|
  | |  |
Panda-spotting
Entry 27 of 44 | show all | print this entry |
|
I flew from Lijiang to Chengdu on a quick hour flight (vs a 19 hour bus or train ride). The Chinese airlines finally took their toll on my trusty North Face bag that I've had for about 5 years. I found two dime size holes in my bag courtesy of China Southern Airlines. I patched it up with some Gorilla Tape that I brought from the US and it seems to be holding up all right for now. I mentioned in a previous post about how the Chinese seem to spit incessantly....during the flight I even saw a guy spit several times in the aisle of the plane! Why not just use the barf bag?
The reason I went to Chengdu is because it's one of the major gateways into Tibet for independent travelers. Due to ridiculous Chinese rules, travelers are required to be part of tour group and to obtain a Tibetan Travel Permit to enter the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR). The funny thing is a tour group can consist of 1 person! Many travel agencies in Beijing and other cities that organize Tibet travel require you to purchase air/train tickets, the travel permit, and hotel through them at a significant cost. A couple of travel agencies in Chengdu arrange bare bones packages consisting of only the travel permit and air/train tickets...allowing for maximum freedom and flexibility. I arranged my travel through the popular and reliable Sim's Cozy Guesthouse and I also spent one night there. I was interested in taking the new train that runs from Beijing through Chengdu and on to Tibet, but the tickets were sold out for the next week and spending 48 hours on a train would have been a bit much anyhow....so I opted for the short flight.
Chengdu is a large modern city in the Szechuan province. From what I saw it is pretty nice and a good base for exploring the surrounding province. I noticed that Chinese cities seem to get a bit more chaotic the farther west and farther away from Beijing I travelled. My guesthouse was located next to a nice touristy part of town that had plenty of shops and restaurants set in a mock old town. I decided to use my one afternoon in Chengdu to visit the Giant Panda Breeding and Research Center. I took a convenient public bus out to the Panda Center and spent a couple of hours gawking at pandas. The center was very well-laid out and visitor friendly. The outdoor center is large and divided itself based on the age of the panda...infant, juvenile, adult and by the type of panda (giant or red). The pandas mostly just laid around when I saw them, but sometimes they would get up to munch on bamboo shoots or play with each other. The pandas are kept in large holding areas surrounded by a moat and fence. The areas have lots of trees and platforms the pandas seemed to enjoy lounging on. One panda got his hands on an ice cream cone (probably from a visitor) and the handlers were unable to get it away from the hungry beast. The Red Pandas didn't even really look like pandas to me...they are much smaller than giant pandas and looked a bit raccoon-like with their long striped tails. The pandas are extremely photogenic and I had a fun time visiting.
I grabbed dinner at a very tasty American place called Grandma's Deli and Restaurant. The burger, fries and chocolate shake were all surprisingly authentic and delicious. While Chengdu by itself isn't necessarily worth a visit, many enticing tours seem to originate there to the surrounding lakes, rivers, and mountains. Also it is very handy if you want to visit Tibet independently. More thumbnails ...
|
|
If you like this entry, search for other entries by bcc8, from China or try a new search. |
| |
Back to Entry - Back to Home
|
13 votes 
