Du Jiang Yan- Much More Than Irrigation!

I have to admit that when hubby said we were going to go see an Irrigation System I was not thrilled, and neither were the kids. But this place was SO cool!

Who knew we would see so many fun things in one place?

Like "Disney" characters! Even with their heads off!

This was particularly entertaining to me, 

as I use to rub elbows with the characters closely when I worked at Disneyland in college.

We have been to a few different places in China, but nothing as quaint and charming as this place! We took a high speed train from Chengdu to DuJiangYan, and a quick taxi ride from the train station to this spot.

A gate to a tunnel that leads you over the river.

Intricate paintings in the tunnel.

The view from the tunnel bridge.

We had fun getting snacks from the many food vendors. It was like we were celebs because we were the ONLY foreigners here. 

So grateful that my kids are adventurous enough to try things sold from a cart!

I was less adventurous with just getting some fresh strawberries.

Now that we were all fueled up it was time to go hike. 

We set out to hike up to that pagoda on the hill, but found the trail to the irrigation system on the way.

Just a few flights of stairs until the trail.

Look at these two cuties we ran into!

So this irrigation system is world famous because it was over 2,200 years ago around 250 BC! It is still in use today and services 36 counties.

Part of the DuJiangYan Irrigation System.

The air in Chengdu was just as bad as Beijing.
The bridge you see is where we walked to.

He going to be taller than me very soon!

This bridge was so fun, as it was a little bouncy.
Can you spot D and I?

Where, you ask, is the teenage daughter?
She was ticked off at this point and was miles ahead.

Hubby stands across the river from the monastery.
All that foliage is where we hiked. It was amazing. 

After a couple of hours of traipsing through the hills we were in search of real food now. Luckily this street was very entertaining to search.

 You would think it would be easy to find something to eat...but  unless you want to eat chicken feet (pictured below)...

...or at a restaurant where you can pick your live entree (chickens, ducks, rabbits) out front... then you would be like us. Still searching for a place to eat.

These are not intended as pets.

So we stopped to get some exercise on a water wheel. 

It is a lot harder than it looks!

 Since food was not in our imminent future we wandered into a park, and garden area, that I can honestly say was the most beautiful place in China I've ever been.

Japanese  Chinese style gardens

Azaleas were blooming all over the place.

It was hard not to get romantic in such a beautiful place.

 In one section of the garden there was a group of people doing traditional Chinese calligraphy and water color painting. They called us over and wanted the kids to participate. A television camera filmed them interacting with the artists. Who knows where my kids will show up on tv! They were all very kind and began giving the kids their artwork. 

The artist giving her painting to the kids. 

More pictures with the white kids.

 We saw so many interesting things that day. Just a few more examples before I leave you...

 Yes! The little girl is going potty...in the main thoroughfare.

Where we FINALLY got dinner.
A whole in the wall place that satisfied everyone and felt like we were guests in someone's home.

Who needs a car?

It is very common to see anything and everything carried on a scooter. Here is an example of a lot of beverages.

We made it back to the train station with plenty of time to spare. We always carry a deck of cards. Here we are playing gin rummy and drawing quite a crowd. 

The Chinese love their card games. 

 Thanks for making it through this incredibly long post 

(you deserve to reward yourself in some way)! 

Can you believe I am still not done showing you Chengdu!

Stay Tuned!

(just not today because this post took me three hours!)