Pandas (3-3)

Saturday Kim and I went to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. This  was one of the things she really, really wanted to do while in China, and she was pretty sure that this would be her only weekend here. (Although she has liked the people she has met here, she is not satisfied with her placement at a research center or with the lack of support she has felt from her agency.) So off we went.

We left at 7:00 so we would get there fairly early because we had read that the pandas are fed and are more active in the morning. We were pleased that we were able to get into Chengdu easily on two buses. The trip took an hour. At the final station in the city, we decided to take a taxi because we didn’t know what bus to take or where to get it and taking a taxi would get us there easily. The trip took an hour, and we entered the center at 9:30. We were excited to be there.

The center is a reserve to preserve and breed pandas. We saw several young ones—about seven months old—as well as adults. We also watched the movie about the breeding and care process. One interesting piece of information is that if twins are born in the wild, the mother keeps only one, but in the center they can keep both alive. The babies weigh about 100 grams. 

They look incredibly small next to the mothers in the videos that were showing in the nursery.

Both Kim and I are walkers, and we walked all day and saw everything there is to see. We both also enjoy taking photos; so many photos were taken while we stood and watched the pandas. We were a good match.

Within several minutes, we encountered our first pandas. It was delightful to watch them sit and lay chomping on their bamboo. And to hear the noise of their chomping on the stalks. They eat about 14 kilos a day.

In the area for the young ones, we spent a lot of time watching the seven month old pandas. Three were sleeping both times we passed them. 

One was quite active; I nicknamed him the ADHD baby panda. The first time we saw him, he was walking over his mother. She often put her arm around him. It was sweet. 

The second time we were there, he was walking around non-stop. He walked over to the sleeping ones and then to the trees. Then he climbed a tree. 

Next he went to another tree where another small panda was sleeping. When he started to climb up, the one in the tree barked at him and then watched closely to make sure he didn’t try to go up the tree. So he went to climb another tree. 

The third time we passed the area, the active one was finally sleeping in a tree.

The center also has some red pandas. We were fortunate to see one walking around, as they are usually sleeping in trees during the day. 

We also saw a few balled up in the trees.

Kim had read about a person who had held a panda at the center and was very keen to do that. This wasn’t mentioned on the website, and there was no posted information about it at the center. After lunch, she asked a man at the café about holding a panda, and he directed us to one of the nurseries. We’d been there before, and the woman recognized us when we returned to ask about holding a panda. This opportunity is available only twice a day, and the next time was in an hour. So we were glad we’d returned when we did to get that information. When we returned, there were several other people waiting to go into the nursery to hold the panda. One was Chinese. Four were a family. First they were given a certificate, and then they washed the bamboo with a hose. When they were inside, those of us waiting were able to see them on a monitor, which was fun. They wore gown and gloves. The seven-month-old panda was put into their lap for a minute. Photos were taken and then put onto the person’s memory card or UHB. They were given a sweatshirt and a magazine about pandas as well as a framed photo. The experience cost 2000 yuan (about $330). It’s a good fundraiser for the center. Kim was thrilled to be able to do it, and I was glad she was able to.

To get back to our bus home, we took a bus. When it made its final stop, we asked a young man which bus we should take. He didn’t know, but after a few minutes he said we could take bus 9. So we did, not knowing where it was going other than into the city. It stopped at the main train station where we waited in a long line for a taxi back to the bus station. There were hundreds of people sitting around waiting for their trains. By pointing to the bus station on the map, we were able to tell the taxi driver where we wanted to go. Interestingly, he took us to a very nice hotel half a block from the bus station, thinking that we were going there.

At the bus station, there was a long line to get on a bus, but we were glad to be there. When we got to Wenjiang, I knew the bus didn’t go to the university. I showed my picture of the school to the young woman next to me who is a student here. She told us which stop to get off at so we could easily get a taxi to the school. Another woman got off at that stop and hailed a taxi for us. We arrived back at 8:00. The trip back took 3.5 hours from the center to home. A long, but delightful day.