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Gosh, you drive a hard bargain, but yes, if you come, I can guarantee you that you, in your own solo race, can likely bypass a few guards and railings and run thru some caves on your time trial which I will, indeed, personally time your result…the catch is that you can’t, however, get caught before you get to the finish line or else you don’t get your name in the DunHuang Daily Times nor a finisher’s medal.
If you’re not willing to endure the 60-hr R/T train or 10-hr R/T flight (of which the difference between hard sleeper train fare (covered by race director) and airfare you shall assume yourself), you need not apply to this race. However, you will be aptly rewarded for your daredevil, first-ever feat of racing thru the Caves. Best of luck and hope to see you in the desert.
And one more thing–masks are good, in theory, if you can handle breathing thru them. I’ve used a mask a few times for biking and once for running. If you like to run at a pace that makes talking in full sentences a struggle, you’ll find it very hard (and hot) to breathe through a mask that filters out any legitimate amount of particulate matter. If it’s over 225 or so even in the afternoon, I take the day off (or turn on my filter and do an indoor workout.) But, you’ll notice (esp. this winter) that a day can start out at 300 (well, lets’ go w/local monitoring stations for this example) and by late afternoon, the AQI will be around 160-180. The Consulate always is a stricter measuring device and/or employs a diff. mathematical formula to arrive at its’ AQI. Don’t get too boxed in by numbers–just get outside and enjoy the city’s green spaces before you go crazy!
Forgot to mention; tho I agree in part with what Julius wrote, I would say with the exception perhaps 10 days in the last 700, the best air you breathe will be late afternoon before rush hour (3:30-5 give or take). Though mornings and late nights have less traffic, the air settles in this huge Chengdu valley at night and morning and lifts (heats up) throughout the day, thereby giving us continually improving air quality til rush-hour, more or less. So, exercise before dinner (if work allows), shower and eat and enjoy the nightlife here.
KriStinaMZ & johanne-vmte: I’ve been running 5-6x week in Chengdu for the past 2 years and am still none the worse off far as I know. Just got a routine health check 2 weeks ago and doc says my chest X-ray, Lungs, etc are all looking good w/no tumors, etc far as he can tell. Like Charlie said, exercising in some pollution is worse than the alternative of doing what most foreigners do here–nothing (well, the bar scene is lively I hear…).
So I can offer you lots of ideas–by far the best place (close to Hi-Tech Zone) is to jump on the subway (or run there) and take it north to the JinCheng Square (锦城广场）metro stop, cross the street (to the west) of the Global Center （环球中心）and enter JinCheng Park （锦城公园）. Further into the park, you’ll run into JinCheng Lake（锦城湖）and the whole loop (if you can connect all the paths (all closed to traffic for the most part) is about 10km of uninterrupted, very pleasant running.
Downtown I run along the river just south of TianFu Square toward DuFu park…and in 2 years I’ve seen exactly 1 foreign woman running and less than 5 guys. You’d be somewhat of a novelty. I actually run a training camp and we meet Sat. mornings at JinCheng Park; you could stop by this Sat. morn if you wanted to meet me/check out the camp no strings attached. All local members at the moment; some are just getting in shape/losing weight and others are preparing for half and full marathons.
As SquirrelSuit said above, you’ll kind of get used to judging air quality by actual visibility but a phone App is useful (if not discouraging at times). If time is not terribly limited, it’s really worth a 2-hr roundtrip subway ride to LongQuanYi as you can get on dirt trails and country roads, tho the air isn’t better. LongQuan is a place I go to regularly to prepare for trail races as it’s got some good elevation relief and decent trail network, though you can get turned around if you’re not familiar with the area. Conversely, there are beautiful roads and cement paths at (or even Dujiangyan–only 30RMB roundtrip on fast train, 45-55 min. each way, give or take) QinqCheng Back Mountain 4 hour round-trip (60-70 min. D-train from north train station to QingCheng Station beyond Dujiangyan, followed by 30-40 min. public bus ride each way. Lots of stairs gives a challenging workout for even the most in-shape hikers/runners and you can be rewarded with great scenery and fresh air at the Back Mtn (and lots of crowds on the weekends; expect about 90RMB for all tickets and travel). Can give more info if you want to PM me.
IMPORTANT UPDATE——–
Forgot to update you all on the race coming up on Oct. 18. in DunHuang. As a foreigner, you are free to pick from the 5k, half or full marathon races. You participation in the race ensures the following provisions:(1) Free roundtrip train tickets (Chengdu–>DunHuang–>Chengdu). You book your own tickets and are reimbursed upon arrival into DH. You need to arrive by the 17th at the latest. All races start morning of the 18th and can leave afternoon of the 18th or later. Just an FYI; no direct train so it’s ~30 hours total. (Chengdu-Lanzhou-DH most direct).
(2) Free hotel accommodations
(3)Race registration fee
(4) Tourist attraction tickets for places of interest (except Mogao Caves)
(5) Free admission to China Silk Road Music Ceremony
It’s a great opportunity to see this fascinating, historical site and make it a little running vacation, if you’re into that type of thing…but then again, anyone can wing a 5k!
You must respond to me via WeChat by THIS THURSDAY as I will need to collect your ID info/etc. for race registration…sorry for the short notice. Currently there are a few foreigners including myself signing up for this and several of my local friends are going, too. Find me on WeChat at ‘runninginchina’.
-Justin
Gary, thanks for the update. So, in your case at least, you didn’t need a residence permit? I have the accommodation form, 1 semester student visa, etc etc. But b/c my visa is only 170 days, they didn’t give me a residence permit, saying that only 180+ student visas are granted those. I’d appreciate some clarification on this front. Thanks!
Dan, I think B&Q may disappoint you. I’ve been there every month or so for the past year and often have looked for stain/quality lacquer and polyurethane finishes…stains you may come up empty. You need a quality topcoat on top of any stain you use, anyway.
I ended up buying a German-branded water-based poly but it’s expensive and need to brush or roll on 4-5 coats (but no scuff sanding is needed) to get good coverage and protection. So if you see a brand that has only German and Chinese, that’s it. I honestly think you’d be better off Taobao’ing some stain as I haven’t seen anything of name-brand/English label. They no doubt have stain available somewhere in Chengdu as installers/remodelers use it here, but I’m not sure where! Most people spray on finishes and even stain, but I haven’t yet invested in a compressor to do so. Wish I could help you out more!
My recommendations are to start some kombucha on your own (I have scobies if you want), and then, as mentioned above, stick to raw/unprocessed/minimally processed grains, nuts and dates,etc from Carrefour, Trustmart, Metro or other shopping markets that carry quality /imported goods. Or Taobao is quite helpful if you shop online. And several people in this forum have posted links to online local dealers who have quality (even organic perhaps) produce, but I don’t have them on-hand right now. If interested, reply and I’ll try to track them down. Alternatively, you could search the forums and likely track them down that way, as well.
If anyone is interested in registering for March 29’s (Wenchuan area) Dragon Mountain 5km or 35km Trail race (龙山越野赛) or the ultra-marathon 60km race, registration is open now (and I can send you an Excel file in English that my local friend has made). Or if you want to register for the April 18 Dujiangyan half or full marathon (5k race seems to be nixed, but I’m waiting on official word), that reg. form is also available. Ballpark 800RMB for 35km and 60km, perhaps 2-300RMB for 5k Dragon Mtn race. DJY half and full marathons are about 100-200RMB but not exactly sure. Now is the time to register! Hope to see you there!
And I should say that I’m open to training with anyone here who can run 10km or more at a pace under 5:00/km, preferably 4:40 or faster/km (7:00-7:30/mile). If you’re not quite at that level, but want to run with me, let me know anyway and we can talk more. I live in the Rome Plaza/1st Ring Rd by MinDa (the SW Minority Univ. west gate).
@squirrel suit, hey I’m Justin. Been here in the ‘du for 1.5 years+. I’ve an extensive history in distance running; been running competitively for 16 years and raced on 4 continents. So when I moved here I, too, was quite interested to connect with whatever running scene was going on. I’ve had the pleasure to connect with a couple running clubs–Chengdu Paoke and Running Park (成都跑客／跑步公园）. They are the two most active local clubs far as I can tell. The Hash club is probably a fine group of folks for a relaxed/social running environment, but I train 100km+/week so training with a few comparably-ambitious locals suits me better. I’ve gotten to race or help organize several local races spread across the area from PingLe (just four days ago I volunteered in trail marking and directing runners at a 20km trail race at Golden Rooster Valley (金鸡谷，平乐旁边) to LongQuan Mtn where I ran 18km and 37km trail races my friend (The director of PaoKe) set up there.
There are a lot of exciting races coming up this year–trail running has garnered an ambitious following. People who just started running last year are licking their chops to run 50 and 100km trail races–they know no such thing as ‘being well prepared’ but they can eat bitter, here, no?! I’ve actually done some training classes and coaching, and it’s hard to tell newbies that they should run 5 and 10k’s for a year or three before they run a marathon, but alas, there will be more and more such long-distance races from now on. December had the 2nd annual Singapore Hi-Tech Championship Cup race way down south beyond the Global Center 5-7km further south. A 5 and 10km and a half-marathon, but you’ll have to wait 10.5 months for that one to come around again. WenJiang had a 5k. QingCheng Shan had a mountain marathon.
And here are the upcoming ones I know of this year with rough time frames:
March 29–WenChuan area–Dragon Mtn Trail Race (龙山越野赛). 5k, 35k and 60km trail race options. 5km is 2-300RMB; 35&60km reg. fee is 800. Prize money in abundance–10,000RMB for winner of 60k, 6000RMB for 2nd place, etc.
April 18-DuJiangYan–5k, half and full marathon. Prize money in abundance (even 100th place deep in full; 50th place deep in half). 10,000 for marathon winner, 6000 for half, etc). Hilly road course. Foreigners will get a discount, my friend said. More info TBA.
August-GongGa Mountain Trail Race. Likely marathon-ultra marathon distance.
October-SiGuNiang (4 Sisters) Trail Race (2nd annual). Likely 50k+ distance.
There are even (at least) 2 building staircase race ascent races here in town with prizes.
Chengdu Paoke and Running Park have 3-5x/week group runs from various venues. Weekly bigger activities. Lots going on here in town if you, like you said, receive info via word of mouth. I still miss some of the events and find out after the fact. But, it’s a sport that is picking up steam quickly here, despite the not-so-great air quality. I think trail running is attractive here due to the relatively close access to big mtn running, trail development potential and the clean air ‘out there!’
You can PM me if you want to add me on WeChat and I can connect you more with the local clubs/runners here.
Hey folks, just wanted to pass on my property insurance provider’s info/link for a free quote. There’s no kickback here, but it seems many of you don’t know what’s available out there for a very reasonable premium and low deductible. I have a $100 deductible on a 70 USD/year premium for my stuff and itemized my MacBook Pro. That and my Cannondale CX bike are the only big ticket items I own here in China, but it’d def. be worth my $100 to get them replaced if they turned up missing one night. Follow the link and check it out for more info and a quote. Clements International is who I’ve used; never had to file a claim yet as my two Abus locks have held steady for the bike and I haven’t had to choose between breaking a nose or holding him til the cops showed up…
Lost the post, perhaps b/c I tried posting it w/the link…but I’d try your hand at contacting/visiting the Chengdu office of Global Doctors. They’re a branch foreigner-friendly medical clinic just inside 2nd Ring Rd on KeHua Bei Lu (KeHua North Road). The General Practice MD and the P/T are American/HK, respectively, so their English is native good. They may be able to help you out or point you in the right direction. Google “Global Doctors Chengdu Clinic”.
J.slemmer, I have more info now than I did a few months. I’ve recently met more and more runners–long-distance runners, trail enthusiasts, and what I’d bet is the most active running clubs in the city–Chengdu Pao Ke (成都跑客). They routinely have events now that the weather’s warming up. I went to a 10km trail race a few weeks ago about 80km from town, am racing a 30km trail race tomorrow morning at Long Quan Mtn (about 35km away), and have signed up for a 2-day ultra-marathon in mid-June in the next province over.
Basically, getting to know the right people and having some language under my belt is all that’s needed. They’re an eager bunch of folks–involved in hiking and distance running both in town and out-of-town on weekends, organizing local races and informing its members of other events, and they also host a Thursday night English corner/run at a local sports university.
Not sure when you’re planning on coming, but I’ll be here, so look me up when you arrive. Can get you plugged in with the group (and the director speaks fluent English; guess where she learned it?…from living in Holland for 3 years!).
Ian, I’m quite interested in the bike. I’d like to have a look this week sometime if that works for you; I am free most days after 12 noon. I’ve PM’ed you more info/Q’s. Thanks.
Jacob, we never did get out for a run yet together;) Alas, I may be cycling more this spring after my next running race is over on Mar. 15.
For others interested in running, I can recommend a Thursday night “Chengdu Runner’s Club” English corner and run from the Sports Univ. on First Ring Rd. Climb a fence to get in by the 7:30pm gathering time, meet some new friends, and the English corner never lasts too long as these local runners want to run more than practice their English. They run around the track, but if that doesn’t deter you, last week when I went there about 30 local folks there of various abilities; some ran 10km+ while others ran 5km or so.
I’d be willing to meet up with any of you as well; I run anytime from 6:30am morning sessions, or a noon run after classes, to afternoon/evening runs, but almost never after dinner and weekends are flexible. I’ll run as long as anyone wants to (I’m also open to trail runs to at QingCheng/LongQuan), so whether long or short is your preference, if you want to run along the river near city center or meet up anywhere within a few miles of 1st Ring Road South (near the SW Minorities Univ./Wuhou District,etc), I’d be up for talking more.
I’m tapering now for a trail ultra, so after I recover, I’d be up for meeting in late March so let me know and we can make some tentative plans.
Are there actual hiking trails around Dujiangyan (a la Longxi-Hongkou National Natural Reserve where all the wild pandas live:)? Trails that are not cemented over and include endless stairs to the clouds–these are the type that I seek? Anyone reading this and that knows of legitimate hiking/trail running options w/good public transport (aka Fast Train (D-train))/express bus, etc near Chengdu–I will buy you a bowl of noodles over lunch for such precious info…I’d like to get off concrete once in a while. As of now, LongQuan Shan via bicycle is my go to for trail running but it’s 75 min. ride there and the same back, which makes for a long day…
I’ve been to Lijiang in Yunnan several times; if crowds aren’t your thing, you can all but skip old town in center of the city proper and head up to Su She Old Town (gu cheng) about 5km north of city center; quieter, cheaper (a bit), but still some great architecture, a river, hiking out your back door (if you can ask around), etc.
Outside the city, I’d recommend the Snow Mtn. aforementioned, and also get a day or two at the Tiger Leaping Gorge; twice I’ve hiked through it. Though it’s become a bit more commercialized than I’d like (okay, it’s China, I get it…), the scenery and solitude are hard to beat. A challenging hike if hiking isn’t something you’re used to; some language skills will go a long way in negotiating travels to and from Lijiang, so if you don’t speak Mandarin I’d recommend staying at a hostel where they speak English and can help get you set up with a driver or bus tickets and logistics. I’ve stayed at the (real) Maple Leaf Inn in Su She old town (there are counterfeits to the real one just a few hundred meters inside the main gate of Su She as they’re ranked #1 lodging in LJG and, go figure, copycat lodges have popped up w/the same name. Great food, competitive rates, and fluent in English.
Dali just a 1.5-2 hour train ride to the south also has an old town. If you want to experience some Myanmar culture, look at going to Luxi Shi (Mangshi city) in Dehong county or Ruili, both of which are a night’s bus ride S/SW from Kunming, but are quaint towns with lots of diversity, tourist attractions, and the best food in China, IMO.
Ian, Callum and Charlie, I’m all for plants and will likely get some of those “Mother-in-law tongue” plants or what be their name. However, I’m not convinced (tho certainly open to some scientific studies being cited/linked to here) that these are going to really give you ‘clean air’—there’s formeldahyde, O3, SO2, NO2, PM 2.5 and the list is really endless–an EPA quote here: “Examples of toxic air pollutants include benzene, which is found in gasoline; perchloroethylene, which is emitted from some dry cleaning facilities; and methylene chloride, which is used as a solvent and paint stripper by a number of industries. Examples of other listed air toxics include dioxin, asbestos, toluene, and metals such as cadmium, mercury, chromium, and lead compounds.”
So unless plants are able to ‘take and hold’ these, I want more…The current crop of highly rated air purifiers, while being 6k-12k RMB, have a formeldahyde filter, an activated carbon/charcoal filter and a HEPA filter at minimum, or some combo of 3 filters. I’m currently designing and making a purifier that has about 1100 RMB of material costs in it, has all 3 of these filters, and will be a attractive end-table sized piece of furniture. The guys from Particlecounting.tumblr.com who I cited above, tested their 200 RMB fan and solo HEPA filter w/a particle counting device, the industry standard way of testing effectiveness of filtering PM 2.5 and they got results on par w/the 5000 RMB models on the Chinese market, be they imported or domestically made. I don’t have the equipment to test effectiveness from the formeldahyde or activated carbon filter, but will likley get a particle counting device to test my purifier once done.
I unintentionally made it sound, previously, like this one was a DIY/homemade purifier, and while it is in one sense, if I’m happy w/the results and aesthetics I’m going to start selling them. Charlie, I didn’t reply initially w/info on the how-to/DIY info of these as it’s going to take some electrician knowledge and I’m a custom woodworker so I’m making a wooden case to contain all the parts. If anyone’s interested, please PM me. Final cost TBD. But Phillips even has a well-rated one for 1600 RMB on Taobao that uses all 3 filters.
I just biked 65 km this morning and while I’m still alive, I’m not sure how many such rides I’ll take at these levels. At least, it’ll be nice to come back inside to clean air soon.
