China - The Pandas of Chengdu

Having arrived on another overnight train from Xi'an, we pulled into Chengdu station at around 3pm and jumped on the Metro to the centre of the city and our next hostel - Mrs Panda's Hostel - quite appropriate given we were here to see PANDAS!

The hostel location was great, right by the bus station and a 10 minute walk from the metro and really close to the main areas to explore within Chengdu itself.

Panda time

We showered up and enjoyed chilling out at the hostel, with a game or two of pool, a couple of beers, and headed out to a local popular restaurant round the corner for some Kung Pao Chicken and Shredded Beef and a ginger dish.

Scrummy dinner

On advice from our hostel we decided to head the next day out early (7am) to get to the Panda Research Base Centre by public bus and then back head onto Le Shan in the afternoon to see another big Buddha. It was going to quite a rush to fit everything in as Le Shan was 2 hours south, but we were up for the challenge.

With only one change at a bus station in the north the journey to the Panda's was easy and took around an hour. They are building a metro line there but until it's built for most routes you will need to travel by bus and change at least once.

Fancy entrance to the Panda Park

The park is huge and well worth giving more time than you think you'd need to explore it. There are large golf style buggies to get around for 10 yuan, but again we decided to walk around the park and enjoy the space surrounding the Panda enclosures. There were also big queues for buggies - the Chinese love them!

We had heard that the best time to see the Pandas actually do anything was to get there early for feeding time. So we arrived at about 8.30 and headed straight for the Moonlight Nursery area, where we had heard we could see the feast. It just so happened to be the furthest away point from the entrance - but it was where all the young Pandas were outside and playing as well so was well worth it!

A pile of pandas

Bundles of fluff

Tree climbing race!

We must have spent at least and hour and a half there watching these cute, fluffy, bundles attempting to climb (and more often fall) the trees and platforms in their enclosure. The name given to a group of panda's is an 'embarrassment' and we could see why, as there were moments when there were literally piles of Panda, playing together and rolling around on the floor. 

We were certainly glad to have arrived early when they are at their most active and there were less people. It felt a privileged to have experienced such a sight.

What a handsome fella

The rest of the park was split into various adult enclosures, and we enjoyed wandering round seeing lots of Giant Pandas sitting back and relaxing with their morning breakfast of Bamboo shoots, Bamboo stalks and Bamboo leaves!

Just chilling out

Many were happy to come over and sit near the crowds - I'm sure they were posing for photos! And others were a little shyer and sat far away or deep in sleep on the platforms in their outdoor areas.

There was also a Red Panda enclosure where you could get close to them feeding on pumpkin and apple. Red Pandas really don't look like a Giant Pandas at all, with their bushy tails, and striped faces. In fact they are more like a raccoon than the huge black and white cuddly bears of the Giant Panda. But it was great to see these much more active Pandas and watch them enjoying their breakfast feast of something a little more interesting than just Bamboo!

A red panda

Having said our goodbyes to the Pandas, we headed back to the bus station by our accommodation in the hope that we would be able to make it down south to Le Shan by bus to see the big Buddha. Sadly we discovered we were too late to make the return journey back to Chengdu within the same day, and we were both gutted that we hadn't stuck with our original plan which had been to do Le Shan for the day and the Panda's the next morning.

Jules testing out the tea

So with travel plans changed, we had more time to explore the sights of Chengdu, and headed off for an afternoon exploring the 'old' town area of Chengdu - now a gentrified shopping and restaurant area, in an old Chinese style called Jin Li Street. We had a great time wandering the pretty streets and small shops, popping into a few tea shops to taste and purchase some local Chinese Jasmine tea.

Tea anyone?

... or maybe an ear clean?

We ended our day in the Tibetan Quarter. The streets were lined with shops for the monks to get new robes, beads, books and religious ornaments. It was a fascinating area to walk through, and got Chris' urge to visit Tibet going (one for another trip when we have more time). But we did enjoy a Tibetan dinner of beef and potato stew and a Yak and onion pasty which was very tasty indeed!

The Tibetan quarter - gold, reds and oranges

We had a morning left in Chengdu the next day before our epic 26 hour train journey to Guilin, so we decided to have a bit of a lie in and have a leisurely breakfast of waffles before finding a Carrefour - yes the French supermarket - to get some supplies for the journey and then check out the park.

Waffles?

The park was lovely, with a boating lake and nice gardens. The Chinese were thoroughly enjoying their day in the park and we made some new friends. Time was getting on, and we couldn't miss the train, so soon we headed back to the hostel to pick up our bags and head to the station.

Lazy day on a boat

As with all train stations in China, Chengdu was massive! However, after we found our gate number, we settled down to wait for the train.

Waiting for our train to Guilin

This carriage?

We had decided to get a lower bunk in hard sleeper as we knew it was to be a long journey through the day and night and therefore, we wanted a guaranteed seat with a table. The beds were comfy enough and we had some nice people join us so overall the journey was okay and it was soon time to get off and head for our next stop in our journey - Guilin.

Enjoying a drink and a game of cards... are we nearly there yet?