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18. Traveling in the West of China - Chengdu
I left Kunming and flew to Chengdu. I'd visited Chengdu during the summer of 1999 and liked the city very much. On that trip I'd visited the Great Panda Reserve and flown into Lhasa, Tibet for a visit. This time my goal was to spend more time in Chengdu and then travel to the mountains in the West and see the Laoshan Buddha.
I'd arranged for an English speaking guide and a car and driver for this part of the trip. I'd requested David, the guide I'd met on my last trip. He is a friendly young man who understands United States culture and is excellent at answering questions about Chinese Culture. I was looking forward to spending time with someone who spoke good English. I was missing in depth conversations.
I got to my hotel on my own this time and called the travel agency. They arranged to have David pick my up the next morning. David and the driver arrived and we immediately set out into the green countryside. David and I caught up on one another's' lives. David has moved into management and is no longer a tour guide, but he remembered me with fondness and so agreed to guide me anyway.
The Laoshan Buddha is carved into the side of a cliff where two rivers come together. It is one of the largest Buddha's in the world. It was carved in the hope that the Buddha would protect the villages on the river from the devastating floods that occurred regularly.
One of the puzzles of traveling in China is how much of normal tourist routes involve temples and Buddhas. We spent two pleasant nights in the mountains and returned to Chengdu.
Chengdu is one of the places where an experience conveyed to me the very deep differences between the Chinese and United States culture. David and I had enjoyed an excellent lunch at a small local restaurant. David called the driver on his cell phone and agreed we would meet the car a few blocks away. We began our walk through the congested streets of a Chinese city. The sidewalks overflow with people while the streets overflow with cars, bicycles, motorcycles and pedestrians. Few traffic lights control the traffic and it is a free for all requiring constant attention and split second timing.
David and I were passing through a crowded intersection with traffic creeping through the intersection; turning both left and right, while pedestrians wove our way between cars that followed no pattern. In the middle of this intersection sat a young man. His head was about even with the bumpers of cars passing by him. There was blood running from his nose and he sat with his legs in front of him, completely stunned. A bicycle seat lay by him but I saw no bicycle.
I stopped. David kept walking. I said, "David, he has been hit by a car. We need to help him." David continued to walk. I held my ground. David took a step back but looked at neither me nor the man on the ground. I said, "David, he will be hit again." David said, "leave him, the police will come." I said, "but, David." He said, "it is not the Chinese way," turned his back on me, and walked away. I followed him, realizing that David was frightened.
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