A Trip Back to Chengdu Around My 22nd Birthday

I squeezed in a trip back to Chengdu around my 22nd birthday. I spent all three years of high school there, but honestly didn't venture out much. If I'm being truthful about the most familiar places in Chengdu, it would be just a two-kilometer radius centered around Moziqiao Metro Station. In fact, it wasn't until the summer after senior year that I visited the Botanical Garden for the first time—and that was only my third time going to Chunxi Road.

I arrived in Chengdu on the evening of the 17th. Early morning on the 18th, I took the metro. My first stop was Wenshuyuan Temple. The Chengdu metro system covers most places and is the most convenient form of transportation.

Last October, I interned in Beijing and took the IELTS while there. I remember the speaking question was about describing an experience taking public transportation to a particular place. I talked about taking the Chengdu metro to see giant pandas. The white male examiner said he really liked Chengdu and had been many times, and he also thought Chengdu's public transportation was among the most developed in all of China. We chatted very happily (but he still only gave me a 6🙂).

I've talked with many classmates about Wenshuyuan, and we all think it's a place with a lot of "spiritual energy." Going early in the morning means there aren't many people yet. It's not about worshipping gods or making offerings—just browsing around casually—but your mood improves.

I finished browsing Wenshuyuan by 8:30 AM, took the metro to Wuhouci. Here's something interesting: even in the 21st century today, many people still stubbornly hope that the Prime Minister could have won back then. Wuhouci is also China's only tomb where a ruler and minister are buried together. Student tickets are half price, and even without a physical student ID, you can use the higher education enrollment record on the Xuexin.com app as proof.

Walking out of Wuhouci, I came to a three-way intersection that seemed almost identical to a three-way intersection near the North Train Station that I remembered visiting before. In elementary school, my family ran a business and had to come to Chengdu's Hehuachi every month to pick up goods. My health wasn't great, so I had to come to Chengdu regularly for medical checkups. Later, I got into Chengdu No. 7 High School. In the summer after third year of junior high, I also stayed in Chengdu for a period of time. The most vivid memory is eating at a small fly-ridden restaurant I found near Moziqi going toward Sichuan University—it turned out to be way too fly-ridden, with wooden tables that seemed coated in grease, and the food was poorly made. In the blink of an eye, ten years have passed. Time flies.

That summer after junior high—2018—people kept posting online that it was the most beautiful summer. I admit that statement is 100% correct. That summer, the Chengdu US Consulate hadn't closed yet either. I got my ten-year B1/B2 visa there and went to San Francisco. Now, looking back, it really does seem like the last glimmer of the globalization era. (Hoping things get better in the future, and then I'll delete this sentence.)

Chengdu No. 7 High School

I'm back, your majesty! I didn't come back for the school anniversary, but came back a week after. So I got to participate in a staggered way (laughs).

I watched the big break period—still good, same vibe as always—and then hung around behind the bleachers chatting with teachers.

I was honored to serve as president of the Science Association in high school. Back then, the Science Association was indeed struggling. This time I chatted with my advisor about it. She said that at the time she thought I wasn't a student with a strong personality, one who wouldn't fiercely resist school administration, so the Science Association gradually got put on a more formal path. (Not saying it wasn't formal before! Just that there was a period when the Science Association faced some developmental difficulties.) I said:

"Actually, that's not quite right. I actually gave the various departments below me a lot of freedom. Whatever they wanted to do, I'd support it. I just made sure that on the surface, I did the things the school wanted to see (or could see), and then the school wouldn't nitpick the details."

Teacher Du thought for a moment, "Yes, that's right."

IMG_2111.jpg Magazine Future Dream

The Science Association's magazine Future Dreams — from writing to layout to printing — was all done by students themselves. After getting to university, I often see internal magazines and papers from various organizations, and their writing quality and layout quality are... let's say questionable. I always felt that... ability is really an important thing; in this regard, Chengdu No. 7 students are truly excellent.

This year the school also built a Life Sciences Museum, storing many biological specimens, apparently all donated (so much money~). I'd guess there are only a handful of high schools across the whole country that have a museum. At lunch, I snuck in and happened to run into Teacher Wenzong leading a group on a tour.

Then, right there in that place, I saw sunlight filtering through the leaves, heard the crisp sound of a ping-pong ball, and caught the last faint fragrance of seven-mile-scent in late April wafting from overhead... For a moment, it really felt like I'd gone back four years.

"You're... that... the former Science Association president?"