Flashpackers: Panda-monium in Chengdu

The famous Giant Panda.

Finally, after much confusion as to which time of day they are the most active, we went to see the pandas at the Giant Panda Research and Conservation Park with Tess and Andy.

They are mesmerisingly adorable. We arrived during their morning feeding time, and all watched on as they happily munched on kilos and kilos of bamboo. Due to the fact that they only absorb 5% of the nutrients from the bamboo stalks and leaves, they sleep for most of the day, and nearing the end of feeding time (about 10am) some of them were starting to doze off.

Well, they were trying to anyway. There were a couple of Japanese and Chinese tour groups who were yelling and clapping at the pandas to either, a) get their attention, if they were awake, for their photos, or b) to wake them up if they were dozing. This is despite all the signs in both English and Chinese saying to be quiet... we were so annoyed with some of them by the end, that we were all shushing them and pointing to the signs. There was another tour group full of Germans, and they were very respectful and quiet, but not their guide. He would yell at the top of his voice in German at every opportunity (ie. "PANDAS HABEN SECHS FINGER") and scare the pandas away! Grrrr...

Despite the annoying tour groups, we had a great time and I even got the chance to hold a baby red panda! He was only 6 months old, and happily sat in my lap for a couple of minutes while I fed him slices of apple. The handler was encouraging me to touch and kiss the little thing (as if I needed to be told!), but I spent all of the time trying to remember as many details as possible. I would have loved to hold one of the baby giant pandas, but it costs an arm and both legs - the red pandas only cost 50 kwai to hold, and it was worth every jiao!
The red pandas were much more alert and inquisitive as well... they were very interested in Tess' chocolate wafer biscuits!