Chengdu (7/21/2011)

Thursday, July 21, 2011
This time we did not take the local public transportation, but instead took a taxi to the Giant Panda Breeding Research Center, for 150 RMB.
We wanted to be as early as possible to catch the pandas when they were still active. It wasn't even very crowded when we enjoyed the six babies (under one year of age) in the Sunlight Nursery enclosure:

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See the head of the upside-down panda?

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They love to climb trees:

KSS

Shhh!

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They are still a little clumsy and tend to fall and tumble:

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Coming closer!

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KSS

The area was like a cloud forest, very humid:

The Yearling Enclosure:

Lying down to eat the bamboo:

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Red Pandas are also here:

A tailless fellow:

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The tailless one was quite the beggar:

The State Flower of Florida:

At the Moonlight Nursery, the moms-to-be?

Doesn't seem like a comfortable sleeping position:

The Moonlight Nursery:

Cable bridge:

What does that sign say?

No strinding?

Enclosure No. 2, sleeping panda:

Our goal was to find the place where for a donation of 1,000RMB, you can hold a panda baby and have pictures taken. We found it back at the Sunlight Nursery. We could not go in with Brynne (unless we made the donation, too!), but they use your own camera, and the photos are well worth it!

A lone yearling is still wandering around:

Swan Lake:

Feeding the koi:

Yep, a feeding frenzy:

Kent and Brynne with the symbol of the Research Center:

Lunch at the Research Center, with a bucket o' rice:

Is it animal or vegetable?

We took the local bus back into Chengdu, which took us most of the afternoon.
The People's Avenue Bridge:

Century City retail complex:

Went to a branch of the famous Shun Xing Teahouse for dinner:

This was the Duck Blood Soup after we ate most of the good stuff, like congealed duck blood, duck liver, and duck intestines. (I think we had ciliated intestines of a much larger animal, or some odd seafood...) It was spicy hot, which masked any odd flavors...
Meanwhile, a stage show was going on, presenting the highlights of Sichuan Opera, with dancing and singing, the magic face-changing, fire-spitting/breathing, puppets/marionettes, and hand shadow pictures. There was also a martial arts "dance" and the tea pouring dance where the male dancer poured tea from a meter-long spout. He later came around to the tables to serve us tea: