Dan's Adventure

After seeing Panda merchandise all over China from bags to hats the time finally came to see real life Pandas when I went to Chengdu. The Panda research and breeding centre isn’t far from the centre of Chengdu but to get there is a bit of a pain. I joined a tour ran by the hostel I was staying at to get out there in time to see them eating. The centre has had a lot of success over the years with panda breeding, there are currently a number of cubs and babies there. The centre is essentially a panda zoo. Thats something that I didn’t quite expect. I was under the impression that the pandas were a bit more free to roam about, but in reality they are all in enclosures based upon their age and whether the people at the centre are trying to get them to mate. The chances of seeing pandas in the wild is inceredibly slim so I was still happy to have visited the centre. I arrived in time to see all the pandas eating, the cubs playing with each other and getting stuck in trees as they searched for a comfortable spot for the day. If you are in Chengdu, the panda research and breeding centre is well worth a visit.