Chengdu, Sichuan:

Sichuan Opera in the Shufeng Yayun Teahouse

After spending the morning with the pandas of the Chengdu Panda Base, we returned to the city centre to visit some more sights of the capital of Sichuan. First we walked along the Fu River to the Wuhou Shrine within the Nanjiao Park. This complex commemorates some of the heroes of the Chinese classic “Romance of the Three Kingdoms“, i.e. Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei. The tomb of the Emperor Liu Bei is situated here, but comparatively unspectacular. Close-by lies Jinli Gujie, an array of restored alleyways full of people, restaurants, and souvenir stalls. After a late lunch of typical Sichuan Hot Pot, we walked further to the Qingyang Temple. This is Chengdu’s oldest and most important Taoist temple with a number of quirky statues as well as some beautiful buildings, such as the famous eight-sided pagoda.

Chengdu along the Fu River

a house or a ship?

statue in the Wuhou Shrine

within Nanjiao Park

statue of Liu Bei

statue of Guan Yu

statue of Zhang Fei

Nanjiao Park

Nanjiao Park

Tomb of Liu Bei

Jinli Gujie – restored alleyways

Jinli Gujie – restored alleyways

typical Sichuan Hot Pot

typical Sichuan Hot Pot

on the way to Qingyang Temple

entrance of Qingyang Temple

statue in Qingyang Temple

statue in Qingyang Temple

within Qingyang Temple

the famous eight-sided pagoda

After dinner, we went to the Shufeng Yayun Teahouse which offers fantastic shows of the Sichuanese Opera, including music, puppetry, comedy, fire-breathing, and the famous “face changing”. The latter includes performers who wear colourful masks which can be changed almost instantaneously with the swipe of a fan, a movement of the head, etc. This show with its intricate costumes was definitely the highlight of our stay in Chengdu!

in preparation of the show

in preparation of the show

in preparation of the show

the orchestra

Sichuan Opera

Sichuan Opera

Sichuan Opera

colourful costumes

colourful costumes

colourful costumes

puppet show

puppet show

Sichuan Opera

Sichuan Opera

bossy housewives are a universal phenomenon?

bossy wife and poor husband

bossy wife and poor husband

bossy housewives are a universal phenomenon?

foolish husband

foolish, but good body control

foolish, but good body control

the fire-breather

the fire-breather

changing masks in a heartbeat

On the following day, we took the bus to Leshan approximately 130 km south of Chengdu and famous for the ancient, 72-m-high Giant Buddha. You may read about this trip in the following post!