Day 5 of the China adventure started after breakfast. The team left the hotel around 8am to take the subway to the panda breeding research center in Chang du. Outside our hotel on the way to the subway, there is a giant panda hanging from the International Finance Building. After two trains and one very packed bus ride the team was finally at their destination and everyone was excited to see the pandas. The research center was built as a nice themed park with different directions both in mandarin and English to help all visitors. The team had the chance to take pictures and have a glimpse of what a life in giant pandas, baby pandas, and red pandas look like. Which seems like a pretty good life. Pandas try to move less and eat more. They prefer the cold and they hate the heat. Most of the adult pandas were alone because they are solitary. They try to live in a hidden, remote areas and they are nick named “bamboo recluse”. Besides the adorable pandas, the park also had peacocks and a beautiful lake view.
Lunch was a Sichuan style, lots of spicy dishes and lots of yummy noises.
In the evening we went to see Sichuan Opera. We had our assigned seats. They served us some jasmine tea and the show was lit. There were a total of 10acts at least. It wasn’t a typical opera, there were different talents and routines that kept the audience entertained. Early morning panda hangouts, big lunch, and then an entertaining night of opera was a great way to end our day in Cheng du. Tomorrow we head on to connect with some university students. Stay tuned!