Chengdu, China

In May we took a short trip to Chengdu, the capital of the Sichuan province in China. Our main reason for going to Chengdu was to see the Giant Panda bears. While Chengdu might not be as well-known as some of China's other cities like Shanghai and Beijing, it is nevertheless a big city with a population of over 10 million people.  

Chengdu is one of the major financial, economic, communication and transportation hubs in western China.  Some of the word's largest companies like Sony, Motorola, Toyota, Cisco and Eriksons have subsidiaries in Chengdu.  Chengdu has also become a strong base for the electronics and IT industry, and multi-national companies like Intel, IBM, HP, SAP, Xerox and Cannon have offices here.  

We found Chengdu to be a busy city and as expected, it was difficult to communicate with the locals.  Fortunately the staff at the hotel where we stayed, spoke minimal English and helped us arrange transportation around the city.  We had a fantastic visit to the Panda centre (it was worth the trip to China) and enjoyed the other places of interest in Chengdu.

Qintai Old Path

This street was named to commemorate the love between Zhuo Wenjun and Sima Xiangru, legendary figures from the West Han Dynasty.  It is a beautiful street with the traditional style of construction from the Ming and Qing dynasties.  These old-style buildings are home to many shops and restaurants.  This street is also home to the popular Shufengyayun Tea House, where visitors can watch traditional Sichuanese Opera.  With Opera (especially Chinese opera) not being our cup of tea, we decided to give this a miss.  We did however have a good time admiring the architecture and doing some window shopping.  

 Tea houses in Chengdu

 Chengdu is famous for its numerous tea houses.  There is a saying that "China has the best tea houses in the world and Chengdu has the best tea houses in China".  Well all we can say is that whoever came up with this saying definitely has not experienced the tea houses in Japan and even South Korea, because those are definitely worth a mention.  Using Japanese tea houses as a standard, I guess we were expecting tea houses in China to be similar or even better, especially after all we had read.  Unfortunately our expectations were dashed after seeing a few and discovering that they really are nothing to write home about.  The only special thing about these Chinese tea houses, is that they are great gathering places where locals spend hours socializing with each other and playing games like Mahjong.  We came across a tea house (which we think is pretty much representative of most of the local tea houses in Chengdu) in a beautiful park called Baihutan Park with a river view.  It looked idyllic from afar, but when we got there, it was a disappointment.  We were surprised to find the tables and chairs set out on sand-covered ground, it was also pretty dirty everywhere and the tea was being served in plastic thermoses (the thermoses weren't even on a table, but on the ground).  It was also quite a sight when we witnessed one of the tea servers clear one of the tables - she basically gathered all the used cups, then very nonchalantly threw the un-drunk tea on the ground, before removing the cups from the table.  Needless to say, it was not an inviting site and we decided to give the tea drinking a skip.         

Hot Pot

For dinner the one evening, we decided to try some local food and a Sichuan favourite - Hot Pot.  We asked the concierge at the hotel to recommend a restaurant and we took a taxi there.  As with some of our previous experiences with eating at restaurants in China, David was again the only Caucasian person in the restaurant.   We also though that we might have a problem communicating with the staff and also ordering, but surprisingly there was a very basic English menu and our waitress (an elderly lady) was able to speak enough English to help us order. We ordered an array of vegetables and some bean curd. Sichuan Hot pot is known for its spiciness.  Fortunately there were two types of broth - regular and spicy.  The spicy broth was a very dark colour and had a lot of hot chilli peppers and peppercorns in it.  We cooked some of the food in the regular broth and some in the spicy broth. The meal was enjoyable even though we were perspiring like crazy from the hot spices.   

Jinli Pedestrian Street

Jinli Pedestrian street is a famous entertainment street and area in Chengdu.  It is a very popular place to visit and draws both locals and tourists alike.  We spent an afternoon walking around this lovely area, which is home to many food stalls, a few tea houses, shops, restaurants and bars. 

 Local Food

There was a lot of different local food for sale at Jinli Pedestrian street.  I (Sam) decided to try some spicy tofu on a stick, similar to Sichuan's famous Mapo Doufu.  It was tasty, but a little too hot and spicy for my liking.

Tea House on Jinli Pedestrian Street

This tea house in the Jinli street area was a lot nicer than the other tea houses we had seen, but then again this is a tourist area, so we are sure this has a lot to do with it.

Ear Cleaning
While most of us think of ear cleaning as something we would do in the privacy of our own homes.  In Chengdu it is a practice that is done in public, often at tea houses where it is a common site.  Who would have thought ear cleaning would go hand-in-hand with drinking tea!
Ear cleaning is an ancient art that not only involves cleaning the inside of the ears, but also stimulating the acupressure points in the ears, thereby promoting healing of the body.  The thought of a stranger sticking various instruments in our ears was scary and so we were happy to just be onlookers.

Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, China

Our main reason for going to Chengdu was to see the Giant Pandas (the Giant Panda is after all, our favourite animal).  Chengdu is home to two Panda centres - Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding and the Ya'an Bifengxia Panda Reserve Centre.  The Chengdu Research Base of the Giant Panda Breeding is the one that is visited the most by tourists, as it is closer to the city of Chengdu.   

The Chengdu Research Base of the Giant Panda Breeding centre was founded in 1987 with six Giant Pandas rescued from the wild.  The centre has been successful with its breeding program and is today home to over 80 Pandas.  The centre is set out over 250 acres of land and it is like a beautiful park. There are rolling hills, bamboo woods and a sparkling lake, but most importantly the centre offers a natural environment for the Pandas.  At the base there are also over 400 kinds of trees and may species of bamboo.  The bamboo that is grown on the grounds is not enough to feed all the Pandas (adult Pandas can eat up to 20 kgs of bamboo, stems and leaves a day!), so bamboo is often brought in from the surrounding areas of Chengdu.   The centre also has a Panda hospital, a kitchen, two nurseries and a museum on site. We learned that the kitchen prepares amongst other things,  Panda bread, a special bread made from corn, rice, wheat and oats for the Pandas (also fit for human consumption, as there were samples for visitors to try).

 Pandas are by nature solitary animals, so this serves as a peaceful sanctuary for them.  That is, when there are not scores of Chinese tourists around, talking loudly and ignoring the signs to be quiet. 

We hired a taxi and it took us about forty minutes to get there.  We had read that it is best to go early in the morning, as this is the time when the Pandas are fed and when they are the most active.  We were happy that we got there early, because we got to see them feeding and out in the open (later on when the weather got hot, the Pandas were taken indoors - Pandas prefer cool/cold weather to hot weather).  

We had a wonderful time at this centre and we are so glad we went.  

Geographic Indicator

At one time Pandas were found all over China.  Today it is a different story as the map below indicates.  This map show the whole of China (green area) and the red parts indicate where Panda are found in the wild today (the remote mountainous areas of the Sichuan, Gansu and Shanxi provinces).  Pandas are endangered and it is estimated that there are only around 2000 Pandas left in the world.  Their numbers have been on the decline due to changes of their natural surroundings, habitat destruction and human economic activities.  This is the sad reality, but fortunately there are initiatives underway to conserve this species, even if it means breeding and raising them in captivity.  Giant Pandas who live in captivity can live up to the age of 22 years. 

New-born Pandas

Cubs are typically born between August and October, so there were unfortunately no new-borns when we visited the centre.  The photos below are courtesy of the centre's education department. We were amazed to learn that when Pandas are born, they weigh only between 50 and 100 grams (1/1000 the weight of the mother) !

Baby Pandas

When we arrived in the early morning, the baby Pandas were still asleep.  There were about six of them at the one nursery and most of them were sleeping and hanging-out in the trees. A few hours later they were awake, lively and very playful .  It was such a joy and pleasure to watch them interact and play with each other.  These baby Pandas were about 9 months old and they were so adorable.  

 

  

Timing is everything !

Taking photos of baby Pandas when they are awake and playing can be challenging, as they are on the move all the time.  This was one of those moments where we were at the right place, at the perfect time to capture this priceless sight - one of the baby Pandas sitting on a plastic pony!  One moment he was leaning against  the pony, the next he was sitting on the pony and seconds later he was off.  We all had a good chuckle.

Photo Opportunity

For an expensive fee/donation, visitors can have their photo taken with one of the baby Pandas.  We both decided this was an opportunity of a lifetime and decided to do it, especially since the money goes towards maintaining the centre.  However, before we were allowed to touch and hold the Panda, we had to put on protective gowns and plastic gloves (more for the Panda's protection).  We got to hold a male Panda named Zhen Hao, who was nine months old (what a beautiful animal).  It was an amazing experience!  Unlike holding a Koala Bear (in Brisbane) which was quiet scary at first, holding the Panda bear was delightful from start to finish.  This little fella was quite content to just sit and chew on bamboo while we had our photos taken with him.  We were both smitten with this little guy (he was so cute, adorable and cuddly) and I think if it was possible, we would have taken him home with us!

Sub-adult Pandas
Giant Pandas between the ages of 1 1/2 to 4 years old are called sub-adult Pandas.  When we arrived in the morning, we found this group of four sub-adults enjoying their breakfast.  They were content to sit in a group with their backs to us, munching on bamboo.  When the bucket containing the food was empty, they became restless and one even stood up and started chewing on the bucket.  These four were about two years old and were just as adorable as the babies.

Adult Pandas

The adult Pandas were housed separately and many were content to just sit and eat. Some of them looked like giant stuffed furry toys, so cute !

 

Red Pandas

The Red Pandas are also an endangered species and they too are part of the conservation program at the centre.  These Red Pandas are found in the temperate forests of the Himalayan foothills, from western Nepal to northern Burma and in the mountains of southwestern China. While the numbers are unclear, some estimates put the remaining population at 4000.  The Red Pandas mostly eat bamboo, but they have also been known to eat grass, roots, berries and sometimes small insects, young birds and small rodents.  In captivity, Red Pandas can live up to the age of 17 years.