Pandas and stuff! - Blogabond

So next visit on the list was the Panda sanctuary just outside Chengdu. You had to get up early to get to the sanctuary during feeding time before they go to bed to sleep of there meals.

Daddy Panda

A note on Pandas. There a ridiculous animal, I knew they were cute and were nearly extinct but the latter is for good reason, they have the digestive ability to eat meat but instead elect to eat faffy sticks which have little nutritional value, not only that but they are clack and white solely so that they can spot each other from a distance and so don't have to fight over territory and waste there limited energy. Sadly and predators that spot them don't have the same inclination. Oh and to top it all off they struggle to mate so much that the sanctuaries have resorted to showing males a form of panda porn so they can work out what to do!

Just incase you weren't sure!

Despite all this there still ace, especially baby ones! They sanctuary has been doing well at getting results from mating too, though a lot of artificial insemination has been used. There were 7 cubs in the park this year, I remember, when I was about 13, 1 baby was a massive event with articles on newsround and stuff.

After this escapade the next couple of days in Chengdu were spent recuperating as we'd done loads on little sleep, got around the city though and its a really nice place with a big square and loads of shops, loads of people too, Chengdu has a population of 4.1 million and is the 4th or 5th biggest city in China. Its got some nice green spaces and lots of tea houses and temples.
Tried the famous Sichuanese hot pot, was greasy and pretty spicy but the beef we had was really good mainly because you cook it yourself in the hotpot in the middle of the table so it was really lean.

written by

Dan on May 2, 2008 from Chengdu, China

from the travel blog: Been there, Dan that!

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