So, my friends, as you may or may not know, I have been in China for the last month. Sichuan, China to be exact. Yup, that's where the earthquake was.
That's a long story, but look, pictures!
This is my family on my mom's side. From left to right, that's my grandfather, uncle (older brother of my mother), grandmother, mother, and aunt (younger sister of my mother).
This is me and my little brother whom I haven't seen for ten years. It was bright. My mom dragged us outside for pictures.
This is us playing Zelda: Phantom Hourglass on my DS. Video games haven't really hit it big in China. They mostly play MMORPGs, as far as I can tell. Internet cafes are all the rage, since most people can't afford internet in their homes (or computers really, for that matter). So, I got my brother hooked on Nintendo.
Left him my DS and some games.
This is the day of the earthquake. My mom and grandparents are camping out for fear of the apartment crashing down on them. It didn't happen, don't worry. I wasn't there with them at the time because I was visiting Chengdu by myself. Yeah... Got stuck in the city for two days 'cause the transit system collapsed with the mass exodus.
This is my father's new baby girl. She's about five months old in this. I think she's wonderful, but I doubt I'm going to see her again for ages.
Now that the introductions are over:
This is the centre of a mountain that's been carved out over the years. You climb here through what's known as the Five Dragon Cave (pitch black, nice and cool) and, barring incidents in which you smack your head on stalactites, you end up here, where all the caves open up. There's a beautifully clear spring that tastes like mineral water, sheer rock faces on all sides, and the sun shining in from the open mouth up above. Unfortunately, the caves collapsed in the earthquake. I may have some of the last photos of the place.
This is a white crane looking evil. It was at the Chengdu zoo, and there was annoyingly reflective glass separating us, in case you're wondering what the clothing-coloured blobs are.
Adorable.
There's something very artsy about this shot, I find. Their flamingos are orange. I have no idea what they feed them to get that colour.
I love giraffes. There's something very pretty about it. From afar. Have you seen the tongue on these things?
That's a piece of fish dangling over the seal's head. It got the fish in the end.
*sniff* Darn glass.
This was a lion that rushed up and tried to pounce on us. Again, glass. *sigh* (Not that I'm not thankful for the barrier...)
I'm pretty sure this is an ocelot.
Ok, now we get to the embarrassing bit. I was actually in Chengdu the day of the earthquake because I was getting some "artistic photos" taken. It's extremely common practice where I come from. You go to a professional photographer, pay him/her about 1000 RMB, and then the photographer dolls you up, puts you into a dark room, and takes pictures. The pictures are later edited and made into an album.
This is traditional Korean-style. It's really popular in China right now because of a movie a few years back that every single woman went crazy over. It's like Sex and the City, but... very prudish.
I wanted to get punk-styled (wiki "visual kei"), but it wasn't an option. Thus, I am frilly.
Too many photos? I've got 500 more.
This is my family on my mom's side. From left to right, that's my grandfather, uncle (older brother of my mother), grandmother, mother, and aunt (younger sister of my mother).
This is me and my little brother whom I haven't seen for ten years. It was bright. My mom dragged us outside for pictures.
This is us playing Zelda: Phantom Hourglass on my DS. Video games haven't really hit it big in China. They mostly play MMORPGs, as far as I can tell. Internet cafes are all the rage, since most people can't afford internet in their homes (or computers really, for that matter). So, I got my brother hooked on Nintendo.
Left him my DS and some games.
This is the day of the earthquake. My mom and grandparents are camping out for fear of the apartment crashing down on them. It didn't happen, don't worry. I wasn't there with them at the time because I was visiting Chengdu by myself. Yeah... Got stuck in the city for two days 'cause the transit system collapsed with the mass exodus.
This is my father's new baby girl. She's about five months old in this. I think she's wonderful, but I doubt I'm going to see her again for ages.
Now that the introductions are over:
This is the centre of a mountain that's been carved out over the years. You climb here through what's known as the Five Dragon Cave (pitch black, nice and cool) and, barring incidents in which you smack your head on stalactites, you end up here, where all the caves open up. There's a beautifully clear spring that tastes like mineral water, sheer rock faces on all sides, and the sun shining in from the open mouth up above. Unfortunately, the caves collapsed in the earthquake. I may have some of the last photos of the place.
This is a white crane looking evil. It was at the Chengdu zoo, and there was annoyingly reflective glass separating us, in case you're wondering what the clothing-coloured blobs are.
Adorable.
There's something very artsy about this shot, I find. Their flamingos are orange. I have no idea what they feed them to get that colour.
I love giraffes. There's something very pretty about it. From afar. Have you seen the tongue on these things?
That's a piece of fish dangling over the seal's head. It got the fish in the end.
*sniff* Darn glass.
This was a lion that rushed up and tried to pounce on us. Again, glass. *sigh* (Not that I'm not thankful for the barrier...)
I'm pretty sure this is an ocelot.
Ok, now we get to the embarrassing bit. I was actually in Chengdu the day of the earthquake because I was getting some "artistic photos" taken. It's extremely common practice where I come from. You go to a professional photographer, pay him/her about 1000 RMB, and then the photographer dolls you up, puts you into a dark room, and takes pictures. The pictures are later edited and made into an album.
This is traditional Korean-style. It's really popular in China right now because of a movie a few years back that every single woman went crazy over. It's like Sex and the City, but... very prudish.
I wanted to get punk-styled (wiki "visual kei"), but it wasn't an option. Thus, I am frilly.
Too many photos? I've got 500 more.
Glad you're okay. 
So does Chinese traffic! 
Glad you're back in one piece, and with these great pictures. 
And I thoroughly enjoyed reading about your
adventure. Well, I enjoyed it, except for the parts where my heart was in my throat and I was worried. But even then, the tale was riveting. And the flamingo
is indeed a very artsy shot. Love the faded wall behind him/her, the soft colors with the gradient effect.
