Imperial China Day 23
Imperial China
OAT Day 2-19 - Monday, April 28, 2008 - Visit Giant Panda Sanctuary-Fly to Hong Kong, China
Monday morning in Chengdu was gray, but not raining; a good omen for our last day in the city. We had to have our bags out at 7:30 and then went down to breakfast.
We met our driver, Jack and local guide, Johnny who took us to visit to the Panda Center today. Johnny gave us information about the Da Xiong Mao or Great Bear Cat as they are known here in China.
Celebrated all around the world and loved for their playful personality and calm manner, the Giant Panda are sadly near extinction. There are only 1590 known to exist with 41 here at this Research Center.
Because of its location in Sichuan Province, the native habitat of the giant panda, The Chengdu Research and Breeding Center has been a successful facility since it was open to the public in 1995. We marveled at the wonderfully designed layout of the facility and the cleanliness of the grounds.
We followed the well marked paths to start our morning adventure. Our fist view of the pandas was during their morning feeding when they are most active. The life of the panda is very simple, eat, sleep, eat, sleep…
We spent three hours viewing the pandas and laughing at the young 6 months to year olds who delighted everyone with their playful antics.
Jan and Charlie from Minnesota chose to go into the nursery for an additional charge. Jan is an avid Panda Fan, so the highlight of her trip was having the opportunity to hold an 8 month old female. While Charlie snapped photos Jan spent about 7 minutes cuddling her adorable adopted little girl!
The next step in the center was to visit the red pandas, a close relative of our raccoons. These animals are more elusive, but I did manage to catch two or three great shots!
We then watched a 15 minute cinema presented on the research center’s breeding and birth center. Because these pandas have all been born in captivity and have no understanding of the reproductive cycle, the scientists have had to show suggestive videos to the pandas so they would understand the concept!
China's ambitious ten-year conservation plan aims to preserve existing habitats, expand existing reserves, and create new reserves in an international effort to stave off the extinction of this elegant, almost mystical, animal.
Given the scale of the battle being fought for the Giant Panda's survival, places like the Giant Panda Sanctuary just outside Chengdu are essential. The Giant Panda Sanctuary is not a zoo but a simulated habitat, with acres of space for its inhabitants to roam and thrive as nature intended.
We left the research center at noon and had a typical spicy Schezwan lunch. Today was Duane’s birthday so after lunch Matt bought him a cake and Joanne had brought a card for all of us to sign.
We said goodbye to Johnny and Jack at the airport and spent a quiet 90 minutes waiting for our departure after we had gone through the international check in procedures for our flight to Hong Kong.
Our flight arrived right on time at 6:00 PM but it was 6:45 when we met our Hong Kong Local Guide, Randy. On the way from the airport, he gave us information about Hong Kong and a few survival tips for the next two days.
Hong Kong has been under Chinese control after the 99 year lease British ran out in 1997. But under the transition agreement, there will be no governmental changes for 50 years.
Hong Kong is literally an independent county with its own currency and postage. An obvious vestige of British rule is the fact that they drive on the right side of the vehicle and on the left lane. We had to go through the HK immigration and customs coming from the Mainland and our passports were duly stamped.
The lights of the city and nearby islands were fabulous as we drove into the heart of the metropolitan area. There are 6 tunnels under Victoria Harbor, three used for cars and three used for mass transit.
Traffic was very reasonable tonight and we made good time getting to our hotel. Matt gave us a list of things to do and see and also a list of restaurants in our area.
We checked into the hotel, found that our room on the 12th floor was very nice, modern, and the AC worked!!! What a great beginning for our time in this Special Administrative Region.
We went out to get a few Hong Kong Dollars from the ATM in the subway station right next to our hotel and then found a quick bite to eat. Back in our room, we laughed again at the panda photos and wrote the journal.
Accommodations: L'Hotel Causeway Bay Harbour View - - - Meal: B, L
Video - Panda Bamboo Lunch - 47 seconds
Picture 1 - Map of our Flight (Right over Guilin)
Picture 2 - Mature Panda Easting Bamboo
Picture 3 - Four Young Pandas Playing
Picture 4 - Red Panda
Picture 5 - Duane’s Birthday Cake from Matthew
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Comments
Post a Comment!What a trip..........seeing the pandas. Belated birthday wishes,Duane.Fifty is a tough one to acknowledge!
Giant Pandas Eating and Playing in Chengdu (1:03)
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