GOODBYE JIAOTONG FANDIAN, THE CHENGDU TRAFFIC HOTEL
IF YOU CLIMBED IN EASTERN TIBET ANY TIME IN THE LAST 30 YEARS YOU PROBABLY PASSED THROUGH THE JIAOTONG FANDIAN, OR THE TRAFFIC HOTEL, IN CHENGDU. TO SAY THIS PLACE HAD A PIVOTAL ROLE IN CLIMBING HISTORY IS NOT TO WAX LYRICAL.
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THERE WAS A TIME WHEN THE OPTIONS FOR TRAVELLERS IN CHINA WERE VERY LIMITED FOR ACCOMODATION, WITH THE VAST MAJORITY BEING HERDED TOWARDS SEMI-UPMARKET PLACES IN THE CENTER OF TOWN. THE ONLY OTHER OPTIONS WERE USUALLY MILES AWAY, WAY OUT NEAR THE BUS STATIONS, OR THE SCUNGY BACKPACKER DIVES THAT WERE HUGE DORMS FULL OF ENGLISH TEACHERS.
BUT CHENGDU HAS ALWAYS BEEN DIFFERENT, AND THOUGH MOST OF THE TREE LINED STREETS AND MARKETS AND TEA HOUSES ARE LONG GONE, THE FEEL HAS ALWAYS BEEN MORE RELAXED AND THE STYLE OF LIVING MORE WELCOMING. RATHER THAN GREASY LONELY PLANET GHETTOS OR RUN DOWN HOLIDAY INNS, THE JIAOTONG FANDIAN WAS A DECENT HOTEL THAT CATERED TO CLIMBERS.
LOCATED ON CHENGDUS MOAT CANAL, IT WAS 15mins FROM THE GEAR SHOPS, 10mins FROM THE BIG SUPERMARKETS, SURROUNDED BY SMALL RESTAURANTS, CAFES AND FOREIGN BANKS CLOSE BY, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, NEXT TO THE BUS STATION TO THE TOWNS IN EASTERN TIBET. THERE WAS A TIME WHEN THE FIRST AND LAST GLIMPSES OF MODERN CITY LIVING WAS THE XINANMEN STATION, THAT BUSTLED 24hrs WITH FOOD AND ACTIVITY, AND THE JIAOTONG FANDIAN WAS NEXT DOOR READY FOR BURNED OUT CLIMBERS COMING AND GOING.
CHARLIE FOWLER PASSED THROUGH HERE, AS DID MICK AND VIC, KYLE, JOHNNY, MICAH, MARCIN, CRAIG, AND DOZENS OF OTHER TOP CLIMBERS IN A LONG LIST OF THOSE ATTRACTED TO THE SICHUAN/TIBET FRONTIER. IF YOU HAD A TRIP WITH JIYUE OR ALEX THIS WAS THE PLACE YOU STAYED, AND THE BANQUET RESTAURANT HOSTED MANY LATE NIGHTS THAT INCLUDED TOMATSU NAKAMURA AND TED VAIL AMONG OTHERS. THE DUCK WAS GOOD, NO ORDER WAS TOO LARGE, AND JIYUE COULD MAKE IT HOME ON HIS BICYCLE.
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THIS WAS A PLACE WHERE DUMPING 20 DUFFEL BAGS ON THE STAIRS MEANT NOTHING, DRYING PORTALEDGES IN THE HALLS GOT NO COMMENT, AND STORING BAGS FOR MONTHS WAS NORMAL. THE STAFF WERE ALWAYS POKER FACED, ALWAYS MADE THE EFFORT, NEVER COMPLAINED, AND COULD COURIER A PASSPORT OR SET OF CRAMPONS OVERNIGHT TO PLACES FEW WILL EVER HEAR OF.
REGULARLY THE LOBBY WAS FULL OF RIPPED AND STARVED CLIMBERS JUGGLING LANGUAGES AND GUARDING OBJECTIVES, GUIDES BETWEEN TRIPS AND PROS TRYING TO GET WEIGHT ON. AT SOME POINT IT WAS GONE FROM THE GUIDEBOOKS BUT BECAME POPULAR WITH KOREAN STUDENTS, LEADING TO WEIRD PARTIES AND GOINGS ON IN THE HALLS.
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PERHAPS SURPRISINGLY, IT WASN’T COVID THAT RAN THINGS TO THE END, INSTEAD THE MOVING OF THE BUS STATION AND THE SELLING OFF OF WHAT BECAME VERY LUCRATIVE CANAL-SIDE REAL ESTATE. LIKE THE REST OF THE STREET IT WAS MARKED TO BECOME JUST ANOTHER CHENGDU CONSTRUCTION SITE, AND SO GOES A PLACE JUST AS CENTRAL TO CLIMBING AS THE YAK AND YETI IN KATHMANDU.
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POST-COVID WE ARE LOCATING SOMEWHERE NEW, KEEPING THE FACTORS WE NEED LIKE PROXIMITY AND FOOD. CHENGDU HAS NO SHORTAGE OF HOTELS, AND IN THE 25 YEARS WE’VE BEEN GOING THERE THE CITY HAS CHANGED ASTOUNDINGLY, SO THERE’S NEW THINGS TO EXPLORE AND NEW TRADITIONS TO START.
LIKE ALL CLIMBING IN THE EASTERN HIMALAYA, IT WILL BE MOSTLY LOW KEY, AUTHENTIC, A BIT RADICAL, AND A BIT GRITTY. THIS IS THE ANTIDOTE TO THE HIGH ALTITUDE CLIMBING THAT HAPPENS ELSEWHERE. IF YOU EVER STAYED IN THE JIAOTONG FANDIAN THEN KNOW YOU PASSED THROUGH SOMEWHERE WHERE THE TRADITIONS OF EXPLORATION AND ALPINISM WERE MAINTAINED, AND TO THE STAFF THERE, IF THEY EVER SEE THIS, YES IT WAS US WHO MESSED WITH THE LIGHTS IN THE ELEVATORS TO MAKE WEIRD PATTERNS THAT WERE NO DOUBT A MYSTERY.
