The Rainy City

The bridge we were dropped off near. Beautiful architecture and colors. 

While at the center, we had most of our evenings free to do with as we pleased. Playing cards, discussing our home countries, or sitting under heated blankets watching movies were prevalent. My favorite night though was when we ventured out of the center and down the city of Ya’an.

Ya’an is a 45-minute taxi ride from the entrance of CCRCGP. Traveling down the winding road can be a bit scary at times with how the Chinese drive (if you have been following my blog posts I talked about this on my first day here). We were dropped off at a place I only know as “the bridge” and were told eight thirty was our departure time.

 

A grandmother walking her grandson home fro school. We thought because of the backpack it would be a girl, but
it was a little boy around 7 years old!

The air was cool and damp as the group of us ventured down the dimly lit streets. I was use to being stared-at at this point, being the only blonde. People walking the streets graciously smiled at us as we made our way to a few shops and grocery stores.

All the different Oreo flavors available at the grocery store. 

The funniest thing I did find in the grocery store we entered was a variety of different flavored oreos. With the American song “Milkshake” playing in the background (I’m not sure what else I can say about that…), I curiously took mental pictures of the selection. Grape cream filled, banana, limeade, grapefruit lime mash up. I decided to purchase the banana flavored ones to bring home to my father and sister.

After our group checked-out, it began to rain. Ya’an is know as the rain city by many because of the high humidity year-round and almost constant rain. Thankfully my bag had arrived after it was left in Beijing so I had my trusty Northface to keep me dry as we explored.

 

Mopeds and motorcycles lined every street in Ya'an. 

There were mopeds everywhere, lining the streets with their metallic colors. There were a number of cars, but the most popular mode of transportation was by far mopeds or motorcycles. Riders would wear a backwards jacket to keep their arms and fronts warm and dry as they zigzagged around traffic.

It took us awhile to find any real food we wanted to eat, but eventually we came across a stand selling chicken sandwiches. It was a struggle to order as the server behind the counter didn’t speak a word of English. It took nearly 45 minutes for our group of 5 to all get our food and pay. The prices of everything were relatively cheap in US terms. Every dollar exchanged to 6 Yuan. My chicken sandwich, which would cost around $3, ran me only 4 Yuan.

Temperatures dropped significantly, and we were all beginning to get pretty chilly as we made our way back to cross “the bridge”. It was a stunning sight at night. The bridge was lit-up with changing lights and what looked like Christmas lights outlining the architecture of it.

The Ya'an Old Bridge features long two-story columned arcade topped by Chinese houses with flying eaved roofs. Truly a beautiful sight at night with the changing lights. 

You can see the little flowers that came in our Jasmine
Tea. It was very delicious and warmed me right-up.

We arrived with nearly an hour until our time to be picked up. Luckily, we found a tea lounge just up the road. We were quickly seated by a heater and handed a menu. As is everything here, there were no English translations. Anon, one of the other volunteers, randomly pointed at a tea and the woman rushed off. In a few minutes, she emerged with five glasses filled with a blurred liquid and a pitcher of steaming water. 

We decided we had selected the jasmine tea option. As you can see in the photo to the left, there were even little flowers floating in it. They were edible, as another volunteer decided to taste them. "Not too bad," she said with a big smile. 

 That is exactly where we sat, playing cards near the heater until our ride arrived. A slow drive up the mountain and now I am back under my heated blanket. Only one fully day left here at the center.