1 November 2016 –
Little ol' me flew to Chengdu (sans family) to spend two days in Chengdu with Bruce and Vicki – who are flying to Chengdu after their trip to see the terra-cotta warriors in Xi'an.
Bruce posing with these two fine fellows:
Walking around a shopping street in Chengdu and we poked our heads into this…restaurant? The massive dragon caught our attention. Certainly is massive!Among the interesting things you can spend your time and money on while wandering the streets in Chengdu…getting your ears cleaned:
(no thanks)
Even the manhole covers are decorative:
We spent the first part of the day at Dujiangyan Panda Base located a bit out of Chengdu. I don't think this big park was open when we visited Chengdu a few years ago.
Did you know that pandas can climb trees??
And here is the reason for coming to this particular panda center….
We're going to hug a baby panda! EEEEEEEEE!!!! I can hardly stand the anticipation. I'm grateful to Bruce and Vicki for paying for my visit today. Hugging pandas doesn't come cheap (I can't remember the exact cost but I think it was around 1800RMB- which was supposedly a "donation"…but I'm not sure how you can call it a donation if you HAVE to pay).
ANYWAY…
We all have to wear these disposable blue gowns
And in enters the toddler panda, getting ready for the photo shoots:
I do LOVE the following photos…
I have to say, getting to hug a panda – even though the experience last only around 20 seconds – was thrilling and definitely worth it! Certainly a once-in-a-lifetime experience!!!
People from all over the world love pandas…they are a wonderful ambassador for China. After all, did you know that ALL pandas – no matter where they're born – are Chinese? They even have Chinese passports! Pandas born outside of China must be returned to China when they turn four years old. The complex had two American born pandas that had been recently returned to China. They're still adjusting to their new home.
We stopped at an ancient famous irrigation system in Dujiangyan Irrigation System.
Here's our guide: Jay:
Bruce, Jay and I went across the suspension bridge to see more of the irrigation system:
Do you see all of the wishes and sentiments written on the ornaments?
I bought this boat to add to the massive collection. My wish?? Hoping for a safe and successful move and really praying for more traveling in the future.
Dear boat, I'm waiting patiently for my wishes to be fulfilled!
We stayed in the same hotel as our previous visit to Chengdu. It's still a great hotel! The staff here are amazingly friendly and helpful!
I bought this little ceramic figurine at one of the shops specializing in religious artifacts near our hotel (which happens to be across the street from a temple). A friend told me they thought this figurine was to help pray for good fortune. Hm.. Certainly could use more of that!
****
Next day….
We started the day at Xiongmao JiDi Panda research base in Chengdu.
(Mark, the girls, and I had visited this center on my previous visit to Chengdu)
And apparently we're not the only people here to enjoy the pandas today. As a matter of fact, while we love pandas there are TOO many people swarming the center. Since we'd already gotten really up close with the toddler panda on the previous day we requested to leave this center earlier than expected.
So, we left the panda center and Chengdu and headed to Leshan Buddha over an hour away. We briefly stopped at a snack stop along the way where I bought the most amazingly fragrant jasmine tea.
Bruce and Vicki opted to take the boat tour to see Leshan Buddha. I, on the other hand, wanted to visit this buddha in person by hiking up to the top.
That's when I saw this LOOOONG line:
So, in order to actually see this big buddha I have to wait in this long line and walk DOWN the hill.
Check out the holes made by thousands of fingers over the years. The rock here is obviously very soft. Can you imagine all the people that walked along this path, touched these rocks to create these holes?
Do you see the boat below? Bruce and Vicki were on such a boat…certainly fewer people on the boat!
Lots of small carved figures can be found throughout the walk down alongside the Buddha:
Check out that train of people walking down. Here's what I learned AFTER the fact. To get up close and personal with this BIG – nay- GIANT Buddha statue- you walk up to the top, then walk down one side of the statue to get to the base, walk across the bottom and then walk back up to the top along the other side of the statue. Bruce and I (and our guide) got a chance to see a Sichuan Opera show. Sadly Vicki wasn't feeling well and opted not to join us.
Included in the cost of our opera ticket we had the option to dress up in Sichuan opera costumes. How can we pass up that opportunity?
They even have an elaborate menu to select your costume:
Pretty headdresses to choose from:
Look at all those costumes!
Bruce getting into costume:
My turn!
LOL!!!
So, the show wasn't just an opera – it was what I would call a variety show – a little bit of this and that.
A puppeteer:
This woman did amazing hand shadows:
This couple was obviously very FUNNY. They evoked laughter from the audience at every silly stunt.
So, the Sichuan Opera has the most interesting costumes. Not costumes but masks – they change masks every few seconds. Crazy! Afterwards we heard that the masks are made of thin silk. There must be an intricate system that removes the masks quickly. I never got to see HOW they do it so I'm only guessing.
My breakfast at the hotel….very Chinese, simple and good:
I want this beautiful silk embroidered duvet cover. Apparently this type of embroidery is a Sichuan specialty. And it's also (apparently) expensive.