Exploring Spicy Food-A Gastronomic Journey in Chengdu on Apr. 29 came to its last stop in Jianyang City in southeastern Chengdu, when 12 foreigners living in Chengdu with the staff from gochengdu.cn had a exhilarating experience of cherry picking and learning about Chinese traditional culture.

Fun of Cherry Picking

Chengdu people usually spend their weekends on the suburbs, and the Longteng Villa in Jianyang City is a must-go. The participants of the journey soon found fun in the competition of "Harvest Cherries", when everyone was busy picking up fresh cherries from the trees, armed with a little basket. "Picking up cherries is great fun, and today I want to eat as many as I enjoy," said Tarana Mammadova, from Azerbaijan.

Chopping Wood

All were expecting a wonderful lunch after the picking cherries competition when they were asked to prepare firewood, which is considered essential for making the popular local dish Chaihuoji ― chicken braised over a wood-fired oven. It was a challenging task for most of the participants, who tried very hard chopping the firewood and they were soon amazed ― and much relieved ― to find that among the team, Dale Smit, chopped the firewood with ease and soon made an abundant fuel supply. "I am from South Africa, and back home we often chop the wood to cook. This is just a piece of cake for me."

Sure enough, Chaihuoji proved a very delicious DIY dish. "It's our very first time we have tasted the Firewood Chicken, and it tastes awesome," said Helen Vanessa Loaiza from the US.

Learning Chinese Traditional Culture

The afternoon was enjoyable when they joined in the talent show of music, chess, calligraphy and painting. Ido Ettinger, form Israel, whose Chinese name was Yidao, finished a wonderful piece under the guide of Zheng Chuanfu, previous chairman of Calligraphy Association in Jianyang City. Having been in China only for two months, Ido speaks fluent Chinese. He wrote the Chinese characters "I love China" during the show and gained approval of Mr. Zheng, who signed his name on the work of Ido. "I'm surprised that he has showed talent in Chinese calligraphy, and I'm sure he he will be a good calligrapher with more practice," said Zheng.

The afternoon passed quickly with the folk song singing and Guqin performances. The lecture on

Guqin, a zither-like instrument in China with a history of thousands of years, by local guqin master Zhang Yong, impressed everyone of the audience.

The whole journey was wrapped up by a dinner at Haidilao Hotpot restaurant, a brand originating in Jianyang City and now a famous name in the catering industry in China and overseas.

"With the help of GoChengdu.cn, we have the opportunity to have a good day in such a beautiful place, and we know that Chengdu is such a wonderful city with beautiful scenery and colorful culture. Thanks!" said Tarana on the way back.

"I will definitely recommend the city to all my friends. There are so many fun places and mouthwatering food for us to explore," said Michael Hoang-Viet from Australia.