China Day 2

The Holiday Inn Chengdu Century City West had an awesome breakfast buffet.  The extensive menue included fresh, made to order dishes from both China and the West.  And the hotel's Guest Relations Manager, Omar El-Youssef, was attentive to the needs of everyone attending the conference.  Incidentally he used to work at a resort in Sedona, Arizona.

          

The Phoenix delegation traveled about 80 miles to a small town in the mountains called Chongzhon.  It was in one of the hardest hit areas in the 2008 earthquake.  The Phoenix Chengdu Sister City Committee raised the funds to rebuild the town's kindergarten.  We attended a ribbon cutting ceremony for the "Phoenix" School.  The children danced and the town and Provencal officials gave speeches and we were given a tour.  The entire town was completely rebuilt in less than three years.

Retail stores in the countryside:

The V. Mayor of Changzhon hosted a lunch banquet in a lovely country restaurant that appeared to have only private dinning rooms with all sizes of round tables.  Our host's table sat at least twenty, and thirty distinctive Sichaun dishes were served.  Chengdu and the surrounding area were putting their best foot forward with their lavish yet warm hospitality.  Through translators lively conversation was enjoyed by all.  This evening's dinner was in an old world restaurant in Jing Alley.  Upstairs, with balconies over looking other private dinning rooms, dark wood and dim light, the typical round table seating twelve or more was the setting for another memorable dinner.  The menu included more than thirty flavorful Sichuan specialities.