2025-12-08 Chengdu

December 09, 2025

Back in the megacity of Chengdu

We didn't have anything planned today until our train trip back to Chengdu at 1224, so we could have a relaxing morning, with a leisurely breakfast and a last wander through Songpan, which still feels like a frontier town.

The weather app said it was -8C when we wandered up to the walls with Pippa, Toby and Isaac, and the sun was still behind the mountains, giving the early morning town a bleak look, but that changed rapidly when the sun finally reached the bottom of the valley and us. The streets filled with more people, scooters and cars and trucks, and the roadside vendors started warming up for the day's trading.

Despite all the construction and the dust, I really like the vibe of this place, with its mix of Tibetan culture (monks and temples everywhere) and the modern, and a scale that is comprehensible - and the clean mountain air (apart from the construction dust), something that we are missing here in the smoggy city of Chengdu at the moment!

The train station at Songpan is brand new, less than 12 months old, so is 21st Century Modern, with all the facilities of the big stations, except on a smaller scale- including scanners for people and luggage, and scanners for the ticket checks.

After a 2 hour train ride it was back into the hustle and bustle of the big city againn.

We took 2 separate Didi rides to the hotel, as we had too much luggage to all fit in one. Toby and I were in one with a chatty driver who among other things was complaining how hard it was for his Burmese wife to get PR in China - she has to go out of the country every 12 months to renew her visa.

Our hotel now is amazing - huge space - bedroom, lounge, bathroom and ensuite, with breakfast, afternoon tea and evening soup all incuded for about $80 per night (however, due to being low season, we got an upgrade), so maybe the rooms originally booked were not so roomy.

Once settled in, we went for a walk to the Panda Bookshop via some of the interesting nearby streets - a mixture of high finance district, crowded alleys and older residential apartment blocks with washing hanging from the balconies.

The Panda Bookshop has every thing panda; and books too, and of course a cafe attached - we mamanged to get away with a few souvenirs, heading back to the hotel getting ready for our high dining experience.

Pippa had done her research and found the Michelin one star rated Mi Xun Teahouse, which is also vegetarian, so a bonus for us.

We had a fantastic dining experience, sharing our selections in the usual chinese manner, and all were delicious, with interesting and new to us ingredients. I wondered whether we would be served tiny portions, but they were all generous ( but not huge), and we walked out pleasantly full.

Once outside (and it was still early evening, though dark, of course being close to the shortest day) we wandered around the luxury commercial area Taikoo Li. where the restaurant is located. This is very different to Songpan, being full of exclusive brands (Gucci, YsL, Hermes, etc etc), and the area has all its Christmas decorations up, and also including a specially commissioned large interactive art installation with huge rolling balls, enthusiastically being wound up by youngsters.

One attraction for Pippa was Fangsuo Commune book shop, located underground and taking up what must be the whole footprint of the building above, as the floor space has huge columns supporting the building above.

After that, it was time to hit the sack, to recharge for another day!