Yibin – Zigong – 107 km
Hallelujah, at last! A day without a mountain pass! The route was mainly in good
condition. The weather was mild as the way led past dense bamboo areas and
typical Chinese cities. The old part still lined the river bank and a new, modern
city rose directly behind it.
We finished the day's ride in Zigong just as the sun set, and found the town
considerably larger than envisaged. Following searching around in the dark, a
good enough room was discovered. After settling in, the usual hunt to fill our
bellies was on, but it was not as simple as in Yibin. All places tended to have
different specialities, and we were likely not in an ideal area to find good eats.
Our takeaways contained largely meat - at least one of us went to bed with a full
stomach.
An additional day was spent in Zigong as there were reportedly several
interesting sites to see in the city.
Zigong
Freezing weather set in and an additional day was spent in Zigong, exploring the
museums. Following a breakfast of steamed rice buns and hot soya milk, a taxi
took us to the Dinosaur Museum along the city's outskirts. Over 100 dinosaur
skeletons were discovered in the area (apparently washed down by a flood and
then covered by silt at this spot). Their sheer size impressed me, and to think
they lay buried for 160 million years! It is difficult to get one's head around such
a period of time.
Then onto the Salt History Museum, which wasn't as impressive, but the building
housing it was gorgeous. It consisted of a unique old Chinese building featuring
fascinating nooks and crannies, constructed in 1736 by one of the salt
merchants.