We hit town off another flight, surrounded by fog. Or is it smog? It’s hard to tell, but I’ll find out tonight when I catch up with an old friend. This city’s even bigger than the last one, though it’s hard to tell when you can’t see far. I think I see my first statue of Chairman Mao outside the Science and Technology Museum, just before we reached the hotel – I’m surprised it took so long? From the hotel window I can see the traffic curling around the intersection below. Green and yellow taxis abound. A late lunch contains the unavoidable Sichuan pepper, whose lemony numbness takes some getting used to (fortunately I’d tried it before I got here or it might’ve been a nasty surprise). Lian notices how the diners hold their bags on their lap. The traffic takes on its usual chaotic flow – it’s not something a westerner can try and make sense of, and sometimes it’s best not to watch. The beggars are aggressive in the middle of town, stretching across the steps and shaking their box at you while you try and dodge both them and the oncoming pedestrians. Somewhere on our journey for a functioning ATM, I think I saw an electric rickshaw – y’know, like an electric scooter, only…