Chengdu, Sichuan

4. Renmen Nan Lu (People's Road North)

This picture was taken on the People's Road South (Renmen Nan Lu). The big department store with its tall statue of Chairman Mao Zedong is in front. As you can see in 1984 most of the traffic are bicycles. On occasion a policeman would stop us for what I guessed was a traffic violation of some kind. He would talk in Chinese for some time gesturing with his hands and then pause waiting for some response from us. I would reply in Chinese "Ting Budong." That means I don't understand you. He would throw up his hands in disgust and wave us on. Once we were stopped on a bridge riding our bikes. Same thing happened. "Ting Budong." I later learned the sign on the bridge said not to ride your bike on the bridge but to walk it. The sign was in Chinese.