Chengdu Pandas and LeShan Buddha

After our 
After our trip to Shanghai and Japan we went back to Xi'an.  Then we took Barbara Openshaw with us on the fast train and went to see Chengdu, south of here and about 3 hours on the train, which travels at 300 KPH.
Chengdu has the largest panda reserve in the world.  It was amazing and can't wait to go there again.

Almost!
The first few pandas we saw were in buildings, but soon we found the area where they are outside in their natural habitat.


Isn't that the cutest face you ever saw?
This guy was way up in a tree that wasn't big enough to support his weight.  But somehow it did.  We thought he was going to fall a couple of times!
Playing and wrestling together.



Just enjoying some bamboo!  YUM!
After eating all the bamboo, they need a nap!

 
WE loved going to Chengdu and seeing the Pandas. They are such beautiful, cuddly looking animals.  They appear so calm and peaceful but we're told that can be quite aggressive.  



These pandas are yearlings.  They were having so much fun playing.  It was hard to stop watching them.
Just some swans on the lake.  Or is that an ugly duckling?
Crowded streets of the markets we went to.
Bikers and scooters trying to cross the street.
 This was a big square in the middle of Chengdu.  A Huge statue of Moa stood at one end.  The security was huge.  Why?  I'm not sure.
 This 15 year old saw us and came and asked us for some explanations from his English test he had just taken. He was a cute boy.

 We went to a show that had a variety of shows.  It was really fun.  
 A skit which was all in Chinese so we didn't really understand what was going on. 
 Ribbon Dancing.
 
 Mask Changers.  This was our favorite.  We never figured out how they change their masks.  But they do it several times and it's so fast you can't tell how it happens.
 Tea Kettle Pouring??  I'm sure it has an official name but I don't know what it is.
 Shadow Images.  This was pretty cool too.  He made many images all with his hands in front of a light.  Just like we did when we were kids only his images were way better.
 
Dancers in the park.  We see them in every city in China.  I will miss this.

A Buddhist Temple in Chengdu.
 Building Bridge in the city.  Glad we were able to figure out how to get to it. 
 Climbing to the giant Buddha.
 Dragon Fountain along the way.
 Guards for the Buddha.  There were several and they were pretty scary looking.

 Giant Buddha
 The pathway that leads down to the bottom of the Buddha--to his feet.
 Just a beautiful staircase.


 Looking up from the bottom.

 







 Barbara Openshaw went with us on this excursion.  She is from southern California and is one of the Chinese English Teachers here in Xi'an.


 

Our transportation back to where we could catch the bus.  Kim was on a scooter and Barbara and I got to have a bike tuk-tuk!  Talk about excitement! 

Panda Hotel
This Hotel was a bit tacky.  We had to ask for bath towels and there was no soap or shampoo.  They didn't make up our room each day unless we requested it by email and we couldn't get the internet to work so we couldn't request it!  Oh well!  It was on the 12th floor of an apartment building on a back road and down an alley, but there were no signs so we had a really hard time finding it. (to say the least!)  But for our needs, it worked.  

All in all, we LOVED Chengdu and Leshan.  We loved the pandas and loved the Giant Buddha.  There was more to see there then we had time for.  There are more pictures then I can post.  We'll be going again when Millie and Jacob come to visit.  It'll be warmer so it'll be fun to see the difference.  Everyone and Anyone is invited to come visit.  We're only here for 3 more months.  It'll go fast. 

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