Chinese New Year in Chongqing and Chengdu

In February 2019, my wife, our son and I spent Chinese New Year with my wife’s family in Chongqing. It wasn’t a sightseeing holiday. Most of the trip was about family: New Year at home in Chongqing, a few days in Chengdu visiting my wife’s grandfather, and outings around Chongqing with her parents and relatives.

The photographs I have from this trip cover 5 to 14 February.

New Year at Home

Chinese New Year fell on 5 February that year. We celebrated it at my wife’s family home in Chongqing. It was a simple family celebration. We had dinner together, without anything particularly elaborate.

Slabs of cured pork belly, a dark smoked ham and rows of marbled sausages hanging on strings from a rail across a balcony, with neighbouring flats behind. — Cured meats and sausages drying on the balcony of the family home, 5 February.

The photographs from New Year’s Day also show the shops and streets around University Town, near the family home, with New Year advertising and banners announcing that businesses were open as usual over the Spring Festival.

A shopping centre interior with an outdoor-goods shop in red and white, and large red New Year posters hanging from the ceiling. — New Year advertising in a shopping centre, 5 February.

A paved square with ornate lamp posts hung with red banners, European-style buildings with shops and restaurants, and a few people out in the sunshine. — New Year advertising in a shopping centre, 5 February.

A wide street corner with a red-brick building at the left, pedestrians and a small bus, parked cars, a wooded hill behind and pink blossom along the road. — A street in University Town, 5 February.

Red lanterns hung from the trees along the roads, too.

A quiet road between trees hung with red lanterns, with apartment blocks behind. — Red lanterns along a road, 6 February.

A curving road lined with trees and hedges, a large red lantern with gold tassels in the foreground and more lanterns hanging along the way. — Red lanterns along a road, 6 February.

By High-Speed Train to Chengdu

On 7 February, we travelled from Chongqing to Chengdu by high-speed train: my wife, our son, my wife’s parents and me. We were going to visit my wife’s grandfather, who lived in Chengdu.

At about 2:50 PM, the display in our carriage showed the train travelling at 293 km/h.

A display above the door of a high-speed train carriage showing 14:50, 293 km/h and an inside temperature of 22°C. — 293 km/h on the way to Chengdu, 7 February.

Later that afternoon, we were at Dongpo Road Station on Chengdu Metro’s Line 7.

Dongpo Road Station, Chengdu Metro Line 7, 7 February.

We stayed at a hotel about a 15- to 20-minute walk from her grandfather’s home. I can’t remember the hotel’s name.

Around the Neighbourhood in Chengdu

We weren’t doing much conventional sightseeing in Chengdu. Our time there was spent visiting my wife’s grandfather and exploring the neighbourhood around us.

We walked around the area and browsed the local shops. There was also a night market, which only ran on particular days of the week, and we went to it. In the evenings, we had dinner at different restaurants.

Modern office and shopping towers beside a wide road, with rows of shared bicycles on the pavement in the late-afternoon light. — Towers and shared bikes in Chengdu, 7 February.

A wide pavement beside a shopping building, with planted beds, a main road and apartment blocks with shop signs on the far side. — Towers and shared bikes in Chengdu, 7 February.

Brightly lit restaurant and club signs in red, blue and purple along a street at night, below a tall apartment block. — Signs lit up along the street at night, 7 February.

Shop fronts lit at night along a wide pavement, with a clothing shop at the left and a few people walking. — Signs lit up along the street at night, 7 February.

A platter of thinly sliced marinated meat fanned out around a red onion and a mushroom, with white vapour from dry ice spilling over the edges. — Dinner, 9 February.

Slices of beef and pork cooking on a table grill, surrounded by small dishes of sauces, chickpeas and vegetables. — Dinner, 9 February.

My Wife’s Grandmother’s Grave

On 9 February, we visited my wife’s grandmother’s grave at a hillside cemetery in Chengdu.

Other family members made offerings. I can’t remember now what they offered. I offered a silent prayer in my heart.

A hillside of terraced rows among trimmed hedges and trees, with a traditional pavilion with upturned eaves at the top, under a grey sky. — The hillside cemetery, 9 February.

Traditional buildings with grey tiled roofs and red and white walls among trees, looking out over a hazy valley and hills. — The hillside cemetery, 9 February.

Back to Chongqing

We returned from Chengdu to Chongqing by high-speed train. I can’t remember the exact date, but the photographs show that we were back in Chongqing by 12 February.

Zhangguan Water Cave

On 12 February, my father-in-law drove us from the University Town area to Zhangguan Water Cave (张关水溶洞). It was a very long drive.

The view through a car windscreen of an expressway toll plaza with a wave-shaped roof, red lanterns and a large sign in yellow Chinese characters, with mountains behind. — A toll plaza on the way, 12 February. The sign reads: “Courteous driving for all; travel safely and welcome the new spring.”

A two-storey white building with a green tiled roof, red lanterns and a sign reading “Tourist Centre” in Chinese and English, below a wooded hillside. — The tourist centre at Zhangguan Water Cave, 12 February.

A wide car park between two small gatehouses with orange roofs, wooded hills behind and a brown sign pointing to the Zhangguan Water Cave scenic area. — The tourist centre at Zhangguan Water Cave, 12 February.

My father-in-law chose not to go into the cave, so only my wife, our son and I went inside. There were no other visitors while we were there.

Cave formations lit in orange, yellow and green above still dark water, with a lamp-lit walkway along the right-hand side. — Lit formations above the water.

Inside, we explored the illuminated rock formations, the walkways and the underground passages. It was extremely dark.

A mass of rippled flowstone lit bright green, with a column of rock at the left. — Flowstone lit in green.

A metal stairway with railings winding down between tall rock walls lit deep red, with a lamp at the bottom. — A stairway between the rocks.

A paved walkway lit by lamps, running beside a rock wall and a railing towards formations lit in red and green. — A stairway between the rocks.

Pale stalactites hanging from a low cave ceiling in bluish light, above a sweep of rock and a metal railing. — Stalactites above the walkway.

We also took a boat ride through part of the cave. What I remember most about it is how different and unusual the sounds were as we travelled through the cave by boat.

An underground channel of still water reflecting rock walls lit in amber and green, with a bright opening far ahead. — An underground waterway.

A dark water passage under a low rock arch, with light at the far end and the edge of a boat in the lower corner. — An underground waterway.

Afterwards, my father-in-law drove us straight back to the family home. Our son was tired after the long outing.

A Park, Hotpot and VR Games

There were two quite different parts to 13 February.

During the day, my father-in-law took our son to a large park with a playground, and we went along. I remember the park being extremely crowded.

A lake with tall thin palms and shrubs in the foreground, and crowds of people gathered around a playground on the far shore. — The park, 13 February.

Crowds walking along a park road lined with palms and young trees, with a woman and a small boy walking hand in hand on the grass beside it, seen from behind. — The park, 13 February.

Later, we spent time with my wife’s cousin and her husband. We had hotpot together, visited a shopping mall and played VR games. Afterwards, they drove us back home.

A copper hotpot of red chillies in broth on a white table, with a platter of thinly sliced pork and beef in the foreground and more dishes behind. — Hotpot, 13 February.

A mall concourse at night hung with rows of red lanterns, with café tables under umbrellas, food stalls and people walking past. — Lanterns in the shopping mall, 13 February.

The entrance to a VR arcade with a lit “VR乐园” sign, cage-like booths, screens and a large dinosaur poster. — Lanterns in the shopping mall, 13 February.