Pandas, afternoon tea, hotpot and the local nightlife

From Yangshou we got a short bus back to Guilin and from here flew to Chengdu; a little further North now. Again flight was great!
We really love the hostel we are staying in here (Mix hostel). It has such a great atmosphere and is very easy to meet new people to talk to.
Yesterday morning we went to see the Pandas! They are my new favourite animal- they were so cute and cuddly! I felt really lucky to get so close to them to as ther are less than 1500 left supposedly. Was a really fun morning.
Once back at the hostel and after a bite to eat we went in search of one of the famous Sichuan teahouses. Found a great one in People's Park where we sat for a good while with our jasmine tea and watched th strange practices of ear wax removal and traditional dancing aournd th park which are common place here.
After a walk around the park and a lollipop (for which you had to spin a wheel to decide on the shape- very exciting lol), we went and say the statue of Mao in the city centre then headed back to the hostel.
We had planned on getting dinner later but then were befriended by a group of people in the hostl (American, English, Canadian and Swedish) who took us for some local hotpot. It was a great thing to do in a big group. We all sat round the table in the middle of which was a large sizzling bowl of sauces and spices. They then brought lots of different meats and veg which you threw into the hotpot and then (attempted to) chopstick back out when they were cooked. I really enjoyed it. After a few beers a the restaurant we were taken to a local club ( day clothes and backpacks intact- nice!) and stayed out for a few hours dancing. It was a really good day.
Today we've just had a lazy day. Our only aims are to sleep, eat and internet- good times!
Will try get photos up soon
xxx

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