Kung Fu Panda!

After our great visit to Jiuzhaigou we flew to Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan.  Our two main reasons to visit Chengdu were the Panda Breeding Research Base and the giant Buddha in Leshan.  After a long travel day we took it easy at the hotel and ventured out only to grab some food. We knew we would need the rest in order to tackle the next two days, which would be full of activities.  Something we have learned on this trip is to pace ourselves.  Sacrificing a day or just half a day to recover is essential to really enjoy and absorb everything we see.

Panda Breeding Research Base

This is a panda facility located 10K outside of Chengdu.  It houses over 60 Giant Pandas and 20 Red Pandas and its primary focus is to understand Panda breeding habits in order to assure their survival in the wild.  We head out early in the morning the next day in a taxi to the Panda facility.  Another thing we have learned in China is that taxis, buses, and trains are economical, easy, and fast ways to reach tourist destinations. Once again we were not sure what to expect, but we were really excited to see the Pandas.  The facility has the Giant Pandas housed in various enclosures and they’re grouped together according to their age.   As Pandas become older they also become more aggressive, reason why they have to separate them.  We were planning on only spending a couple of hours at the base, but we were so enamored with these creatures that two hours turned into five hours.  We got to see Pandas of all ages feeding and playing with each other.  I also realized how it is possible to have a Kung Fu Panda.  These are actually very agile, strong and active creatures. While visiting the Sub-Adult (Teenage) enclosure we witnessed some of the coolest animal behavior either one of us had seen in our lives.  One of the farthest enclosures in the park housed seven of these teenage pandas.  When Court and I arrived there we had it all to ourselves.  For the next two hours these Pandas put on a show I could not imagine you can find or pay for anywhere else in the world.  They played with each other non-stop by wrestling and knocking each other off the trees and platforms.  It was absolutely fantastic! It was another high of the trip. Below we have some video footage of these “Kung Fu” Pandas.

Giant Buddha at Leshan
The biggest Buddha in the world carved into a mountain lying on the confluence of the Minjiang and Dadu rivers.  It was built with the hope that the Buddhist gods would calm the river and eliminate the devastating floods that were hitting the nearby towns. It actually worked! All the rock that was carved out of the mountain has actually helped contain the floods. Leshan is a two hour bus ride from Chengdu.  We spend the whole day here visiting the Giant Buddha and the Buddha Park adjacent to it.  It felt like we had landed in one of America’s theme parks. The place was packed with tourist.  Many locals and travelers flock here on the weekend to pray and pay their respects to the mightiest of Buddha’s.  Enjoy the pics below!