Ok. So probably only V and I (and Andrew) will get the title of this post. For those who don’t have a West Wing fetish – here is a hint.

Today was Panda day ! V and I (just don’t tell her) have been looking forward to seeing these guys for some time. We left for the breeding centre :gps:(GPS)::30.73939::104.13995:gps: very early so we could catch them eating and before it gets too hot. There were 3 minibus loads of travellers from our hostel. The short trip to the centre was more than enough time for the temperature to get above uncomfortable – another summers day in China.

The centre is massive and it was useful to have a guide lead us through the bamboo lined paths around the various enclosures. These bears are unbelievably CUTE – you just want to cuddle them. Apparently it costs around £100 to take a photo with them but we did not see the option on offer. V’s favorite where the Red Pandas, mine was watching the young pandas playing and the babies being fed. They seem so light, bendy and floppy with back legs that appear completely useless. All in all it was a wonderful treat to see them – well worth it.

Intelligent Design – I don’t think so !
If they weren’t so cute they would have been extinct ages ago. From what we learned these bears eat 60kg of one kind of bamboo per day and don’t move around much because the energy required is barely extracted from their food. They also aren’t too intersted in mating – again, it takes too much energy. Most births in captivity are through artificial insemination. Cubs are born utterly helpless. Blind, deaf and unable to walk for some time and first time panda moms are so freaked out by the experience they can accidentally hurt the cubs. It just seems that they evolved to become extinct. With only around 1000 left in the world – like I said – it’s lucky they are so darn cute. Also helps that they are big business, being adopted by huge companies (like KFC) or being sold off to zoos around the world.

After a dismal lunch at the hostel and a siesta we decided to check out a bit of the city. Chengdu is another monster city but did not feel as chaotic or crowded as the other cities. We wondered around the Mao memorial statue and park before heading off in search of ‘Mr Wang’s Tiny Museum’ of all things Mao. It must have moved or been really small because we could not find it. Popped in to the peoples park on our way to cache a GPS point my Dad had given us. Not much there but a stretch of riverfront parks complete with various Chinese board games being played and a chap having his ears professionaly cleaned. Crossing more hectic intersections on foot (life threatening) we made our way back by bus to the hostel area. The bus was so hot and cramped that V was feeling faint.

In search of the famous HotPot dish we walked around a number of side streets but we have gotten soft after having had hostel food for the past 4 days. Nothing looked appetizing and knowing that an understandable meal was waiting for us at the hostel if we failed we did not put in much effort.

The guide we had in Xi’an has been in touch with us via email and has made arrangements for a contact of hers in Chongqing to meet us on arrival – we’ll have to see if that works !

[Pictures: Pandas ! ]

– Posted from my iPhone via Wifi