China

Everything is made in China, but I haven’t been to China. China is just across the waters from Taiwan, but due to political reasons, it was only until recently that direct flights are allowed. In the past, Taiwanese have to fly to a third country to enter China, such as Hong Kong, Japan or Korea. Again, politics. Even now, planes cannot fly the straight route across the waters, they have to make detours to avoid certain air space. Politics.

For some/many reasons, I haven’t had good impression of China, making it a not-so-desirable place to visit. Plus, I am not fond of what the Cultural Revolution did to the people, as well as how its government bans media access. Of course, China is huge and every place, city or province is entirely different. It’s unfair for me to continue to carry such judgment without visiting it personally.

My first experience of China started in Taiwan. Well, on the plane actually. We rode on Air China, which is China’s main state run airline, so it’s supposed to be top notch. This is also the first time I rode on a commercial flight when the plane starts to move before people are seated. And it proves to be a consistent phenomenon for the rest of the journey. Meal wise, I think it’s pretty much like what you will expect on a North West or United. Nothing to be proud of.

After three hours, we landed in Cheng Du, the capitol of Si Chuan.

Before I continue, all I know about Si Chuan is its spicy cuisine and pandas. Since I don’t do well with spicy food, it’s hard for me to imagine what my days are going to be like.





Cheng Du airport is huge. Well, the main terminal is quite small…. For now. As we landed, the plane rolled on and on and finally arrived at the destination spot. As the plane was rolling, all I could see was construction, miles of new terminals being built. It’s massive, bigger than any single airport structure I’ve seen. I makes me wonder how will they resolve the people transportation issue.

As the plane stopped, we walked down the stairs to hop onto the airport bus. Again, a long ride to the main terminal and to the immigration. Then we exited the terminal to the tour bus. Hmmm… here’s what I don’t get. It’s a big airport with lots of traffic, but very poor traffic organization. I cannot imagine the chaos that will cripple the place when the airport is in full operation.