Question About Chengdu's Districts

[nina]

Hello,

I am writing a story (hobby) and it takes place in Chengdu. Because I can’t travel I combine stories with a location I am interested in. I could not find  the information, where the ugliest, oldest, least-invested or most run-down district or street  is to be found in Chendu. Would you be so kind and help me out with that information? It does not matter, that it might no longer be true in a few months. Thank you very much and best regards to you all. Nina

[Charlie]

The ugliest, most run down quadrant of the city is the North. Around the North Train Station is pretty street. You can get tattoos on the sidewalk for 50rmb – here’s some more information about that with photos.

[Rick in China]

Actually I think the train station itself and immediate area has had a lot of modernisation especially since the subways were built, northeast – however – except for the housing materials shops, has a bunch of kind of red-bricked off small town blocks in super broken down neighbourhoods. You know during apartment constructions, there’s always a big empty field area next to the apartment construction where all the construction waste goes? Like materials scrap, busted cement, etc…. I’ve been through entire areas that look & feel like that, except that’s the living area, not the scrap.

Problem is I don’t know what the area is called. I’ve been up only a couple times – one was a long cab ride to meet a ‘friend’ back in the day, one was playing the 2-beers-hop bus game, getting off after two are done, buying 2 more, getting on next random bus, seeing where you end up. I would agree with Charlie that for writing purposes, just mentioning the north train station probably brings up the most vivid and universally understood implications of dangerous, poverty-stricken, downtrodden, and overall sleazy.

[Charlie]

Rick in China wrote:

I’ve been up only a couple times – one was a long cab ride to meet a ‘friend’ back in the day, one was playing the 2-beers-hop bus game, getting off after two are done, buying 2 more, getting on next random bus, seeing where you end up. I would agree with Charlie that for writing purposes, just mentioning the north train station probably brings up the most vivid and universally understood implications of dangerous, poverty-stricken, downtrodden, and overall sleazy.

That sounds like a fun game. I’m sure there are some really grimey areas in the North, but I also am not very familiar with them by name. Like 99% of foreigners in Chengdu, I live far from that part of the city and never go there.

[Author]

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