Brigit's post. Day 2!


China Day 2
Brigit Byrne

Morning call was at 7:45 today, and breakfast at 8:30. The assortment of cuisines was a relief, the equal mix of American and Chinese breakfast foods made trying new things more appealing because you’ll always have familiar dishes to fall back on. After breakfast, we exchanged money in the hotel and checked out. The bus ride to the panda persevere was about 45 minutes, most of it spent in Chengdu traffic. On the way, the tour guide discussed the economy and how a major factor of what Chengdu going is the amount that people spend on designer clothes as we passed a strip with Louis Vuitton, Dolce and Gabanna, and Omega. Upon arrival to the Panda Preserve we had to walk up the street to the entrance, it was our first time all going out as a group and we got a lot of attention. A group of Chinese school children noticed us immediately and were yelling “Foreigner!” to each other, and even a policeman walked over while on the job to take a photo of us. Entering the Panda research center was quite beautiful , with a canopy of bamboo above our heads only letting in slivers of light. The first stop we made was an enclosure with two pandas just sleeping. The sight of these animals was truly an amazing thing to see, with their larger than life heads and stubby limbs the animals look like living teddy bears. Next, we arrived at an outdoor panda enclosure with three pandas all lounging on their own trees. They were about 20 feet off the ground just sleeping. One lofted it’s head and, with a sloth-like movement climbed a little further up the tree to get more comfortable. Babies were born here around three or four months ago and now were on their own pouncing around their own space and playing with each other. When the baby pandas are born, since their mothers are only pregnant for three months they are about the size of a mouse. This past season one of the babies born come out weighing only 51 grams. The scenery at the preserve was especially beautiful as it was on the top of a mountain with many rolling hills surrounding it. While on our way out, we ran into schoolchildren who were very excited to see us, many of them shouting “Hello!” in English and giving high fives. For lunch we went to a great hot pot restaurant, which is a lot like the Melting Pot in the USA. There was pork, chicken, shrimp, steamed buns, and lettuce to be cooked in regular or hot oil. when lunch ended we got on the bus to go to the old street. Walking up to the gates brought many new people taking photos or talking about us as we walked by. During our time on the old street I found that there were many assortments of products that appeal to nearly every one. The most popular one that I️ saw quite often what ice cream balls filled with liquid nitrogen, which give the appearance of smoke coming out of your mouth while eating. After our day in Chengdu had finished, the group made our way to the airport to get on a one hour flight to Kunming , anxious for the next days adventure.

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