When I finished the first live update yesterday we were looking forward to a decent portion of Chengdu’s nightlife, as well as visiting a panda farm in the morning. Well, we didn’t get to see the pandas, but at least that was caused by extending our field trip last night.
Text: Johannes Jacobi
Photo: Dominik Wagner
It all started by receiving a message from CJ Wellsmore with the address and name of the club, all written in Chinese letters. After a 15 minutes discussion at the hotel reception and our promise of a little more of them Yuan bills they called a taxi and even though we couldn’t read CJ’s message, the taxi driver certainly could and off we were into the uncertain. What looked like a huge office building from outside quickly turned into a little kinder uberraschung when the guards at the entry told us we should take the elevator to the 4th floor. Leaving the elevator as told, Dominik got a little update message, this time in English, telling us that we should try the 21st floor. Well, even better, let’s do it!
The 21st floor is pretty high, even by Chengdu’s standards, so while sipping on our first beer we enjoyed the breathtaking view above the city and without wanting to get too corny I need to admit that it hit me pretty hard in that moment. When I started announcing events and getting more involved around 15 years ago I would have never expected to end up in club at the 21st floor with a bunch of bladers in the middle of China. Life is full of surprises and sometimes it is worth to stop rushing for a second to soak in the beauty of it.
But of course, we were at a party above Chengdu, so it wasn’t all about nice views and talks. The dance floor quickly turned into our battlefield but besides Mathieu Heineman busting salsa related Rob G dance moves I won’t tell you the details, and how it all ended…
Today, Thursday, the first thing on the schedule was the opening ceremony and a decent crowd gathered to watch and listen to Chinese and French officials holding speeches and expressing their excitement about the FISE finally coming to China. Chengdu is about to build the biggest extreme sports complex in China, so that’s a reason to celebrate and that’s what we did with some fine wine and snacks while watching some of the best BMX riders busting their moves as well as Roman Abrate killing it with insane 900 transfers and his signature kangaroo flip. Not bad for a first practice session.
Later on a few of us went to see a local market with all kinds of food and stuff that you really don’t need but want to have. These markets are different to anything you will find in Europe or the US. Such a different world… Now its 10 p.m. and we are getting ready for the first official FISE party here in Chengdu. After last night expectations are high and the plan to visit a roller disco as the party after the party is not making it any better. But well, we will capture everything to keep you updated, so check back and thanks for following us on our trip through the unexpected.
