Playing with the pandas in Chengdu ....

Our plan to head to the 3 Gorges didn't work out due to time and cost, so we decided to head to Chengdu to see the pandas and explore some mountains. Visiting the Panda Breeding Base was an amazing experience, they are such unusual animals, so human like in many ways. We were lucky enough to get there early to see them eating and playing before they settled down to sleep for the rest of the day. Rob and I decided to splurge and pay the 800CNY (about $180) for the special experience of touching a panda and having our photo taken with one - it was great!

Just hanging out with a 2 year old panda at the Panda Breeding Base in Chengdu!

There isn't a lot do see in Chengdu itself but we spent a day wandering around anyway. The highlight was visiting a huge Buddist temple where we saw the monks living quarters (even seeing them playing table tennis!). There was a tea house in the grounds and also a vegetarian restaurant that offered 'meat style dishes resembling a vegetarian banquet' - hmmm?!

Real Sichuan food - check out the chillis!

Many of the activities we had planned to do were outside Chengdu and we were unable to do many of them because the areas had been damaged by the earthquake. Even though the earthquake occured 6 months ago, there was still a lot of evidence once you left the city centre. Buildings fallen in piles of rubble, areas of landslide and many people slowly rebuilding their homes and their lives.

A 3 year old panda having a nap after a big bamboo feed.

The area of Mt QingCheng was still available to visit, so we decided to brave the public bus system and head out for a day of fresh mountain air and some spiritual healing! (Mt QingCheng is a sacred Taoist mountain). Along the way, someone decided that we looked like innocent (read - stupid!) tourists and thought that they would scam us. Before we knew it, we were being hurried off the public bus onto a small mini bus and being told to pay 50CNY. I have never really been scared in China yet but I was terrified as the driver hurtled up the mountain along a tiny earthquake damaged road, tearing around hairpin turns with his hand on the horn. I was relieved when we were told to get out, pay our 50CNY and head off up the mountain. Thanks to a Chinese man who was with us, we were able to work out that we had been dropped at the back of the mountain and would save the entrance fee on the other side (only 10CNY more!). We were given a phone number to call if we got into difficulties on the other side with the authorities and off we went!

Enjoying the Sichuan opera - more of a variety show really. We scrambled up the mountain, passing several other Chinese groups who had also been (willingly?!) duped. We eventually appeared on the other side of the mountain, entering a Taoist temple. They were not very happy at all to see us (who needs Mandarin when you can quite accurately read body language!) so we quickly kept going down the hill. So, what started off as a dodgy venture, turned into a fantastic experience as we enjoyed the fresh air and explored the many temples on the mountain.

Hiking the illegal way up Mt QingCheng! Once again, it was great to get out of Wuxi and see another area of China, I can't wait for the next big adventure! Rob heads off on a 25 hour train trip to Yangshuo (where I spent the October holidays) and I head back to a chaotic EtonHouse!