[Returning to Zhuge Liang's Temple]
1. I have not been to Chengdu for 10 years. The place is booming. Singapore companies are making inroads, some on a big scale like Surbana and Capital Land. Pua Seck Guan, once an RC chairman, briefed PM about Capital Land's new mall. I proudly mentioned to PM that he was one of our grassroots leaders. There are, maybe, a couple hundred Singaporeans or more working here now.

2. I followed PM on his visit to the 'recently' discovered Sanxingdui site this morning. During the Shang Dynasty, the Chengdu area developed separately with its unique jade and bronze artifacts. Scholars are still not clear at all what the relationship was at that time between Sichuan and the Central Plains. The beginnings of Chinese civilization were more complex than once was thought. Happily, Singaporeans will be able to see some of the objects from Sanxingdui at the Asian Civilizations Museum next year (I think). Watch out for the exhibition.

3. In the afternoon, we visited Zhuge Liang's Temple, Wuhou Ci. Since my last visit, the complex has been greatly enlarged. It is fascinating how the Romance of the Three Kingdoms continues to grip the Chinese imagination. The white cypresses mentioned in Du Fu's famous poem on Wuhou Ci can still be seen. Yue Fei also wrote about Zhuge Liang. It would seem that every dynasty rediscovers and refurbishes China's sacred cultural sites. All over China, these sites are being restored and added on attracting huge numbers of tourists. The signboards at Wuhou Ci are in Chinese, English, Korean and Japanese. This itself is a sign of the times.