Sunday July 25 Chengdu

First, some "random" - as Anna would say - thoughts:
Learning about the history of China has been very helpful in terms of understanding what we're seeing and where it fits in the historical chronology of this country. It took some amount of time to put the synopsis of the synopsis on paper (prior to our trip; another obstacle to cleaning off that kitchen counter...), but, so far, the information it contains has held up! Additionally, it has been useful to have some maps with us and the Lonely Planet guide with us. (So far, we've been able to hold onto it without having it confiscated. The guide mentions some reports of that happening, advising covering it in some way. My copy is sufficiently surrounded by stuff to conceal it, I think.)

Following on the above, it has been very useful to be comfortable with pinyin. I'm also able to understand a few Chinese words here and there and am trying to make more of an effort to use a bit of the Mandarin I've learned. Anna is great about correcting my attempts, but she has seemed reluctant to try out her language abilities, too, so far. She did tell me yesterday, however, that she finds that she can understand some words. Now that we're into the trip and a bit more comfortable in the general surroundings, I'm going to venture to be a bit braver about trying to speak Mandarin and hope that Anna will be as well. Yesterday, a shopkeeper seemed happily surprised that I was able to say numbers in Mandarin Chinese.

Am amazed at how "westernized" what we're seeing in China is even down to the western style toilets that are available in so many places. Have only been to one place where the toilets available were the squat type and there might have been a western style toilet available there (- the airport in Guilin, I believe) had I looked more carefully for one. Am surprised since the prevailing opinion amongst Asians is that it's healthier all the way around to use the squat type for a bunch of reasons. Always seemed to me to be an easy concession on the part of westerners, too.

Next, the small size of our group seems just right, holding lots of advantages in terms of moving from one location to another pretty easily to making decisions when necessary. Additionally, that Anna and Becky are able to be together on this journey with their shared background of being adoptees from China probably makes this not only more fun for them but they will likely have in common feelings about this experience that come from their unique perspective. Finally, having Gail with us on this journey has been a Godsend: She is not only a very easy, adventurous traveling companion but has also been another set of eyes for all that we're seeing and experiencing.

A plug for the Clothes Box at AAMC: The day before we left, I decided that I probably needed some more blouses that would be light and easy to hand wash and hang to dry as well as be more comfortable in the heat. I went there during Mom's volunteer time and found several shirts that fit the bill perfectly!
Additionally, Richard, Anna, and I have brought the right amount of luggage: A suitcase - 25 inch each for Anna and me, 27 inch one for Richard - and a backpack each. We checked the suitcases each time and have been able to carry our backpacks on every flight. (Note: Our backpacks worked very well as carry-ons for the entire trip. Also, my black nylon purse with zippered compartments continues to be the best traveling purse ever.)

Finally, the traffic patterns are consistently astounding! How we have not witnessed more accidents is beyond me. The only thing that I've noticed that might be key is that "road rage" is not apparent on the part of anyone in the traffic on the roads from pedestrians to bicyclists to scooters to cars to buses. There is certainly the occasional horn blowing but it appears to be when it's necessary versus just to make a point. A "casual flow" best describe the traffic, I think. So far, everywhere we've been, rickshaws have been very few and far between while taxis are plentiful.

Now, to our day:
Breakfast buffet on the second floor in the coffee shop area.
"Panda Day" it is. Shelley briefs us on information about pandas en route to the Chengdu Panda Breeding Center, one of four such centers in this province of Sichuan though one of them has been closed due to the earthquake in 2008. Several pandas died as a result of the quake before being transferred out. The hope is that the pandas that were living in the wild at the time were able to survive. Pandas have been in the decline for the following reasons:
1. Pandas need a lot of bamboo to survive (40 kgs/day), but bamboo dies eventually which leaves the pandas with no food source.
2. Pandas are very territorial and prefer to live alone, minimizing the birth rate.
3. Breeding time is only one month out of each year, 3 days of which are the peak time for conception.
4. First time panda mothers (between 5 and 20 years old) don't always care for their first baby. They have a 50% chance of having twins but will only care for one.
5. Golden cats and leopards are natural predators making the life span in the wild 16 years or so, compared to about 24 in the breeding center.
Notes about gestation: Difficult to predict delivery date because period of gestation spans from 90 to 180 days, depending on time of implantation of embryo in uterus.
Baby pandas eat bamboo by about 1 year old and separate from their mothers by about 18 months old. Panda mothers' milk is green. Panda fathers are totally uninvolved with babies. The newest baby in the Chengdu Breeding Center is ten days old. Baby pandas stay together in captivity. Need to be in incubator for about 3 months if not cared for by mother; twins are switched off between mother and incubator.
Giant pandas are in the panda family though their bones are more like a red panda. There are 1700 giant pandas in the world, 25% of whom are in the breeding centers while 75% of them live in the wild. There were only 1000 giant pandas about ten years ago. The panda species is about 8 million years old. They changed from being carnivores to being vegetarians. Only about 20% of the bamboo they eat is digestible. Much training is involved in order to release pandas into the wild and that effort has not met with much success to date. First panda released into wild in 2006 but died. Second one released in 2008. For now, the program has been suspended due to the earthquake.
Red pandas are in the raccoon family. There are 5000 red pandas in the world.
We enjoyed a wonderful visit at the breeding center. It was very rainy, but we each used an umbrella. The rain made it a bit cooler, I think. The landscaping along the nicely maintained paved paths was very lush. We saw a whole group of 2 year old pandas some of whom were eating bamboo, some were sleeping, some climbing a tree. To the tune of a 1000 yuan "donation", Anna held a baby panda named "Ya Li" who is about a year old in her lap. We also saw a group of red pandas at feeding time.

We all climbed a aboard the bus again in order to go to a restaurant for Sichuan food which was delicious. Round table, lazy susan.

Back on the bus, Shelley fills us in on more details about Chengdu. It is known for pandas, Sichuan cuisine, teahouses of several kinds, "changing faces" - will see in show this evening, and brocade-making. Common flower is hibiscus. Flat terrain in area. Shelley then takes us to the Jinli Gujie district that is a shopping district built in the architectural style of the Han Dynasty. Richard and Gail strike out on their own while Anne and Anna go with the Vertizes to the Jinli district. Anne takes photos of the Han style of architecture. Richard heads for the Wuhou Shrine adjacent to the Jinli area and finds it very worthwhile. We all meet after an hour and head back to the hotel on the bus after which we take it easy for the rest of the afternoon.

This evening, Shelley accompanies us on the bus to go to the "Changing Faces" show which is a compendium of performances by various artists, including a large stick puppet, a musician playing an erhu, hand shadow show, opera singing, and changing faces and spitting fire. Really a captivating show. Back on the bus, we head for the hotel again and bed.