I was lounging in one of the hundreds of bamboo chairs, expecting to spend the afternoon reading, when a Chinese man pointed to the sky and tugged me under a shelter. As the deluge began, I found myself the center of a crowded table in a bamboo pavilion. An interlocutor simultaneously practiced his English and ferried questions and answers back and forth. I never did get any reading done, but I learned a lot about Chinese politics, modern economics--and perhaps most important, the desire and willingness of people continents apart to bridge two worlds.
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For the Record
Los Angeles Times Sunday April 30, 2000 Home Edition Travel Part L Page 6 Travel Desk 1 inches; 26 words Type of Material: Correction
China route--The airline route on China Southern Airlines was incorrectly reported ("Chengdu, the Panda Capital," April 23). The China Southern flight to Chengdu stops in Guangzhou.
GUIDEBOOK
Checking Out Chengdu
Getting there: China Southern Airlines flies direct from LAX to Chengdu, with one stop in Beijing. Restricted round-trip air fares begin at $2,075, but package tours can make a trip to China more affordable.
Seeing the pandas: The best time to view them at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding is from 8:30 to 10 a.m. A taxi is the only way to reach the center, six miles from downtown on Panda Road, telephone 011-86-28-351-6911.
Where to stay: The Minshan Hotel on Renmin Nan Lu, tel. 011-86-28-558-3333, fax 011-86-28-558-2154, Internet http://www.asiatravel.com/china/minshan, is a sleek, 21-story international business hotel. Doubles range from $120-$250.
The Jiaotong Hotel (often called the Traffic Hotel), 77 Lingjiang Road, tel. 011-86-28-545-1017, fax 011-86-28-545-2777, Internet http://www.sinohotel.com/chengdu/traffic, is a longtime favorite of backpackers. Doubles with private baths begin at $50, and four-bed dorm rooms cost about $20.
Where to eat: The Long-chaoshou Special Restaurant, near Chunxi Lu and Dong Dajie, local tel. 666-6947, offers snack courses that run the Sichuan culinary spectrum from sweet to fiery. Cost: between 60 cents and a couple of dollars.
At the Chengdu Restaurant, 134 Shangdong Daijie, tel. 666-6085, dinners run from $1 to $4.
The Wenshu Monastery, tel. 674-2375, is a 15-minute walk north of the giant Mao statue on Renmin Zhong Lu. Dishes run from 40 cents to 80 cents. A large bowl of rice costs about a dime.
For more information: China National Tourist Office, 600 W. Broadway, Suite 320, Glendale, CA 91204; tel. (818) 545-7507, fax (818) 545-7506, Internet http://www.cnto.org.
