The first time I arrived I thought Chengdu drivers owned a particular DNA code which could explain their extra developed senses to move so fast without crashing into each other like a school of fish. After one month I decided to buy my own bike so I took a taxi with my friend, who is a bike expert, to the famous bike street in Chengdu and I bought a second-hand, black and red, big-wheeled, electric bike with a random brake system. As we finished bargaining at 6 PM (Yes, bike sellers are very tough bargainers) we had no choice but to drive together home since rush hour in Chengdu means all taxis will magically be full no matter what.

I would love to say that it was super easy to ride my new toy and we arrived just a few minutes later at our destination, after a peaceful and sunny trip, but this is Chengdu, not a fairytale.

I soon found that I did not possess the DNA code necessary for effortless flight and realized that having someone sitting on the back, combined with a faulty brake system, was the perfect equation for disaster!

Luckily, after just one hour of being lost, crashing into a tree (there aren’t a lot in Chengdu, but obviously enough to crash into), running out of electricity, and receiving meaningful cheers from other drivers to describe our driving skills, we finally managed to push the bike back home.

I’ve been in Chengdu for 9 months now; I have driven nearly ever road and have been lost in nearly every alley from the first ring to the third and I can honestly say that DNA can be changed as I’ve only been in one accident and can now fly like the locals! I love my bike! The freedom it gives me to speed around on my own and discover the city has been one of the most meaningful aspects of my China experience thus far. If you want a fast way to move around, avoid traffic jams, and discover the city from another perspective, I can only advise you to get your own bike and become part of the flight rather than watching it from the ground. 加油!

Due to Chengdu’s vast metamorphosis to an international city, global known companies are inviting workers from abroad to stay for a certain period and enrich their work experience. However, it is not a strange fact that the climate in this city is indeed hard for some foreigners to get used to. Several of my friends have problems to acclimate and others are having problems with the food. In fact, you just wanted to seek out some advice against for e.g. respiration problems or to soothe the gastrointestinal tract when it does not agree with the local delicacies and causes you unusual troubles. It is indeed troublesome if you come to a hospital as an expat, seeking for help and most likely confronted with long, nerve-wracking and complicated administration procedures topped off with the language barrier.

For this case, some hospitals provide English speaking service in order to alleviate the hospital visit for the foreign visitors. The two hospitals, depicted for this article both are located nearby to the areas where most of the foreign expats live.

One example is Parkway Health, which covers 25 areas of specialization supported with high standard medical service and with up to date technological equipment. The hospital also has multilingual specialists and nurses to care for the patient. For cases of sickness or injuries, the hospital can be reached at No.18 Wanxiang North Road, Fanxiong Boulevard, South High Tech Zone. At the end of last year, they also opened a medical & birthing center (within the Maria Maternity Hospital), which offers a comprehensive range of women’s health services.

The other famous one is Global Doctors. Established in 1999, the head office is located in Perth (Australia) – Chengdu was the first clinic setup in China. Apart from the standard medical practices like GP consultation and health check-ups, vaccination and immunization, X-ray examinations etc. the service is carried out by multi lingual specialists to assure the best possible healthcare. The location is in the south part of the city where many foreigners live and work: No.62 Kehua North Road, Lippo Tower, section S, 2nd floor 9-11 and is opened from Monday to Friday 9am until 6pm.

An apple a day, keeps the doctor away. But should you run out of apples and require medical services in Chengdu, you may contact one of the medical facilities featured above. Hopefully, my dear reader, you will have few reasons to seek out a doctor when staying in Chengdu.

The climb to the summit of Emei Mountain or 峨眉山, is extremely popular. It is important to take enough time for the climb and descend. Normally, it takes one day to climb up and one for coming down. Monasteries and at the summit, you will come across some reasonably priced accommodations for travelers. It is important to bring some spare food and wear enough warm clothes because the temperature is lower than at the foot.
The mountain can be reached by train as well as by bus. The “Chengdu-Kunming” line (train) will take you directly to the mountain. If you prefer by bus, you can get on the bus at Chengdu’s Xinnan Men Bus station or from Leshan to Emei Mountain.

The Giant Buddha of Leshan, the tallest stone statue of the world, is close to the Emei Mountain. For interested travelers, the bus at the Xinnan Men Bus Station will go to Leshan and will begin to operate at 8 am and the last bus departs at 7pm. For visiting the giant Buddha, a ticket is required. Furthermore, there are bus rides to Emei Mountain at Shiyangchang Transportation Center from 7.30 am. – 7.00 pm. Also, the Jinshan Station also offers buses to that area. Most buses to Leshan or Giant Buddha operates on a regular interval between 7.30 am. – 7.00 pm.

In Dujiangyan (都江堰), there is the oldest water conservation project in the world. The irrigation project was established around 250 BC during the warring states period. It is easy to get to Dujiangyan because there are regular bus rides.

Near the border of Yunnan, a four hours ride from south Chengdu, is the Yibin Bamboo Sea (宜宾竹海). This area can be explored by numerous ways from well visited paths which can be traveled within a few hours to small passages taking one day. The trip can be done in one weekend but for a more leisure visit, a four day travel is ideal. Take the train from Chengdu or Chongqing to Yibin city then transfer to the bamboo sea of CMB. It is about 2-3 hours car ride.

For all places mentioned above, an entrance ticket is required. The following table will show the entrance price for the respective places mentioned above.

峨眉山 – Emei Mountain:
150rmb/person

青城山 – Qingcheng Mountain:
150rmb/person

乐山大佛 – Giant Buddha of Leshan:
90rmb/person

都江堰 – Dujiangyan:
90rmb/person

宜宾竹海 – Yibin Bamboo Sea:
85rmb/person