CHINA - Chengdu

Chengdu on the surface did not seem as though it would be the most enthralling of places, afterall we would be comparing it to Beijing and Xi'an however we were pleasently suprised by some aspects. Karl and I took a walk around the town, which is quite busy and walked through narrow streets with trader and down large streets with high rise surrounding them. The highlight of the town had to be the park. Never before have i seen a park more well used packed with some many local people there to get exercise and enjoyment. It made me think, why cant parks be used to that extent in Britain? There were people playing badmington, skating, playing chequers, chess and chinese chess, all three of which seem to be as much a spectator sport as something to take part in. We also saw women dancing, and singing, sometimes painfully, some doing exercise regimes in a group, lots of people were on the lake in rowing boats, there were permenent fairground rides which the kids were loving and wherever we walked people seemed to be having a good time. Later we went down a famous shopping street which seems to be geered up to tourism.

The next day we got on a bus to the Panda breeding centre just outside the city. When we got there we were ushered inside by our local guide who took us straight to some of the Giant Pandas, luckily we had arrived at breakfast time! On the menu bamboo shoots, just for a change. They seemed very happy munching away and they were just as cute and adorable as you would expect if only they were less choosy with their food perhaps they would not need saving from extinction! They are almost as choosy with their food as Karl is!!! The best way to eat as many bamboo shoots as possible seems to be to sit on a pile of them, that way you can turn in every direction and grap a handful! It was unbelievable to see how they grab the shoots, they have thumbs which work in a similar way to humans, so they take loads in between their fingers and thumb and bite into them much in the same way a child might eat something.

It was very difficult to look at the pandas without thinking back to the 80's 90's Kikkat advert. Man in panda suit on roller skates, check it out on youtube if you can't remember.

Anyways, after seeing several in different enclosures we went to see the babies, and it became clearer why they were endangered. Toy manufacturers worldwide have been stealing them from the wild in order to sell them as cuddly toys!!! (I'd like to take this opportunity to apologise to toy manufacturers worldwide, for this blatant lie, but it seemed funny at the time!) It has been a very successful year for the breeding centre as there were 14 very small pandas be cared for as if they were baby humans. They were brilliant to watch and i could have stayed watching all day however we had to go. We saw the Red Pandas (not really pandas but they have similar characteristics, apparently.) After looking around the museum we got back on the bus and head back to the city.

That eveing we went to a local tea house and watched some girls perform the traditional tea ceremony, quite a spectacle. It entails them pouring the tea from a kettle with a very long spout into the cups in all manner of special moves all of which are performed to music. This made me think how funny it would be if any time a builder needed a cup of tea in Britain he had to go through all that pallava. Anyway enough of that, next stop is Mount Emei and Le Shan.

CHINA - Xi'an

Xi'an was once the capital of China and hence boasts an interesting past. Upon arrival we went to the hotel and a brilliant breakfast at the local hostel. We were then shown around the centre. The main shopping street and adjoining alleys were brilliant places full of traders and there interesting stalls. You can barter the price of anything, for example Karl bartered down the price of Tigerbalm by 10pence!!! lol. We then hired bicycles and cycled around the city walls which was further than we thought. It was about 9 miles around along seemingly endless walled vistas. It was excellent to get some exercise after being stuck on a train for the best part of a day.

Diner consisted of a local speciality, Hot Pot, which comprised various meat and vegetable items which you boiled in a very spicy hot pot sauce.

Next day was the trip to the Teracotta Warriors. They were built as part of a huge mausoleum for the first Emporer of a united China Qing. He seemes to have been quite a paranoid chap having also ordered the construction of the Great Wall. His original intention was that a whole army would be killed and buried with him to look after him in the after life but instead it was suggested that copies of each person could be manufactured out of clay. Cunning! What is on display now is supposedly a very small fraction of the entire archealogical site much of which has yet to have been dug up. The rumour goes that there is a 30m high building under a nearby hill housing the emporers body surrounded by a moat of mercury fed by thre rivers of mercury resembling China's great rivers. However because of all the mercury it would be very dangerous to unearth it without inventing a safe way to do it! It has to truly be the most amazing and exciting archealogical site in the world. Qing was however a very unpopular man as he ordered the murder of every person who helped construct it and the warriors themselves in order to preserve the secret of his tombs location. This is why it was discovered by accident by a farmer digging a well. Anyway enough of the background stuff, it is an awesome thing to see, something which fills you with excitment at the prospect of what else has yet to be unearthed!

The next train jouney would take us to Chengdu primarily to go and see the panda sanctuary!