The Pride of China: Pandas!

Day 2 in Chengdu! The panda breeding base. Pandas feed around 9:30 AM so I headed out early to try and see them when they were the most active. The base was in a Northeast suburb of Chengdu and about 30 minutes away. My lonely planet said a public bus traveled there, but I couldn't find it so I ended up hailing a taxi. 

It was SO CROWDED! Tickets were only 60 RMB ($10) and all of the money went to research for a good cause. 

Since it was so hot and humid out, the pandas were all inside in the air con. Eating. Pandas eat for 16 hours a day just to get enough energy--they primarily eat bamboo (their poop looks like chunks of green bamboo). At the research base they also feed the pandas apples and special panda cakes but they are special treats. Its crazy how much research went into EXACTLY what ingredients go into the panda cakes and how much. 

There are only about 2,000 pandas left in the world. Pandas are extremely selective when it comes to mating so many of them are artificially inseminated. The researches dedicate most of their work to finding ways for these guys to have sex or to have babies. A year or so ago one of the pandas had twins. In the wild a panda will abandon the weaker one because it can only raise one baby at a time. At the research base they can ensure that both pandas live. 

First stop was the panda kindergarden. Baby pandas!

This guy was a little ham

The nursery...

I think this little guy is about a month

At birth, pandas usually weigh about 100 grams. Last year a panda was born at 50 grams and lived with the help of careful observation and treatment, something that would never happen in the wild. 

At a month the panda gets hair. The little ones really are not that cute. A baby panda is 1/1000th the size of their mothers, so generally the babies are closely monitored and incubated to ensure survival. 

They had a video that showed a panda reacting to giving birth. They did not know what to do with their baby! They hit it around a few times and then the researcher ran in and grabbed it when they got a chance. 

I'm not sure when they will go back and be raised by their mom, but they only stay with their mom until they are 1 year old and then they go off on their own. 

Giant pandas!

Just chilling

And eating. 

Go Brookfield! Now there are only four zoos in the US that have pandas: Washington DC, Atlanta, Tennessee, and LA and it is considered a huge honor when China gifts a panda to another country. 

Kindergarten #2

And onto the red pandas. 

Red pandas...not so cute. They resemble a raccoon and are not friendly

The panda base was beautiful! I spent the entire day there walking around. 

Swan lake

A toilet seat I came across while at the base

After I left the base I walked around Chengdu a bit and explored the city.

So many people on their motorbikes! In Shenzhen these are not allowed to help with pollution so it was shocking to see so many!  

A man walking his turtle

A walk along the river! So peaceful! So many old people were just hanging out, playing mahjong or cards or getting haircuts (i think these people were volunteers) 

I loved the atmosphere of the city. So relaxed compared to Shenzhen and the people were much more friendly. Many people were out and about with their families and the rampant inequality between rich businessmen and migrant workers was not as apparent here. 

                                       

This was outside a school depicting the importance of an education. My perception of this picture: being educated = being a good Chinese citizen, carrying on and following the traditions of China. 

Laughable. Came across this in a Chinese bookshop. If Americans don't care to read this why would Chinese people care? 

Sichuan hotpot! WAY to spicy for me. But you get to pick all your own meat and veggies and then cook them in the spicy soup, kind of like Mongolian BBQ

some veggies--lotus, black mushrooms, sprouts, potato, bitter melon, and chinese cabbage

And meat--very different looking 

The statue of Chairman Mao in the center of Tianfu Square

Pretty decorations!

And beautiful landscaping! 

The city only had two metros, they made a cross and intersected right in the middle of this square at the center of the city. 

I didn't see many foreigners but I think I would be very comfortable living in this city. Someone I met from Shanghai told me that the people in Chengdu rank among the happiest people in China. 

Chengdu: Big Buddha!

Right after checking in I headed to the tourist bus stop to go to Leshan to see the Big Buddha. Jin and his friend wanted to do lunch, but now I had one day less in Chengdu so I told them I would meet them when I returned back from Leshan.

Leshan is a 2 hour bus ride south of Chengdu. Once again I was the only foreigner on the bus. As soon as I got there I found the local bus to take me to the Big Buddha (I was really proud of myself for this since there was no pinyin or English on the bus schedule)

I made it! The Big Buddha was built during the Tang Dynasty (618-900 AD) and is the largest stone buddha in the world. Its also the tallest pre-modern statue in the world. The Buddha was not harmed in the 2008 earthquake, but it is degrading slowly due to pollution. 

I expected to go to this sight and see the Big Buddha then head back, but the scenic area and the Buddhist relics really interested me. The place felt so peaceful and beautiful. I would like to learn more about Buddhism when I get a chance. 

The yin yang is central to many Chinese beliefs. It is linked to Taoism and represents the idea of balance in Chinese culture some people say it represents the black dragon and the white tiger. 

I have come to find the yin yang symbol very interesting--I think if I get another tattoo while in China it might be a yin yang

In front of each of these paintings people would bow down. 

There were also sacrifices on the alters. Chips, crackers, and biscuits. 

I was in awe of how beautiful the paintings and statues were. 

The monks reading scriptures. I felt kind of disrespectful taking a picture but so many other people were taking pictures...one of the monks taped a drum to keep a beat but the readings were entirely monotone. 

Blessings! If you paid you could get a candle to light an eternal flame.

And finally...I made it to the Big Buddha!

You can see here the number of people waiting to walk down next to him. The walk besides him was a LOT of stairs and people moving very slowly to take pictures. I was amazed how violent and fast the current was of the river below. 

The Buddha faces a confluence of three different rivers. Back in the Tang Dynasty day there were many shipwrecks because the water was so rough so the Buddha was built to calm the waters and provide protection. The Buddha took 90 years to build! Before walking down the mountain there was a cave where people lived while building it. 

After walking around the site until about 6pm, I headed back to the bus stop and made it back to Chengdu around 8. I walked around the bus stop a bit and stopped in a fast food restaurant for some chinese food. I grabbed some garlic chicken, rice, pickled vegetables, and thin stripped potatoes. They had little purple sweet potato bites too so I grabbed an order for dessert. 

I got back to my room and showered and passed out relatively early. After living in a 4 room hostel it was so nice to have my own room.

My plans for tomorrow...pandas!