Strong miss of Chengdu (China)

I saw a question on Reddit that reminded me of my adventures in Chengdu. In the early 2000s, I was in China almost every month. My first time in Chengdu was on Christmas Eve in 2002, and I saw people hitting each other with inflatable plastic clubs on the main road. I knew right away I would love this city.

Once I befriended the cool Chengdu people, I stopped going to other places. There were hidden bars and makeshift venues where we talked about everything. I could sneak into classes at local universities.
If you want to get a feel of the city from around that time, let me recommend a naughty book “Leave me alone, Chengdu”. Link: Leave me alone : a novel of Chengdu : Murong, Xuecun, 1974- : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Murong writes:
 If cities were people, Chengdu would be a happy drifter with a complete lack of ambition. Chengdu dialect is so soft that it melts your ear. It’s said that it can make a person’s anger dissolve instantly. Chengdu people are famous idlers. Feet stretched out in a rattan chair while holding a glass of tea, or at the mahjong table, their lives are a fleeting dusk. When you visit famous historical spots such as Qing Yang Palace, Wu Hou Temple or Du Fu’s cottage, you get the sense that throughout history there have been too many people happy to spend 5 yuan to sit around all day with a glass of tea.

This one is apt, one of my favourite places was the Renmin (people’s) park near the centre of the city. People playing mahjong or chess all day. There were colourful boats idling around, I never saw anyone hire them - it was too much effort I guess.

Hawkers sold banned books by the river, and local artists held bold exhibitions. Chengdu people wouldn’t let me go home,

During COVID, I had a friend join us from Chengdu to talk about her life in the city. I told her I couldn’t wait to be back. But alas.

Back to reddit, one more comment got me missing the city even more.