ABOVE IS THE IRRESISTABLE BAO SHI AT THE CHENGDU PANDA BASE
Hey guys…it doesn’t get any better than this!!!! I hope it was worth the wait for you to get to see some of the panda center pix. Below is a video I did this weekend dedicated entirely to my adopted panda Bao Shi at the Chengdu Panda base. Many more pix to come this week as I get through processing them and picking my faves. The jet lag has been terrible but whiling away the daytime hours revisiting the pandas and Chengdu via my photographs and video has been a great way to keep awake!
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE VIDEO BELOW MUCH LARGER AT YOUTUBE OR CLICK ARROW BELOW
Be sure to turn on your audio!!
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE SLIDESHOW FROM BIFENGXIA
ALL THE PHOTOS BELOW ARE FROM OUR DAY AT BIFENGXIA AS WELL
BIFENGXIA PANDA BASE , SICHUAN PROVINCE CHINA
My one day visit to Bifengxia was highlighted in black and white and some of the most beautiful scenery around. Unfortunately I was not able to get the number of photographs of individual pandas I wanted as many of the Bifengxia residents were on loan to the World Expo and other breeding parks or inaccessible that particular day. It really looked like the park was closed for the New Year
Regardless of our late start and the communication gap, we had a great time meeting Dr Tang and the staff at Bifengxia and the pandas I did get to photograph were wonderful. Perfect lighting that morning with overcast skys
We were treated to a Chinese New Year Feast in a private room with some of the head staff and vets and all the food and Chinese wine and spirits we could drink. I honestly don’t remember all the toasts …there were lots of them!! Chinese wine could take the paint off of your car….and yes, we drank plenty of it!
The muddy panda you see with the scar on his face is the one I am working on fundraising for here on the blog. We are half way to our goal but need much more to be able to finalize this adoption asap. Thank you all so much for your help so far. I still need to ID him but he just seemed to need a special family and a good bath too!!…..little old pig pen I’ll call him for now.
Use the CHIPIN widget in the right column to donate 25.00 or more towards our group adoption and thank you so very much for your participation. There is a lot of bamboo that needs planting for food and many new enclosures to build in Bifengxia. Your small donations when added up will make a big big difference for the future of the Giant Panda!!!
All adoptees will receive a special panda artwork designed by me to download and frame
THE GROUP ADOPTION PANDA WE ARE SPONSORING..THERE IS STILL TIME TO JOIN THE PROJECT!
There was no one around who spoke English during our tour to ask names of the pandas. Some of the plaques with the pandas remaining at Bifengxia were the wrong ones since I knew who was in Shanghai. It looked like they let some of the older adults take over their spaces for the time being.
More pix to come from Chengdu Panda base……those will take me some time to go thru!! The panda we pictured with above is from Bifengxia. We were so lucky to get to have our photo taken with him!!
At first we were told no photos with pandas because of H1N1 …….the panda base was deserted that day and I’m sure it was because of Tais arrival. Guards everywhere and not a tourist is sight. He had just arrived the night before we did.
Even with all the planning and correspondence I did with Dr Tang and Suzanne etc, it took hours to finally gain entrance to the center!. I was sure we would not get to see pandas at Bifengxia and we were getting ready to leave…….
THE BIFENGXIA GIFT SHOP
Hours later after standing at the gate what seemed forever, when one of the staff recognized my photo from my business card…., she put 2 and 2 together, saw how much fundraising I had done (as well as Gayles adoptions) in her computer records……. and we then made up for lost time.
I’m sure by the time my friend Chet gets to Bifengxia this week , many of the Tai police will have disappated and security not such an issue For us is was just a case of bad timing with Chinese New Year on top of everything.
ABOVE IS THE BIFENGXIA SCENERY……..ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!!
We were not allowed within sight of Tai Shans quarantine enclosure OR his villa he is to end up in soon. Sorry guys…I really tried to get photos but with speaking English a rare commodity,….it was a challenge just getting inside even with our driver Mr Li, Mickal on the cell phone in town, and Ying Ying , Mr. Li’s daughter who spoke English running interference!!!! With teamwork and persistance we at least got in the center thank goodness. It was a very fun day all in all. I would love to spend more time in the area on my next trip there.
ABOVE IS A QUICK SHOT I TOOK FROM THE MOVING CAR OF A WEDDING OUTSIDE THE PANDA CENTER
This is just another example of “always expect the unexpected” when traveling abroad . Getting frustrated never changes anything so we adjusted our plans accordingly and made the most of our day in the beautiful mountains with the pandas. We came away with many great memories and friends in the process
