The land of the giants

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After our great time in Xian, we found a really cheap flight to Chengdu. There weren't many tourists in Chengdu because of the earthquake but we really wanted to see the sights and the pandas.

We woke up early the first morning just in time to see the pandas eating at the Breeding Center. They were soooo cute! We saw 19 pandas in total (Dave counted) and the babies were adorable, eating and playing! The Breeding Center wasn't affected during the earthquake so all the pandas were doing great!
After a few hours watching our new favorite animal, they went to sleep and we went to get some food. The pandas had made us hungry. Spent the afternoon relaxing and walking around, then went to a great restaurant for dinner where I have truly found the best brownie in the world. I was in brownie heaven and even Dave and Amy had to agree.

On the second morning, we took the 2 hours drive to Leshan, the home of the biggest seated stone Buddha in the world. But before we got there, our driver accidently ran the van over an elderly woman's foot! The police said it was her fault because she hadn't looked before she crossed but our driver felt bad. We brought her to the hospital and she was going to be alright. That was a scary experience and made Dave even more wary of drivers here in China.

Anyways, we made our way to the Buddha and it was spectacular! It is 71 meters high and has huge hands and feet! We read somewhere that the Buddha's eyes opened and closed years ago during the revolution because he didn't agree with what was going on and its considered sacred! The whole area was impressive and it was well worth the trip!
We only spent two days in Chengdu but they were great! It was time to take another night train plus an 8 hour bus ride to Lijiang, a city in Northwestern Yunnan province.

Love, Sophie

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Photos

Baby takes a tumble!
Dave's favourite, probably because he was a trouble maker

Eating is a favorite past time!
Pandas spent sixteen hours a day eating, this adult weighs something like 142kilos

Shooting practice
Dave is practicing his shooting techniques...the Chinese way!

Smile for the camera!
Aren't they cute? They listened to the photographer very well!

The old and the new
As you can see, Starbucks is trying to fit in with the old.

Busy street
China is always crowded, even at night.

Old city street
The city wall with its pretty red lanterns.

Leshan
The start of the park holding the biggest seated stone buddha in the world!

Tiger of the Tiger and the Dragon
The myth holds that the tiger and the dragon fought and then found peace in this park!

The big Buddha
The view from the top of the hill

Comments

[monique landry]

Love the Pandas!
The pandas are tooooo cute! The big buddha is also impressive. Did you see damage from the earthquake? Was the area very affected by it? Did you guys feel it in any way? Take care and thank you again for sharing the adventure! Monique :)

[Nana Lings]

Panda's
The Panda's look great, there were only 2 there when I went to see them. So pleased you are all enjoying everything. Love Nana