Pandas and Buddhas - The Wonders of Chengdu

Our flight to Chengdu was delayed about 90 minutes for unexplained reasons.  Apparently on Chinese airlines (we were on Air China) the captains never talk with the passengers.  But it arrived all right to the Chengdu airport, which is very large and modern.  Our baggage came out promptly and we met one of our hosts, Zeqiang (“Qiang”) Zhang, outside the baggage claim area.  Qiang had been a visiting scholar with me for a year in 2010-2011 and is a professor at one of the local universities.  He has a good sized Honda SUV (a CRS I think) and took us the 30 minutes or so to the California Garden Hotel.  This hotel is very close to his university (Southwest Jiaotong – Transportation - University) and our rooms in the “VIP Tower” were more than acceptable.  They were large and the bathrooms had separate showers and bathtubs.  But the furnishings were tired and the room was very dark.  The AC worked well, which was a big plus.  There was no WIFI but we found on the second day that we could borrow a router for each room to create our own WIFI.  We did so and it worked fine but the connections were slow.

We rushed downstairs to a show (“Opera”) in the hotel which showcased some Sichuan performing arts including tea pouring, playing a two stringed instrument, acrobatics and (best of all) mask changing.  The latter involves the performer changing colorful masks almost magically while dancing to some music.  It finished around 9:00 PM and then we went to another part of the restaurant to have traditional Sichuan heavy snacks.  These were very good dumplings, some pasta and some other tasty items.  Some were spicy and some were not.  We drank the ubiquitous light beer or tea.  

Traditional 2 stringed Chinese instrument

The wonderful face mask changing performance

Another instance with a Spiderman mask

Zeqiang and Randy take in the multitude of traditional dumplings and more

Min and her friendly husband Yuan enjoy the dinner too

We also had some Chinese beer along with the feast

The next day (Monday), I gave a seminar to about 30 graduate students and a few faculty of the Industrial Engineering and Mechanical Design department at the university.  The audience was polite but it is unknown how much of the talk they understood due to the language issue.  

The monolith that is our hotel tower

View from our hotel room - not impressive

Zeqiang and me outside of his academic building

With Min in the same place

Some of the seminar audience - mostly graduate students

After the seminar - at least no one fell asleep!

Qiang and I then returned to the hotel to get the others and head for the Giant Panda Breeding Research Center.  This is on the north side of the city and is the major tourist attraction.  It has more pandas than any other center in the world (about 50) and is also home to the world’s largest collection of red pandas (about 100).  Despite rain falling during much of our time there, it exceeded expectations.  We saw many pandas, notably some younger ones sleeping in small trees and one enthusiastically eating bamboo.  Two highlights were seeing a “herd” of seven younger pandas being fed apples and some other kind of treat by a worker.  The youngsters were very animated and played and contested who got some of the treats.  It was a wonderful display and we were lucky to stumble upon it.  The other highlight was lining up to view a tiny panda cub (about four inches long) behind glass in an incubator.  Apparently, most panda mothers give birth to two cubs but choose only to raise one in the wild.  But in the breeding center, they can raise both cubs.

Randy and I at the entrance to the Panda Breeding Center (yes, it was a rainy day)

Nick takes a selfie with a new friend

I was so excited at the prospect of seeing pandas almost in their native habitat

Our first panda was a "Panda Ambassador" who certainly looked the part

 

What they eat - bamboo

A peacock was also nearby in the woods

The panda ambassador chills out

 

 

 

Particularly interesting was the fact that this panda ambassador is actually American (see his name plaque above)!  He was born at the Atlanta Zoo and transported to China to join the Panda Breeding Center.  So, not only American, but a Southerner!

This guy was munching on some bamboo

We were thrilled at how close we could get to the pandas and how long we could observe them

Chewing detail

He was very dextrous with his hands (front paws) in handling the bamboo during eating

Tianqi and Nick were also happy with the panda splendor

Most pandas on display had a sign like this telling about them

In this enclosure are young pandas and we happened upon a feeding time of treats - it was a wonderful display

Some friendly fighting over treats occurred

This panda herd consisted of seven animals and it was breathtaking to see so many of these endangered creatures together

Some of them stood for their treats

Panda fun

Next, we saw some young pandas in trees!

This does not look comfortable but it must be

Apparently these youngsters sleep in trees for safety reasons

A tiny baby in an incubator

The baby mostly slept but did move some.  It is covered with white downy fur.

How cute is this?

We then saw some red pandas and they were also adorable.  Unfortunately there were no baby red pandas in the nursery for us to see though.  We walked to the Swan Lake which has black swans and other birds, and had lunch at the restaurant there.  The assortment of Sichuan stir fries was tasty and then we walked to the parking area where a protracted bargaining for a few souvenirs occurred.  

An adorable red panda came to greet us

Then he ably climbed a tree

Two others were wandering near a feeding area

Nick and Qiang choose the dishes for lunch

Yum - stir fry and beer

Outside, there was a bizarre (even by Chinese standards) English translation.  "Lie fallow" for relax - who knows how they even came up with that!

One of the beautiful black swans on the lake

Another view

The next stop was the Wenshu Yuan Monastery.  This is located near the city center and it also exceeded expectations.  It is a large complex and, best of all, a working monastery.  We saw many Buddhist god statues and temples (a Buddha – or Pusa in Chinese – is a single god and there are many of these in Buddhism).  Some people were praying and some lit incense.  We saw a few monks – some in brown uniforms and others in light orange uniforms.  They live in the rear of the monastery.  All in all, it was an educational and interesting experience.

Our next destination near the city center

Outside the entry we saw some of Chengdu daily life

One of the guardians that lined the entry provides protection to the Pusas inside

Lighting incense

A guardian elephant with three tusks on either side

Nick and Tianqi do the turtle luck thing again

This guardian beast is both fearsome and magnificent

One of the monks in this active monastery was cleaning their ping pong table.  There were monks in both this golden orange color and in gray.  We don't know how the uniform color is interpreted.

A nice dragon embossing on a wall

We enjoyed the peaceful and pretty grounds

Randy with one the impressive guardian lions

Two guardians side by side

A happy buddha (and with an ample belly)

Three lined up guardians - almost comical in their fierceness

A quick drive to the hotel gave us a few minutes to clean up before we headed to the famous JinLi Street in the city center.  This is a large collection of ancient streets that are now lined with bars, restaurants and shops.  Apparently, it is most lively at night.  We ate a noted “Hot Pot” restaurant called Dai Mui Hot Pot, where reputedly Michelle Obama dined when she came to Chengdu to visit the pandas.  Joining us were Min Yang, my other visiting scholar from this university, and her husband, Yuan.  He works at Volkswagen in production planning.  A short show provided much of the same entertainment as the first night and ended with a rousing display by a mask changing artist.  We then dug in for the Hot Pot.  This was a collection of four pots (two spicy and two not) in the middle.  Plates of meat and vegetables were ordered and dumped in the boiling oil.  The food cooked and was picked out with either chopsticks or a ladle.  A tasty sauce was provided to dip in (sesame oil, peanuts, green onions, cilantro and garlic).  Actually much of this was too foreign for us – intestine, whole small fish with lots of bones, stomach, ears, etc.  We did eat some meatballs, some shrimp paste rolls, and some potatoes.  We also got rice to fill out the meal.  Nick and Tianqi loved all of the stuff but we were less adventuresome.

All of us at the California Garden Hotel before our dinner on Jinli Street

Randy in front of the entrance to Jinli Street sporting his new silk panda tie - a gift from Qiang

Jinli Street was lively in the evening

Our dinner spot

Min and Tianqi pick the Hot Pot ingredients

The guys are ready for a feast

The four cooking chambers of the hot pot stove

Part of the show - note the splendid headdress on the lady with the two very long curved feathers

The mask changing guy was terrific

Cooking the hot pot - Yuan was a pro at it

To round out the evening we walked the rest of Jinli Street, which was crowded but very interesting.  We did a bit of shopping and admired the old buildings and a few small ponds that were along the road at places.  If we ever return to Chengdu, this street is worthy of more exploration and clearly a superior shopping opportunity (though probably with high prices).

Jinli Street after dark

Nick and Randy wait for Tianqi to finish her shopping.  We were not allowed to go with her during shopping because we would impair her bargaining skills (Westerners are always charged more).

The Wishing Tree on Jinli Street

The next day (Tuesday) our main activity was an excursion to see the Giant Buddha of Leshan, located about a two hour drive from Chengdu in the Mount Emei Scenic Area.  Qiang had arranged a driver with a minivan and we met a local guide in Leshan to take us around (though she did not speak English).  Qiang did not accompany us as he had to work.  The drive was uneventful and gave us a chance to glimpse a bit of rural China – mostly farming.  The area is very lush with plenty of green vegetation and is probably a great area to grown vegetables.  We made one rest stop at a large complex and arrived in Leshan for lunch at a restaurant near the Buddha Park.  The food was fine but the setting was not the best – we had an upstairs private room that is usually used for mahjong.  It was a bit grimy and certainly warm.  Anyway, after lunch we proceeded to the park and walked up some steps and inclines lined with some statues and Buddhas.  At the top we could see the head of the Giant Buddha.  We decided not to join the considerable line to walk down and up (basically around) the buddha as it would take about two hours and we decided to spend our time exploring the back side of the park instead.  The Big Buddha is carved into the side of a mountain (actually large hill) next to the river.  It is about 1300 years old.  It is truly impressive but the ordeal of climbing around it seemed less than enticing.  People moved in a slow line down the stairs then up the stairs in a crowded manner and it was very hot and humid.

The start of the road trip to Leshan

Tianqi wears her newly purchased panda shirt

A typical seen from the drive from Chengdu to Lesahan - lush rural farming country

Nick enjoys the lunch - the place looked dicey but the food was good

Headed with our guide to the Giant Buddha

Our cute guide explains (in Chinese) about the historic things on the walk up to the main buddha site

Another puzzling English translation - we assumed this means Don't Litter but could not figure out how the word "parabolic" came into play

A very cool dragon in the hillside,  I was not supposed to take a picture of this because it could bring bad luck but I could not resist.

A tiger guards the entrance

Another view of the tiger statue

The fat, happy buddha signals the entrance

Headed to the gate where the Giant Buddha waits inside

The big boy himself

The world's largest buddha seems to be watching Nick and Tianqi

An impressive sight

A view from the other side shows his interesting hair

You can see the line of people snaking down the mountain side.  They will reach the bottom then climb back up.  A tedious and hot process that we decided not to do.

Another view

A selfie

Finally, a facial close up

Instead our guide offered an option (with extra tickets) to view the Buddha Park, on the other side of the hill.  This is a collection of two ancient and very impressive buddhas now embellished with paths, statues, carvings and buddhas of a modern nature.  They are still at work at this park to add paths and probably more carvings.  In any case, it was definitely a good choice.  The natural setting of hills and forest was great and this park was much, much less crowded than that for the Leshan Buddha.  The walk took a little over an hour and involved some effort in the humid heat.  But the sights rewarded us and even most of the modern embellishments were impressive and well done.

The guide snapped this at the holy fountain which is river water (yuk!) pumped up

Bowls of burning oil at the temple area behind the buddha

A pusa with offerings

Tile roof detail

The walk through the woods was awesome

Another photo at the entrance of the buddha park

Some of the buddhas within (we saw them all)

An orchid in the woods

A modern carving of a lady who got many hands after sacrificing hers to save her father according to legend

This historic buddha is also huge and sits in a mountainside

No one knows how old this fellow is

The steep steps down from the ancient buddha area

Another fat and jolly one

Seen from below, the large historic buddha sits majestically in the mountain

A final look at this artifact from the past

At the bottom of the buddha park

Randy liked the buddha surrounded by tempting dancing ladies (which he resisted and then converted)

Father and son survey the dancing ladies

In front of the picturesque bridge

Same place, different couple

The head of the sleeping buddha

Panoramic of this massive sleeping buddha - only his head and legs are visible - the rest being covered by vegetation

His legs and feet

Another head shot

A selfie.  This buddha was covered for centuries by earth when a mudslide recently unveiled him (or part of him)

Face detail - note the halo with dragons above him.  He is not really sleeping but actually dead and turned into a god.

Our driver was waiting for us at the bottom of the hill and we were grateful for the comfort of the air conditioned van.  We dropped our guide near her residence and then proceeded without stopping to Chengdu and our hotel.  Nick and Tianqi opted to stay in for the evening and eat take out (and Nick enjoyed the various large swimming pools of the hotel) while Randy and I joined Qiang, Min, their department chair, Professor Cheng, and an instructor from the department, Pong or Pung.  We ate a nearby restaurant in a private room (private rooms are popular in Chinese restaurants) upstairs.  A banquet of Sichuan foods was presented including an excellent river fish and some vegetable dumplings.  A plate of potatoes was also there along with stir cabbage.  All total there were probably 12 dishes.  We ate well and then made an early evening due to the 8 AM flight to Xi’an the next day.

Min and Professor Cheng hosted us to another great dinner in Chengdu

We had a private room on the second floor

The array of dishes was impressive and the food was all pretty delicious.  A lot of "ganbei's" were said.  This is the Chinese "Cheers" and demands some ritual - you are supposed to drain your glass (we didn't), you are supposed to put your glass lower than the glass of your honored person, and you stand when ganbei'ing.

The morning brought an unusual lightning and thunder storm but we arrived at the airport in time.  There always seems to be issues when traveling in China.  We got Tianqi’s Chinese characters added to her ticket and then went to get boarding passes and check the luggage.  There, we found that Nick’s and my tickets did not have our passport numbers on them for some reason.  So we went back to the ticket desk and had those added and then checked in again.  Security was full of long lines but we were permitted to join an express line since our flight took off soon.  However, this was not needed as I am writing this we are still sitting on the plane with no sign of taking off (nearly two hours late).  As the crew does not communicate with the passengers we have no idea about the problem (other than it is weather related) and when we might take off.  I guess one has to learn extreme patience and flexibility when traveling in China.  The Chinese themselves are not agitated in the least as this must be a common occurrence (or their culture forbids the expression of wanting information perhaps).  In any case, it is all beyond our control!

On our delayed flight from Chengdu to Xi'an.  We arrived about four hours late but still in time to do what we wanted to do in Xi'an.