Day 8 Pandas

At 8:00 a.m., we set out for the Panda Research Center, which is near Chengdu.  Again, traffic was heavy, and we arrived at about 9:00 a.m.   The center was a beautiful natural area in which Pandas can move freely.  There are housing, play areas, and feeding areas that are much like a zoo setting but they can roam throughout a large area and find Bamboo to eat in many places.   We began walking up the trail through the zoo, and before long, we encountered a group of five Giant Pandas.  Three of them were sitting on the ground busily eating Bamboo, biting off large stems and chewing them quickly.  There was a large crowd of people at the low fence watching the Giant Pandas, who seemed oblivious to the crowd.  There were two other Giant Pandas resting in a play area.  One was lounging in a tree; the other was spread out on a platform built of large bamboo stems.  Bamboo is their only food, and they use it very inefficiently, so they spend most of their time eating and resting (to save energy we were told).  Later we saw several more Giant Pandas in trees.  They were just as striking to see with their black and white fur and black eye spots as we had expected from the videos that we had seen over the years.  We had seen the pair of Giant Pandas at the National Zoo in Washington D.C. years ago, but seeing them in their natural setting was much more interesting.  At the center, researchers are trying to learn what works best to help the Giant Pandas survive and increase in numbers. 

At one point, a station was set up so that patrons could actually hold a young Giant Panda while the attendants photographed the holder and Panda.  Giant Pandas are large bears, so the ones available for holding were obviously young ones.  Several in our group got in line, paid the fee (equal to $160) and came out with their photographs and pure excitement.  We didn't join in, but our group includes a family from Calgary, Alberta with two 12-year old boys (twins).  Holding the Giant Pandas was one of the highlights of their trip. 

Later along the trail, we encountered a group of Red Pandas.  They were being fed, so we were able to watch them up close.  These animals are about the size of a medium-sized dog with long banded tails and red fur.  They looked like large raccoons, but their faces had the rounded shape of a Panda.  Again, it was exciting to see an endangered animal up close and know that they were receiving the attention needed to ensure that the species did not disappear.

The next stop on the tour was the Shangxidui Bronze Museum, where we saw artifacts from Chinese history and culture.  Most of the large collection were masks made of bronze that had been found in a tomb unearthed near the museum.  The masks had distinctive diamond shaped eyes, but they illustrated great variety in the other facial features and in their size.  The items were dated 700-600 B.C.  The museum also contained a collection of items that had been made of Jade.  There were large blocks of Jade that had not been carved to illustrate what the Jade was like as it was mined.  Many of these items were intricately carved and shaped to be useful as well as decorative items.

We ended the day with another expansive spread of Chinese food that represented the Sichuan District of China.

Pictures:  Panda Breeding Preserve, Shangxidui Bronze Museum