About 68 kilometers south of Chengdu, Pujiang county is only 50 km from Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport. Pujiang boasts 50.8 percent forest coverage, the highest percentage of all counties in Sichuan province. With three big reservoirs, densely wooded hills and a few old towns, the county has long been a popular trip from Chengdu.
With many of China’s major cities suffering from frequent fog and hazy weather, the good environment in Pujiang has given the area a fresh appeal. Spring is the best season to visit Pujiang, only 10 minutes’ drive from the expressway between Pujiang and Chengdu. The air is moist and fresh with the mixed fragrance of flowers and green grass. The night is full of the sounds of insects calling.
Pujiang in Sichuan province boasts lush forests, delicious cherries, great local cuisine and a pace of life. The opening ceremony of the second Pujiang Cherry Festival last week in Pujiang county, Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province. During the festival, however, the cherries were everywhere – on the tables, in the baskets of the local villagers and even hanging on trees. Villagers sell cherries along the road on the hill.
The cherries are not the black cherries native to North America and now popular in our markets, but the Nanking cherry, mainly distributed in northern and western China, Korea and Mongolia. Compared with the black cherry, it is scarlet, smaller, with thinner skin and often a little sour. Because it is difficult to store and transport, it is rarely found in markets far from areas where it is grown.
Dominated by buildings with black-tiled roofs, wooden structures and timber sliding doors, the riverside town offers visitors a glimpse into the region’s traditional countryside life. Restaurants and teahouses line the riverbanks, where towering trees grow. Under the shade of the trees, local people drink, eat, chat and play cards or mahjong. The slow pace of life is truly attractive.
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