A Visit to the Pandas in Chengdu

A visit to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding was a special treat during our trip to Chengdu.  Although Nillson had meetings and wasn't able to take the time off I didn't want to miss the opportunity to visit these adorable creatures.  With a last name of Pan is was inevitable that Pandas were a favorite in our stuffed animal collection and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to visit them in person.  Not speaking a word of Chinese I was a bit intimidated to venture too far from town on my own so I hired a guide and driver to take me to the Research Base. For anyone planning a similar trip I would advise saving the money on a guide and taking a taxi directly to the park as its well organized for foreigners.  We chose to walk the half mile through the bamboo forest up to the research center but a tram is available to take you from the entrance to the area that houses the pandas.  The first building we visited was the nursery where we saw six two-month old pandas sleeping in a playpen.  I couldn't take my eyes off of them as some lay sprawled out stretching their legs behind them while others snuggled up curled into a little ball.

When I was finally ready to move on, we walked by several enclosures where we could watch and photograph the pandas as they played on  bamboo structures, climbed trees and snacked on bamboo. I especially enjoyed watching them as they seemed to ooze off the bamboo structure on their way to get lunch.  Slowly, one at a time, an adolescent panda on the bamboo structure would decide it was his turn to descend; lying down, either on his back or stomach, he would first look over the edge of the structure.  Then slowly one arm and then another arm would reach down for support on a cross beam.  Ever so slowly, the rest of the body slowly poured off the platform until the rear legs were all that was left on the platform.  Then while supporting himself with his front legs, the hind legs slowly slid off the platform until finally the entire panda was on the ground.  One by one they made their way down and out of sight behind a wall of bamboo.   At another enclosure we watched as the pandas ate and ate their fill of bamboo.  They looked so wonderfully relaxed as they reached up for a stalk of bamboo and then rolled onto their backs, almost lying down to chew on their food.  They have rather short digestive tracts only absorbing 20% of the nutrition available in their food so they are continuously eating between 25 to 85 pounds of bamboo per day depending on their size.

Having come this far, when I was presented with the opportunity to step into one of the enclosures and have some one-on-one time with the panda, I couldn't resist.  After donning a hospital gown and booties to protect the panda from germs the group might be bringing into the enclosure, the adult panda walked right up to a wooden bench and sat down awaiting her treat.  She seemed to love the apples and bamboo dipped in honey and happily let us sit there with her as one at a time we stroked her back and had our pictures taken with her.  I rubbed her neck and felt her lean back as she closed her eyes and seemed to relax.  I loved her fluffy yet bristly fur and thought to myself how reality seemed to blur with imagination as I remembered the cartoon Kung Fu Panda and all the stuffed animals we had at home; what a surreal experience this was!