It’s Panda-monium in Chengdu!

We have a terrific guide here in Chengdu. Bobby met us at the airport, gave us an overview of the three things we should do and that Chengdu is famous for – Panda, Brocade and Food (HotPot and KungPao Chicken), and got us settled at the hotel. Pretty standard fare for guiding services. But because it was late he went the extra mile and set up a hot pot dinner for us at a local place that he was meeting friends at. He helped order food, explained how to eat it, showed us how to make our own sauces and then once settled he turned in for the night. (Food Part 1 – Check)

Our timing couldn’t be better. On Monday, the Chengdu Panda Research and Breeding Center issued a press release that showed fourteen new cubs. It’s a worldwide video sensation and apparently America’s productivity is at risk due to the cuteness factor of these new cubs. Our friend Anne C, who lived in China for a year with her husband and two daughters, sent us a link to a news report and I’ve attached it HERE

http://www.today.com/pets/panda-overload-14-cute-babies-cuddle-crib-4B11237410

Our primary purpose in coming to Chengdu was of course the Panda. You may remember that Rose became quite the WWF (World Wildlife Fund) supporter last year, raising money through lemonade stands with the help of friends and adopting endangered species. So when I began planning the trip to China last fall I knew we would be coming here to volunteer at the Center. We then also secured one of the coveted opportunities to hold and be photographed with the Center’s one-year-old cubs. (The newborns shown in the link are too fragile to be handled and are kept in a kind of NICU for the first two months.)

Volunteering was the best part of the experience. We learned about the Center’s breeding program and the effort to reintroduce the panda into the wild. We spent an hour helping four male pandas do their morning exercises. Each morning the panda keepers help the pandas strengthen their hind legs by raising and lowering an apple, basically making them do squats. We were taught how to lead the exercises and we took turns exercising four of the male pandas. Once the exercises were completed, we fed them a morning snack of bamboo shoots, released them to their outdoor play areas, and then cleaned out the emptied cages. In one cage, 17.5kg of panda poop for FuFu, or “abundance” in Mandarin. Based on his particular stats, 17-18 kg per morning cleaning is normal. Pandas eat roughly 40kg of bamboo shoots each day and “retain” only 45-50%. The poop is very fibrous and doesn’t smell at all.

We then went to the nursery where we would sit with a panda cub! It was a wonderful morning. (Panda – Check)

Our afternoon was supposed to include a drive to the largest sitting buddha in Leshan but we scrapped it due to the rain and opted to take in the sights and sounds of Chengdu city. Twenty two million people live here. We took a stroll in Poet’s Park, sat for tea under an arbor and had our ears cleaned!! Weird but we were up for the adventure. Next, we took in some history with a visit to the Chengdu Shu Brocade and Embroidery Museum. Chengdu is famous for brocade going back to the Han dynasty. Four brocade looms were being operated and I was tempted to buy something since brocade is hot right now but I didn’t. (Brocade – Check)

Since we’re almost done with the day, I may as well include the color commentary on the rest…After the museum, we went for a one hour reflexology and herbal medicine aromatherapy to kill an hour before dinner (Kung Pao Chicken, so Food – Check) and a Teahouse/Theater show.

We have tons of photos. Be patient though. It seems WordPress is having trouble or perhaps the photo I took of the video tower in Tianamen Square was an unwise idea. Nah….