Sunshine in Chengdu! The dogs are howling!

Polka dot visor and the Chengdu speciality - the bicycle umbrella clamp!

A big envelope will do when leaving the office.

Monks throw their robes over their heads.

Even boys are vain and don't want their forearms to get burnt.

Shades the size of deep sea turtles. Watch those arms though!

Solar topi hat and white gloves. A little Japanese me thinks.

Darth Vader style face guard. 

All photos ©Ingrid Booz Morejohn

"Shu dogs bark when the sun comes out", 蜀犬吠日 (shǔquǎnfèirì) is a very old local Sichuanese saying that implies that it is so unusual to see the sun that even a dog considers it a stranger. Well, I didn't actually hear any dogs barking today (other than the pesky little mutt that barks everyday in our garden at the Wuhou Mingyuan) but the sun has really been shining! Winter ended with two weeks of spring then rapidly segued into full blast summer. It's wonderful but getting hotter by the minute. The Chinese are scared of the sun (dark skin is considered lower class and infoerior) and want as little of it as possible to touch their precious whitey-white skin so all kinds of preventive measures are taken as you can see above. Here in Chengdu we also have a very practical bicycle invention whereby you can attach your umbrella to the handlebar, rain or shine. I remember with fondness the beautiful ladies of Vietnam buzzing by on their motorcycles wearing long white opera gloves! I think it's time for me to go out onto the balcony and give a shout at the sun.

Tired and cold

Soaking up the heat from  a pan of burning coals, Prague Café, Lijiang, Yunnan ©Ingrid Booz Morejohn

The other day I was so tired and so cold that I sat on a stool under a hot shower and ate my breakfast of cornflakes, taking care not to dilute the cereal with water, only milk. I munched away with the bowl held slightly away from me, slowly crunching, crunching, staving off the sogginess by chewing purposefully and methodically. Steaming hot water pounded my head and eased the tension in my muscles and I floated dreamily away. I could have stayed there forever but when there was nothing left to eat I had to reconcile myself with returning to the cold world outside...Today started with a promise of warmth and sunshine. Here on the 13th floor the morning rays reached far into the apartment, only to be slowly pulled back into the shadows, little by little, inexorably greying my world and yet again laying that heavy blanket of depression with its many clever tricks and sneaky moves on my sanity. Please winter, go away.

Sichuan Art Museum and Funny Hat Day

Photographer Tianfu Square, Chengdu 090221 ©Ingrid Booz Morejohn

Yesterday was a grey,  rainy day (yes the rains have begun) so we decided to go to Sichuan Art Museum just west of Tianfu Square here in Chengdu. Lo and behold, upon arriving at the Art Museum there was no more museum left. The building looked completely abandoned inside, all the exhibition halls were chained shut and everything was dusty and depressing. Are they between exhibitions or is this it? Nada mas, meiyou, inget mer?? Couldn't get an answer out of anyone. 

If someone can tell me what has happened to the Art Museum and if it will ever open up again please post a comment. If you at the same time can also tell me when the Sichuan Provincial Museum will open up I'd be most interested. It's been years now since they tore down the old one and the new building next to Dufu Cottage looks promising from the outside but it looks like nothing is happening on the inside. I think that a city like Chengdu, with a population of over ten million people and a provincial capital to boot, doesn't have a proper art museum and and an open and functioning provincial museum is quite pathetic. Look at the vibrant art scene and all the museums and galleries in Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou and even Guangzhou. Come on Chengdu, we can do better!

Around the corner from the Art Museum however was a gallery with Russian art. Very nice, well lit and interesting. After visiting this we walked over to Tianfu Square to watch the musical fountains (Emy said the pattern the water made "looks like onions"). We came across this smart photographer in his "anti-drizzle hat". I like the "camo-pattern" on the underside. Very chic!

Weather update: Chengdu Feb 19, 2009

View out my window, Chengdu 8.30 am 090219 ©Ingrid Booz Morejohn

It might have been yushui yesterday but this morning something extraordinary happened here in Chengdu: There was a blood red sunrise, the sun came out and we could see shadows! Feichang budeliao! Doesn't mean we have blue skies though....

Fog strands 13,000 in Chengdu airport

As posted earlier this month we have had incredibly grey, misty, foggy weather here in Chengdu. I read today that our local airport, Shuangliu International, had a four-hour traffic shutdown on Monday February 2nd. Visibility was less than 20 meters and 500 meters is the minimum for a safe take-off. 13,000 people were stranded and this was the third closure this month. Otherwise weather conditions are looking up, it's getting warmer every day. So warm that I am beginning to suspect that there might be some truth to the traditional Chinese calendar after all!

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Tibetan monks in rain, Tagong, Sichuan, China ©Ingrid Booz Morejohn

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Sweden © Ingrid Booz Morejohn

Today the weather in Chengdu is so beautiful that I feel like throwing myself on a green lawn and looking at the sky. The grey has left and the birds are singing. Let it last!

Shades of grey continued

11.00 am 090201 ©Ingrid Booz Morejohn

For those of you out their in different parts of the world, the world that has blue skies, here is evidence of the greyness of a Chengdu winter. Chengdu is located inside a huge basin and is surrounded by mountains. To the west and north we have the enormous Tibetan mountains, to the south an extension of the Yunnan Plateau and to the east a smaller mountain range sliced through by the mighty Yangtse River, all of which contribute to making this an area of mist and humidity. Also abundance because of the richness of the soil and plentiful moisture. I joke that Chengdu weather is perfect for taking lovely, soft portraits as you seldom have to worry about "panda eyes" - dark shadows under the eyes when taking a portrait outside in sunshine. The ancient saying that Sichuan dogs bark hysterically when the sun makes an appearance is a much heard cliché but truly no exaggeration. 

The greyness begins to set in in early autumn and lasts until the beginning of March when the sun again makes an effort to penetrate through the gloom. Thankfully both the temperature and the weather improve and the spring and summer are wonderful opportunities to spend your time lounging about in a tea house or outdoor restaurant. 

On rare days the basin is swept free of moisture and pollution particles and visibility extends all the way to the edge of the Tibetan mountains. It's as if a huge curtain has lifted and you realize that we live right on the edge of one of the most spectacular mountainous areas in the world. 

Visual range today is very low, an entire city of over 10 million people hidden underneath a slate-grey, cottony softness; its water molecules heavy with the unctuous smell of cooking oil, chilis and Sichuan pepper. The only sounds are the wet adhesiveness of car tires barely sticking to the pavement as they drive by to their destination. Car horns and police sirens are heard every now and then, but looking down from high above they are nowhere to be seen.

Different shades of grey

Lately I've been putting up postings that have everything to do with everything else - but China. Truth be told, there's not much happening at the moment. Here in Chengdu it's grey, foggy, grey, cold, grey, misty, grey, cold and several more shades of grey. The other day the sun showed it's face for a day and my son woke up and immediately asked "What's all that light?!" After Chinese New Year's Eve when our world exploded in fireworks more fireworks are let off every night, but daytime is spent inside near something warm. Two days ago we actually ventured beyond our compound and discovered that most of the neighborhood had decided to do the same thing. Nearby Jinli Street was buzzing with activity, chock-a-block full of people that had had enough of being cooped up with the relatives, watching Tv and eating eight kinds of auspicious nuts and candies. We forged our way through the bodies and ate a few snacks and gladly headed home again, overwhelmed by so much humanity in the same tight space. 

Most of the shops on our street are closed, the shopkeepers and salespeople having gone home to their villages or hometowns - or some just taking a well-deserved break from the daily humdrum. The hairdressers, on the other hand, are still open, but all their clients seem to be Tibetans. This year the Tibetan New Year starts later than the Chinese celebration so they are still in preparation. Non-tibetans already got their new "doo-s" before the new year began. 

People home with time on their hands are out walking their dogs a lot these days. Some dogs are stroppy little things, all dolled up in special little doggy winter clothes, with appliqued bones on their backs. Other dogs are huge creatures, English sheep dogs or Bernese mountains dogs, clearly unsuitable for Chengdu's hot, humid summer climate but happier than the rest of us during the cold winter. Coming back from Jinli we came across a monkey on the street. He seemed to be as interested in his first glimpse of foreigners as we were of him. He stuck his tongue out at us and uncontrollaby we did the same back at him. And speaking of animals, all the roosters we heard crowing for several weeks on our neighbors balconies have all been mysteriously quiet since the New Year began. I fear that they will not be heard from again...