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Chengdu - Giant Pandas and a Giant BuddhaSep 30, 2009
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| Chengdu was our next stop – home to the Giant Panda and we were all looking forward to the experience. We again braved the hard sleeper train (this time for 17 hours) and while it wasn't as modern as the last train, we all survived with some sleep that night. As we arrived quite early (5.20am) we had an early breakfast before heading straight to the panda rehabilitation centre. The centre had over 100 pandas and have a 50% success rate with breeding. We first visited the 2 year old pandas and saw them eating fresh bamboo prepared for them. Then it was on to visit the 1 year olds who were so playful and lots of fun. Their handlers fed them some sort of milk based dish out of a bowl which they demolished really quickly. We also got to see a Red Panda which is also endangered – it looks more like a raccoon though. That afternoon in Chengdu we went to “Snack Street” and treated ourselves to various wontons, varieties of meat on a stick and noodles. We then headed to one of the many tea houses that Chengdu is famous for a sipped tea in the afternoon – J even got a shoulder massage as a treat! The next day we caught a bus to the site of the Giant Buddha – a Buddha that stands at 71 metres – its ear is 9 metres long and its foot is 8 metres – the whole complex was impressive with various temples and a park throughout. The weather has been hot and at time muggy but we have been very lucky to have no rain. |
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