lili in china

One of the main attractions of Chengdu is the Panda Breeding and Research centre. About 15kms from the centre of town it seems to be difficult to get to independently, so hostels and guesthouses have cornered the market with half day tours going for 70Y. This works out at 40Y for transport each. No way! We were going to go the difficult and cheap way.
Because the guesthouses want you to take their tour, they are less than forthcoming with information about how to get there on public transport, and there is little information on the internet. AND, the best time to visit is before and during their feeding times, at 9:30 to 10am. This means an earlier morning than I am used to.
We get up, catch a bus to the train station, hoping that we would be able get another bus to the bus station from where we could catch yet another bus to the pandas. Unfortunately there was no bus between the two bus stations, excellent planning I say. So we jump a taxi, battling to beat the time limit. 20Y later we are waiting for the bus to take us to our final destination. 20 mins later we are walking up the path, haunted by panda howls, searching through the bamboo trying to catch a glimpse of the animal.
We arrived at 9:10am, followed the signs and ran to the Giant Adult Panda enclosure and were treated to the sight of two slovenly beasts reclining and munching on massive bunches of bamboo. One lay on its dinner, and delicately retrieved stem after stem and ate the leaves off, discarding the waste in an orderly pile.
They looked like fluffy toys, amazing to see them animatedly moving in real life. Signs warned visitors to be quiet, we could hear the giant toys chewing and grumbling and howling. Small crowds would gather around the few prime viewing points and coo in wonder.

Mostly they were still, eating or sleeping, but I spied one particularly excitable creature.

It had just stood up on hind legs, stretching, and was about the drop its head and perform a sloppy somersault, much to my joy. This playfullness got me ready for the giant panda cubs, playing and tussling. Some of them couldn’t walk properly yet, they were super cute.

After getting our fill of the giant pandas, which were slightly mesmerising, we headed over to the red panda enclosures. These and definately the less popular sibling, yet they are more active and heaps of fun to watch.

The middle of a red panda fight.

I fell in love with the pandas, even though I am not a massive animal lover. They are so cute and can be animated if the mood takes them.
Definitely a recommended place to visit, and easy enough to do by yourself (save 36Y and not be tied to a group).

(For the specifics, catch whatever bus you can to get to ZhaoJue Si long distance bus station. All of the bus stops in Chengdu have maps of the city and of the routes that the busses for that stop take. Find out which bus to take the day before.
From ZhaoJue Si station catch a number 1 mini bus (1 in front of a blue circle). Get off when you see the panda statue in the middle of the road.
Entry is 30Y, student cards are not accepted.
All buss rides cost 1Y.
To get back to town catch the blue #1 minibus back to the station and check the map to see which bus to catch back into town. We caught the double decker #1, and sat upstairs at the front for an excellent view.)

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