Chengdu, China - Dujiangyan Panda Base - March 3

Breakfast was good. I had a few Chinese dishes and some pastry that I wrapped in napkins to have if lunch was meager.

We watched the countryside on the hour and a half ride to the Panda Base and Jason made sure we understood the program today. He said even though we were there to work, if there was anything we didn’t want to do we didn’t have to.

 small amusement park

Dujiangyan Panda Base, is short for the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda (CCRCGP) Dujiangyan Base. By taking part in the volunteer program, we learned more about this endangered species and helped to take care of them with guidance from the staff.

 arrival at the center

Upon arrival, we were issued uniforms (one piece coveralls), gloves, and a volunteer’s card. Jason introduced us to the professional panda keepers and got me signed up to take part in the donation program ($250) to have my picture taken next to a young panda.

Jason was with us at all times, helping to translate and taking numerous photos of us both staged and candid shots with the lovable Pandas. Yes, they can be vicious animals, but their “cute factor” is off the charts.

Panda keepers need to supply fresh bamboo three times a day. The pandas usually eat only 30% of the bamboo, wasting 70% of it.

Our first job was to clean the Panda enclosures. I was given a scooper and a pan and Greg had the job of removing the old bamboo. I didn’t recognize the Panda poo at first, it looked like food. It didn’t smell or anything and was pretty easy work. Greg and I traded jobs so we each got to do everything. I had this euphoric feeling and said to myself “I’m in freaking China, in a freaking Panda enclosure, shoveling up Panda Poo while grinning like an idiot and I am having the time of my life.” The weather was in the mid 60’s and quite temperate for China this time of year. It could not have been a more perfect day!

 visitors watching us clean

 removing the old bamboo

 scooping the poo

 that's the poo

 she's watching us through the window

 my turn to take out the bamboo

 Greg's turn to scoop the poo

 they poo up here too???

After we had scooped the poo and removed all of the dried up bamboo, we had to split fresh bamboo by holding the long stalk high above our heads and whacking them on the ground to split them up so the Pandas can eat it easier. Then, we carried them into the enclosure for them to have later.

After the outside enclosure was done then we went to clean the inside enclosure.

 we hosed it down after sweeping

 then it was time to sweep up outside

Then it was time to take a break and tour around the panda base. There are about 10 pandas in the base and some of them were born abroad, including the most popular Tai Shan, who arrived from the U.S. in 2010. We had a relaxing walk around the base while Jason told us the legendary stories of the pandas there. We also took a tram to visit the Red Pandas. They are quite small compared to Giant Pandas, about the size of a small dog or large cat. We only saw one of the two and he was asleep in a tree. It has a very cute face.

 Red Panda

After we took the tram back down it was time to hand feed the Pandas. We had Panda cakes and it was interesting to see how they trained the Pandas to be fed safely. (for the Keepers not the Pandas safety) The Panda comes and sits by the front of the enclosure and he or she is trained to put one paw on one bar and the other paw on another one. Once it is in position, then you feed it the food to his mouth and once you have let go, then he can take his paw down and eat with it. As he is finishing chewing he puts his paws back into position and he takes one last swallow before opening his mouth to be fed again. Each of us got to feed it around 6 Panda Cakes. Once the handler didn’t like how the Panda was positioned and she said something in Chinese (you didn’t think they spoke Panda did you???) and the Panda readjusted. They are NOISY eaters. Pandas are supplied with panda cakes, apples, and carrots four times a day.

After that we went to see a set of young Panda twins playing with each other. There was also a Panda that was rescued and it lost one of its’ legs. He can’t be returned to the wild so he is given a good home there at the base. He got around really well.

 this is the 3 legged one

It was now time for my photo op with a Panda! It took a couple of guys to carry the one and a half year old Panda that was almost as big as me and definitely heavier. We were told we could have 20 seconds sitting next to a Panda. We were also told that we could put our arm around it and hug it, we could kiss his head or rub his head and back. The only things we were told not to do was to touch his ears or his belly.

 filling out our forms

 tram to the Panda photo op

 she's only a year and a half old

 now to sit her up

 next they occupy her with bamboo in each paw

I was the second one to go. The Keeper took my camera and she shot video of my time with the Panda and Greg had his camera set to auto take rapid fire shots. I actually got 40 seconds or so with him. I put my arm around him and he was so plush I just lost my fingers in the fur. He actually cuddled up to me and was resting his paw on my leg and rested his elbow about my hip area. One lady watching said “oh look, he’s cuddling her”. He dropped his bamboo at one point and realized he had one in his other hand and just kept eating. (it’s to distract the Panda while you sit there) Hearing him crunch that hard bamboo cracked me up and I was laughing, plus he was spilling the leftovers all down his belly. All too soon I was told my time was up. I forgot to kiss the Panda on its’ head for that great photo op. It definitely will be the highlight of this trip. (yes, it topped the Whale Shark experience and that was AWESOME!) Greg is working on the video with some of the stills of our day incorporated into the video to share, but it’s going to take time.

 she cuddled into me

 my time is up (yes, I have a million more photos on my web albums)

It was now time for lunch and rest time. (like we worked hard?) With all the warnings about the food, it was sooo good. There was a chicken & vegetable dish, a chicken and potato dish with huge chunks of ginger, peas, saute’d greens of the Rape plant, rice, soup and fruit for dessert. There was plenty of it. We were told we could leave anything we didn’t like and could get more of anything we might want more of. The ginger was the same shape and size as the potato and my first bite was pure ginger which the heat of it really woke me up. I’m watching Greg eat them and not blinking. He said his was potato and all the rest of mine were too, once I ate that one big piece of ginger. We didn’t need the granola bars as the lunch was tasty and filling. It’s Chinese food which we love anyway, plus it was tasty!

On the drive there we saw huge fields of bright yellow flowers. They looked like what we had seen in the UK that were Rape Plants. I asked Jason what they were and he said they were Rape plants. The seeds are used to make linseed oil and cooking oil. The plant is used as greens. Nothing goes to waste with the plant. Anyway, there were some close by so we went and got a good look at them and smelled their fragrance. We had time to walk around a bit more before watching a panda movie that lasted for about 40 minutes.

The Panda documentary was pretty old, but was very interesting. They showed how much progress they have made in their efforts to in increase the Panda population. In the beginning, they said the first one they reintroduced into the wild didn’t go well. They thought it was a good idea to release it where there were other Pandas. The dominate male killed it pretty quickly. They learned that they need to be released in a new territory where they could create their own family.  

There was also a learning curve with raising the babies. Pandas can produce up to 2 or 3 at a time, but really only have milk for 1, so only 1 survives. So, the researchers would take the other 1 or 2 and raise them. They weren’t surviving and what they noticed was that the mother Panda licked the young ones belly to encourage it to poo normally. So, their Pandas were all constipated and eventually died which then taught them to rub the Pandas belly to simulate what the mother does for them. That increased the survival rate to a very high number. They also realized that the hand raised Pandas needed the nutrients of the mother’s milk, so they started a program where they swap the babies every 2 days so both young ones got the benefit of mother’s milk and care. She seemed upset when they took her baby away, but they quickly produced the other one and she was happy. They now have a very high survival rate.

They also showed how they trained them to be released in the wild once they were rehabilitated. They dressed up as Pandas and put poo and urine on the costume to smell like Mom and taught them to fear the snow leopards by using a fake leopard and if the Panda climbed up a tree to get away from it, it was safe to release it.

They also showed how the mating process works. The female Panda has only 2 days where she can conceive. So, it’s important to make those two days count. They showed one that the male they brought in was not at all interested in her. She was rejected and then she wasn’t interested in other males either. So, they essentially showed them “Panda Porn” to get them in the mood. That worked and got the job done. Besides that, they also artificially inseminate her to make sure it takes.

We got a break after the movie and then we needed to go back to work. We were to do more cleaning and refreshing of the bamboo, but the Keeper said that had already been done, so we just needed to split more bamboo.

Then, it was time to hand feed them again. This time we had carrots and Panda cakes. Our Panda was sleeping so we feed a different one this time. It was funny that we realized we were going to be in a whole bunch of other people’s tourist shots since we were in the Panda enclosures and people were photographing us cleaning and feeding etc.

 see the people watching through the window

Now it was time to visit the Panda Kitchen to make Panda Cakes. The ingredients were prepared in advance and all we had to do was shape them.

 I made a heart

The volunteer work program was now done and we received a certificate for this unforgettable day. For making the donation to the Panda research we got a nice gift bag full of goodies and another certificate. I stopped at the gift shop to get more memories of the Pandas.

What a special experience. We were just the two of us with our guide with one Panda and there was another group of 4 young Asian girls in another group with a different Panda. There is a Research Center onsite that we were not allowed to visit, but it was fabulous to go behind the scenes and actually participate in the care of these beautiful creatures. Tourist buses came throughout the day to see the adorable Pandas, but it was so special to spend an entire day with them.

Gazilliions of photos were taken here so be extra patient for them! Our ports are starting to get closer together so keeping up the blog and photos will get harder. Greg is putting the movie together with some stills of our day and I’ll post the link asap.

Here is the Video that Greg took:  Panda Keepers Chengdu China

It was time to be driven to the airport and I think all but the driver was dozing in the car. (at least I think he was awake…) We were pretty early for our flight so we had time to have a nice dinner at a Chinese Restaurant there. No English was spoken and the waitress came to the table with Google Translate to explain the dishes we pointed to. We ordered a Beef & Vegetables dish and a Chicken & Vegetables dish and a vegetable dish. Once again, it was all very tasty!

Our flight to Sanya was a noisly flight. It was a weekend and Sanya is a resort island. It was like being on a flight to Disney with kids talking nonstop and running up and down. We had hoped to sleep as we probably only had about 10 hours of sleep the whole 2 days, but that couldn’t happen with the noise and the pilot talked a lot too and the flight attendant nudged me as I was pretending to be asleep to see if I wanted dinner.

We arrived late in the evening and were pleased to see our driver waiting with a sign with ANNETTE on it. We used China Highlights tour company for our mainland China tour (same company that we used in 2013), but for Sanya I used a company called Sunny Sanya. (was not a good idea….I should have let China Highlights set that up as well. Silly me thought one based in Sanya might be the better choice.)

Anyway, the driver spoke no English (nor did he speak at all) and led us to the car to take us to our hotel. Despite having a navigator, he had trouble finding the hotel. We drove through all the beautiful parts of town and then we take a turn that brings us through a not so nice section. I’m expecting him to drive over the bridge as I was told the hotel was on Phoenix Island, but then he turns onto a street and drives part way down this dark alley and he stops. We can see what probably is the hotel, but he refuses to drive there. He drives back out and stops and asks directions. So, he proceeds to back down the alley to the entrance to the hotel. OMG, the link she sent me showed a beautiful resort hotel, but this place was a borderline dump. I had researched the hotel (the one in the link) and it was nice. When I get free internet again I’m going to see where I went so wrong with this hotel. It was late and we had no desire to look for another hotel or call our contact. (it would be a short night anyway) We attempted to check in and no one there spoke English and the driver was no help. We finally got it done and the driver puts us in the elevator and points up.

The room was basic and the bed harder than a brick. It did have A/C which was good since Sanya is tropical. We finally got to sleep as we had to be ready for pick up at 7:00 to meet the ship at 7:30.