Not really chaotic, but pandas in their “natural” habitat are fun to observe!

What is it about slow moving, furry animals with black around their eyes that is is so appealing to us humans? No matter our birthplace, every one of us sees these guys as cute! Embracing, perhaps.

This research area for breeding giant panda is beautifully, logically laid out. The environment is not what giant pandas are used to, too warm overall, but air conditioned structures are spaced everywhere. And, walking for us humans was mostly downhill.

We learned that older pandas are solitary, while those under the age of about six years like to be together. The signs above the spacious panda enclosures indicated their birth years; indeed only the younger ones shared space.

They spend most of their time eating, because their bodies were evolved for digesting meats, while their diets are largely vegetarian.

Walking around that area, looking at these animals, was a special treat. Never have either of us seen so many pandas in one place before!

Going into the baby panda area was sweet. We enjoyed seeing mamas nursing their young. Although, some of the moms of the slightly older offspring seemed less gentle than human counterparts.

While getting on and off buses yesterday, Clare lost her glasses. In the Panda center, she used binoculars which worked OK. Back in Chengdu in the afternoon, Peter found an optometrist that could make glasses in 3 hours. Peter came along to translate for the exam. Clare picked a frame and we came back three hours later and the glasses were ready. Much quicker and less expensive than at home!

We walked to an upscale part of the city and then to the Cultural Park where some of our group went to an opera performance. We walked to the Kuan and Zhai alleys and found a nice restaurant with live entertainment and French wine.

In Culture Park, women were dancing.

Say goodbye to the Terracotta Warriors and their fellow statues, and go on to a new adventure.

We left the hotel early to be sure to catch the right train.

Chengdu is a city of 33 million people in the middle of a large valley. It is always cloudy here so the people have the “more desirable” lighter skin, according to our guide. This capital of Sichuan province is recognized by UNESCO as a city of gastronomy (think spicy). Not coincidentally, Chengdu is also the city in China with the most medical services for intestinal diseases.

Our hotel was a part of the Furong chain, making it somewhat difficult to find using navigation apps, because there were many Furong hotels.

After our long train ride, we were glad to walk to the People’s Park. Some military statues were at the start, but more artistic statues came later.

The People’s Park is also famous for free-form dancing. Some of our group participated.

Then there was the match-making area, (marriage market or blind date corner) that Peter had been telling us about for a few days. Here, parents of adults in their 20s or 30s post information about their offspring in the hopes of finding a suitable match. The women’s information is on pink sheets, the men’s on blue.

This idea is strange to our cultures (US, New Zealand, England, Australia), who leave their kids to their own devices. These parents select possible matches and arrange a blind date, usually coffee, in the hopes to find a spark between the youngsters.

The parameters are also strange. Must have a car or apartment. Must be over a certain height. One showed a man in his 50’s looking for a woman in her 20’s. We guess that his parents did not write that one.

Because it was Sunday, many of the parents were there eyeing the potential future mates for their children. We joked about the possibility of marriage proposals in a boat on the lake.

Another part of the People’s Park was like a county fair, with rides and activities for the young kids. Peter asked if we wanted to do the bumper cars.

Overall, the park was well decorated, and as advertised, people friendly. One building in the People’s Park is devoted to Chiang Kai-shek.

We then walked to Tianfu Square, overseen by Chairman Mao, ironically in front of a science museum.

About half of our group did not appreciate spicy food, so the designation of this area as the cream of dietary culture is a bit ironic.

We ended the day with a hot-pot meal, with a small spicy pot in the middle with no spice in the larger outside pot. The whole thing is heated from below to cook the raw meats and vegetables to one’s liking.

Emperor Qin Shihuang is known as the man who created China by systematically uniting six smaller kingdoms into one empire. Knowing that his deeds would be great, he started a mausoleum for himself when he was quite young, before conquering kingdoms. He bade his people to create a Terracotta Army.

At this UNESCO world heritage site, the pits of the terracotta warriors (discovered in 1974) are now called the Eighth Wonder of the World. The main exhibits are approximately 8,000 clay warriors and horses, and more than 40,000 bronze weapons.

Part of the reason for creating this was “to serve the dead is as if to serve the living” with the design idea of “making it like a capital city”.

Visitors are allowed to walk around above and to either side of the archeological dig site, not close enough to touch anything. We learned that almost all the soldiers were broken into pieces by angry people after the emperor’s reign. Many individual statues took years to reassemble.

Large parts of the statues were made off site from a number of molds, one for each soldier’s job. The individuality was created on site, adding uniform designs and paint.

Pit 3 is not yet restored back to how they might have looked; it was more a work in progress.

Pit 2 is barely started in the restoration process. The original roof is still visible above lines of soldiers not yet uncovered. Pit 4 is being saved for future generations of archaeologists.

Then we visited the museum which had explanations of the terracotta armies as well as the tomb of the Emperor which is nearby.

Because the tomb of the first Emperor was constructed below the water table, a system of drain lines was constructed using terracotta pipes.

We then had lunch at a restaurant owned by a local farmer, who showed us how to make “bang-bang” noodles.

When we got back to Xi’an, the group split up for dinner. Brian and Clare walked a bit.

Interesting statues on the way to a tiny bar and then a BBQ restaurant on the same street. At the bar, we shared a bottle of French wine, a rare find in China. Most Chinese people drink beer or rice brandy (fire water!).

Long ride on a fast train today. China has the largest high-speed rail network in the world. Trains are currently limited to 350 km/h but faster trains are in development.

The Beijing West train station is huge! A wide central hall with waiting areas to the sides with fast food stalls and restaurants upstairs and down. Our group occupied two five-person rows in one train car, riding on our first bullet train of this trip. We each took care of our own luggage.

Xi’an is the eastern end of the historical Silk Road, resulting in a mix of cultures here. Peter told us that this city claims to have given Italians the idea for noodles, pasta having been invented here first.

After arriving at our hotel, Brian and Clare dashed off to the bank next door for some Chinese cash. Clare thought the rock sculpture under the stairs was beautiful.

As a group, we followed Peter into the center of the city, which housed two famous towers, a bell tower and a drum tower. These were well lit at night. As we walked, Peter explained about the young women dressed up in old costumes. We saw many in Beijing as well, but here they dressed for the time of the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). In Beijing, the costumes were from the time of the Qing Dynasty (1634-1912 AD).

Lots of food stalls tempted our appetites. Again, everything looked high quality and fresh.

We walked through a part of the Muslim Quarter, with its narrow streets full of merchandise stalls. These people have been here for over 1000 years, intermarrying with the Han ethnic group. Some still wear traditional dress.

Many things to buy. Politics of other countries seems to be OK to talk about, while the politics of China are taboo.

Empress of the Great Tang

Five of us went to a dinner show, featuring a dumpling feast prior to the extravagant show. The story line:

Princess Taiping was the daughter of Tang Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu. This song and dance drama is based on the Celestial Book Princess Taiping wrote about her mother’s life story and great achievements to gain the Mandate of Heaven to be the new monarch.

We dined on dumplings in the theater where we later watched a Tang Dynasty period show. We also tried Chinese white wine, which was OK.