXPAT

So, after 6 days, I had basically done everything "cultural" that I wanted to do. With one more day, and it being a Sunday, I decided to live like a Chengdu expat for a day, and see what the city had to offer on that front.

BAMBOO SEA

Organised tours in China. While taking away all the hassle of planning a trip yourself, all the extra "value" they cram in sometimes makes you wonder why you didn't just make the effort and do it all yourself.  The Bamboo Sea is a four hour bus trip south of Chengdu, one hour from the nearest city, basically in the middle of nowhere. Once you get there, all of the sites are located in different areas, and the forest is not small so I decided it would just be easier to hop on a tour and let them deal with the logistics. Unfortunately I could not read the tour itinerary so I had no idea what I had signed up for until it was happening!

SAVOURY BITES

These did not disappoint. Chengdu has entire streets dedicated to the noble cause. I spent one very pleasant afternoon eating then walking, eating then walking just so I could try everything!

SWEET TREATS

Flying solo in Chengdu made eating in restaurants out of the question. It is impossible to order a decent meal for one at a proper Chinese restaurant, not cost effective and such a waste! As such, I spent most of my time eating snack foods or  小吃 － small eats as the Chinese so fondly call them. Chengdu has a huge variety and I made it my mission to try them all. For the most part, I think I succeeded. I went with a list and checked everything off, plus a few other things I found while wandering around. Here are the sweet ones, tomorrow, we move onto savoury!

PANDAS

You cannot go to Chengdu and not take a trip to see the giant pandas. It is inevitably the first thing anyone asks you when they hear you've been and they are considered one of China's greatest treasures. The Panda Base is located on the outskirts of town and as pandas are not the liveliest of animals, the guidebooks recommend getting there early, at feeding time to see them in action. I took this advice to heart.

CHENGDU

Chengdu is a one hour flight south of Lanzhou, in Sichuan province. The climate is hotter and much steamier, as is the food! There is also almost continuous cloud (or is it smog?) not one bit of blue sky the whole week. Much bigger and far more developed than Lanzhou, this enormous Louis Vuitton store was the first thing I saw after getting off the airport bus! Quite the contrast. I loved my time here and it was definitely a week filled with firsts for me.

CHINESE SANDWICH

I lied! One more post before I leave for Chengdu.

So after yoga class today, I found myself feeling hungry and slightly nostalgic for the taste of home. Homesickness will make a girl do crazy things. I found myself tempted by the pictures in the window of what I suppose we could call the Chinese equivalent of a fast food place. A short wait later and I held in my hands, the Chinese version of the humble sandwich.

LUSTING AFTER... WINTER?

photo fashiongonerogue

The weather is starting to get hot here, yesterday was 34 degrees! I'm realising that I packed all wrong and didn't bring enough summer clothes which is a right pain. I just like winter things so much more! The picture above is from the one magazine I brought over with me, I look at this editorial practically everyday and wish I could live in it! I want to wear a beautiful Celine coat and walk along the beach right now. It's ironic considering how much I gloated about missing winter this year.

LICENCED TO SWIM

Yesterday I hit the pool. Swimming is not big in China generally, but since Lanzhou is so far from the sea, not many here people can actually swim. As such, I was subjected to a swim examination to be allowed in the deep water (at 1.5-1.7 metres I can still touch the bottom!) NZ$1, two lengths and I was good to go. I also get the honour of wearing this cool tag on my swimsuit at all times.

First yoga class tomorrow!

LONG WEEKEND

Coincidentally, this weekend is also a long weekend in China, in celebration of the Dragon Boat Festival. Everyone is scurrying around buying up zongzi, sticky rice wrapped in bamboo leaves. They always have some kind of filling, depending on the region you're in. Here in Lanzhou, the filling is sweet. Apparently in the South, they make them best. I agree, the zongzi in Shanghai had preserved duck egg and meat filling- so much better! It is mandatory to buy them and give to all of your family and friends, people leave the store carrying boxes of them.

H&M PILGRIMAGE

While we were in Xi’an I had a few days to kill by myself while Yifan caught up with friends. Since the opening of H&M’s first Xi’an store coincided with our visit, I took it as a sign to go and take a look. It was absolute madness!