The Giant Pandas!

When we were looking at flights from Bishkek into China, there were only two options. Chengdu made the most sense from a price perspective, plus the added bonus that the giant panda research centers are located in the area. 

Then we learned that there are three or four different locations to see the giant pandas. One of them is located on the outskirts of Chengdu city, so it's the busiest, but also does the most breeding so you are likely to see baby or younger pandas. 

But it also has the biggest crowds. So instead of that one, we chose a place near Dujiangyan City called Panda Valley.

We found out there was a shuttle bus that left just down the street from out hotel called Hi Panda that takes you directly to the entrance for 30 yuan ($6.25 CAD, $4.40 USD) per person for the 65 km (40 mile) trip. We decided to do the shuttle bus one way only and make our way back using high speed train.

The bus left at 7:30am, so we rushed our free hotel breakfast at 7:00am and made it to the stop with a few minutes to spare. We made one more stop to pick up some more passengers, then moved slowly in heavy traffic for the first half of the trip. Once we got outside the main part of the city, it was much better. Still, we didn't arrive at the entrance until 9:30am.

The entrance to Panda Valley.

They say you should get there as early as possible for two reasons... one, to avoid the crowds, and two, the pandas are more active during cooler weather and tend to laze around and sleep as the day gets warmer.

Once again, admission was totally free for those over 60 years old.

Hundreds of souvenir sellers line the main entrance.

We got in quite quickly, but we would soon learn that it doesn't take long to get crowded.

There's the first one!

But he's sleeping.

It doesn't look very comfortable!

These two are also sleeping.

They do look big and cuddly, don't they?

This is the typical outdoor enclosure they have.

It helps to have a good camera, because sometimes they are quite far away.

But we were a little disappointed overall because it's still a very "zoo" like setting. And the indoor enclosures aren't very nice at all. And, it was still very crowded in certain areas, and the pandas didn't do much but sleep. Apparently they are more active during the winter, and that means coming here in January. Still doable, because they don't get a lot of cold in this area, but it would still be around 10C (50F) if you really want to see them active.

A little more info about the giant pandas.

They also have red pandas. These are much smaller, and look more like a cross between a cat and a racoon than they do a bear. They have one open air viewing area for the red pandas, and they hide easily, so when one is actually available for viewing they attract quite a crowd...

I did not enjoy this.

I wonder if the red panda thinks the people are there for his amusement.

I found it amusing.

We decided go to back to the giant pandas to see if any of them were doing anything but sleeping.

This guy looks pretty relaxed!

Zzzzzz.

This one decided to wake up, change positions, and go right back to sleep.

Kind of neat to see them, but a little underwhelming. Glad we didn't have to pay.

We decided to walk the 5 kms (3 miles) to the city of Dujiangyan where we would eventually get the high speed train back to Chengdu.

Along the way, we stopped for some lunch.

The entrance to a now abandoned amusement park.

Ruth's lunch.

My lunch.

Clock tower.

There are garden plots right beside the main road.

Spotted this Chinese built motorhome on the opposite side of the main road.

Scenery along the way.

Would have liked to do some hiking up there if we had more time.

The Jinma River.

Another Chinese RV!

This guy was pretty much camped out in the parking lot.

So much to see! This isn't a temple... it's the entrance to the Nan Qiao Bridge.

It's decorated with these little figures.

And a peacock.

People sit on the bridge because there's a nice cool breeze blowing through.

Pagoda in the distance.

Ruth stopped to say hi to this little pig.

He enjoyed having his head scratched.

Lots of little tourist shops.

No idea what any of this is!

Almost every shop has someone standing outside giving away free samples. We tried a type of fruit wine, and it was really nice so we went in the shop to see what else they had. The girl insisted we try a sample of everything. I'm sure she would have kept right on going if we hadn't eventually stopped her. Yes, we ended up buying a small bottle as a treat.

Me, and the shop girl.

They had quite a selection to sample!

They have a lot of these fancy dress up shops where they do your makeup and everything and dress you in ancient looking clothes. It's a popular thing here. Even our hotel has a section where you can do it for free. We were going to, but we've run out of time!

Girl getting her makeup done.

Another view of Non Qaio Bridge.

Another bridge.

We actually could have spent more time in this area.

A giant giant panda!

Huge!

And then we got on the high speed train to get back to Chengdu. A bit confusing as it was our first time using the high speed rail system. It turns out that foreigners need to have their passport with them because your passport essentially becomes your ticket. Fortunately, Ruth had paper copies of our passports and they accepted that. On the train, we had trouble reading what seat numbers were ours on the tickets, and a very polite boy about 12 years old came up to us and asked in perfect English "Do you guys need some help?" He and his mother helped us find the right seats. Very few people speak any English, and we're not sure if this boy was perhaps visiting from another country.

It was only about 20 minutes on the train. Saw the speed going at 197 km/h (122 mph) at one point, which is still not fast by China standards. They have some trains that go twice that fast! Cost for the twenty minute ride was 10 yuan ($2.10 CAD, $1.50 USD).

Then a couple of metro transfers, and back to the hotel. We were beat, and just had some snacks for dinner. Didn't feel like going out again!

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