Return Trip - Day 8: Pandas

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Started the day off at the Chengdu Panda Center. This started off as a place to care for sick or injured pandas, but now is also a research center, breeding program, and reserve. Currently they have 120 pandas on site - nearly half of the total captive pandas in the world. The goal is to increase the panda population, and they are now starting to release some pandas that were bred in captivity back into the wild. We were able to get incredibly close to the pandas. The giant pandas are in enclosures, but were often only 10-20 feet away. The red pandas wander the grounds - one walked right beside us up the walkway through the reserve. We then went to a Shu Bracode factory (silk weaving) in Chengdu. They are still weaving on centuries old looms and produce remarkable works of art. In the afternoon we visited Kuanzhaixiangzi Alley, an historic area of the city that is similar to the Hutong section of Beijing, but much better maintained and vibrant. Some of the houses are >400 years old and have incredible ornate facades. Apparently much of the city looked like this until 40-50 years ago when most of the neighborhoods were plowed over to make room for the next high rise. Had a great dinner at a Hot Pot restaurant - essentially you throw anything you can find (quail eggs, sausage, crab meat, dumplings, tofu, bean curd, lettuce, corn, etc) into a boiling pot of spicy water and then try to fish each piece out one by one with chop sticks. It was challenging, but well worth it. Wound up the evening at the Chengdu Chinese Opera Fire and Face Changing Show. Not sure how they do it, but they change masks in a millisecond - their faces change instantaneously - remarkable. To the airport tomorrow for the flight to Anhui.

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Photos

Giant Panda eating a lunch of bamboo sprouts

An adult Giant Panda

9-month old panda cubs

A red panda - eating pumpkin for lunch

Chengdu at night

Ornamental doorway in the old city in Chengdu