Freezing in Chengdu

I find myself in Chengdu tonight. Well, it's not as if I am surprised to find myself in the middle of China's Sichuan Province. When I got on the Chengdu-bound Air China plane this afternoon I had a pretty good idea I'd end up here. I was careful to avoid Chongqing you will note - even though it's not so far away and we had to fly over it. So far, my impression of Chengdu is that it beats Chongqing. But then a poke in the eye with a sharp stick would be preferable to being in Chongqing.

I'm staying in a clean but spartan hotel near the place I will be working for the next week. By spartan I mean a hard bed and little heat. With the temperature near freezing I will be sleeping in my overcoat with all my clothes piled on top of me tonight. Ah, budget constraints! But we must all do our part as the president asked us to. I wonder if he is sleeping with his wardrobe piled on top of him tonight?