Kunming to Chengdu

At 6.45am, armed with our hotel boxed breakfast, we returned to Kunming station to board our ‘G’ train (China’s high-speed rail service). At 250kmph we smoothly and comfortably travelled to Chengdu; time to do a crossword, have a cup of tea and view well engineered hydro schemes, wind farms and mountain sides covered in solar panels. It seems China has received and understood the climate change memo.
Later, we met with Yaping and her boyfriend (Wuhan) for dinner at a Chengdu Sichuan restaurant. Yaping and I worked together in Washington, DC, so lively conversations, reminiscing and sharing stories over chopsticks. The air was thick with the scent of Sichuan peppercorns, and plates of fiery red mapo tofu and crispy kung pao chicken crowded the table.
We invited Yaping and Wuhan to visit NZ, but Wuhan’s employment as an IT specialist in China’s military means he is currently not allowed to leave China.Read more