Fuddland
Getting to know the streets Chengdu is proving to quite tricky. Normally I have a fairly good sense of direction, but—after being spoiled by the ease of a navigating grid-based city such as Suzhou—I’m finding it difficult to get my bearings on the sprawling, criss-crossing roads of Chengdu.
Compounding the organic layout of the city are two further annoyances. Almost every street is undergoing major roadworks, and every day a different one of them has been cordoned off (slogan: “The inconvenience today is to facilitate tomorrow”). It’s not so much “inconvenient” as “ridiculous” that a taxi going to the supermarket costs twice as much as it does making the return journey.
A more permanent confusion is that the street names in my neighbourhood are all Fang-something-or-other. Fangcao East Road is perpendicular to Fangcao Road, and someone was clearly having a bit of fun labelling the junction “West Fangcao East Road”. And then there are two Fangcao West Roads: First Fangcao West Road and Second Fangcao West Road.
One of the other Fangs (Fanghua Street) is in the shape of a horseshoe: its entrance and exit both intersect Fangcao East Road, which I just know must have led to some confused rendezvous, with both people insisting that they are indeed waiting on the corner of Fanghua and Fangcao East.
But I’m sure it’ll get easier to find my way around over the coming months. Right, time to head off to work. I’m sure my front door is here somewhere…
