Loveable, Huggable Chengdu

When reading our guidebooks take on Chengdu, it didn't seem like there was much to do here but drink tea and eat hot pot; but, Chengdu serves as the base point for reaching the outlying areas, so a visit here was inevitable.  Our original plan was to come to Chengdu, and from there, make trips to the Wolong Panda Reserve and Jiuzhaigou.  It turns out however, that our book wasn't published until after the earthquake of 08, and the Wolong Panda Reserve is now closed.  The other Panda facility outside of the city is only accessible to volunteers, and while that would have been amazing, Darren and I didn't feel we had the time to go through the paperwork and the minimum 3 week service; so, we settled on the Panda Breeding Centre here in Chengdu.

We decided to visit the Breeding Centre with a tour group since the only other way to get there in time for feeding (which is basically the only time they're awake) is by taxi, and it's a bit out of the city.  The tour group worked out well for us because it wasn't one of those tours where they put you in matching hats and make you follow a yellow flag.  The "tour" basically consisted of them picking us up at our hostel, dropping us off, and coming back to fetch us a few hours later.  We also lucked out because one of the couples on the tour with us had already done the tour, but because their camera was stolen, they wanted to come back and reshoot the experience.  So they already knew where all the best hot spots were and were more than happy to share them with us!  Instead of wasting our time trying to interpret the park map and decide where to go and what to do first, they already knew when and where the feedings would be, and the best vantage points.  Consequently, we got some pretty amazing pictures (which you'll have to wait for until I can upload them).

We started with a few of the older pandas, up bright and early waiting for breakfast.  They are fairly entertaining to just watch.  They are huge, and just sit there, doing basically nothing.  We caught sight of another who hadn't quite woken up yet, but seemed to be enjoying his sleep, all sprawled out.  We made our way to the Red Pandas (which really do look more like raccoons than bears) and they were a bit more lively, though rather shy.  They really are cute, but when they hear you coming, they freeze and don't move, and despite the many signs that ask you to be quiet, most of the local tourists think that calling at them and making strange noises will cause them to turn around and pose for their cameras.

From there we headed to the main feeding area for adult pandas and they were hilarious!  The four or five of them just sat there on their great big behinds, slouched over and back mouing down on their nutritious bamboo... and they're not clean eaters either (not that you'd really expect an animal to be).  We left for a bit and came back to a couple pandas with mass piles of shredded bamboo husk all over their bellies.  No, Ruth, we didn't see any of them poop but I'm sure it would be quite a sight.  They are rather entertaining with their human-like personalities.

The baby pandas were of course my favourite.  They are so cute.  The lady said in the morning they do their stretching and gymnastics, and it totally seemed that they were.  They were rolling around and contorting their chubby little bodies in awkward poses, and sitting on each others' heads.  They were too adoreable and too cuddley.  I wanted to "hug" one, but wasn't about to pay 1000 RMB to do so.  (You really must wait for pictures to do justice.)

For all my fellow "Up" fans, Kevin was at Breeding Centre.  If you don't know who Kevin is, you need to watch the movie again.  Kevin is the female, multi-coloured, ostrich type bird in the film that makes a very loud squawking noise.  We kept hearing this noise and I couldn't help but be reminded of Kevin, and then up on the roof was this large bird that even looked like a smaller version of Kevin!  It was awesome!  (It may have been a peacock.)

After our Panda expedition, we had a bit of a rest and went with our tour group to the Sichuan Opera.  It was pretty cool!  Aislinn, you would have loved the mask changing.  It was definitely my favourite part.  They change masks so quickly I didn't even notice the first couple times.  I was of course busy taking pictures, and Darren was like "did you see that" and I was like "what?".  Ya, it happens very quickly... and, they breathe fire which is sweet!  Aislinn, if you ever master the art of mask changing, you may just kill me with fear!

The following day, Darren and I just ventured through the city, exploring the various areas.  The two "local/old streets" that we walked through still have a lot of the old architecture, but all the shops are modern and a lot western... which basically equals EXPENSIVE, so we got through there pretty quick.  We wandered over to the Tibetan quarter which was pretty cool.  Not quite the same crowded streets of shops and vendors as the Muslim quarter in Xi'an, but a regular "district" with a lot of shops selling Tibetan cultural/religious articles.  My favourite part of it though, was all the monks wandering around the streets just going about their daily business, all of them in their burgundy and orange robes.  It was fantastic though kind of strange to see Buddhist monks in their robes, with their shaved heads, beads in one hand and then a cell phone in the other.  Something about it just doesn't add up.

On Sunday, we left for Jiuzhaigou (see the next blog), we got back this evening, and tomorrow we're off again.  Overall, Chengdu has been a very pleasant experience.  The atmosphere here is very laid back (as it apparently is in all the Sichuan province) and our hostel has just the same atmosphere.  While we're excited to head south to Kunming and explore the Yunnan province, I think I could easily spend a week here, just doing nothing (except I always feel guilty for doing nothing for too long).  Another 20 hour train ride ahead!  Here's hoping we don't end up with stinky feet, more farters or another cabin of snorers!