Baby pandas in Chengdu!

We are now in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province and the 4th largest city in China. We flew from Lhasa last night and will head to Xi'an later this evening. Earlier today we visited the Giant Panda Breeding Research Base, 10km north of the city. We saw baby pandas that are only 5 days old! So cute! They're about the size of a mouse and are pink with a thin coat of fine white fur. Their eyes are still closed and they spend a lot of time in an incubator when they're not with their mother.

Photo from Chinadaily.com

We also saw adult and 'sub-adult' pandas that are 1-5 years old. The park also has red pandas, peacocks, a beautiful lake with many swans, a panda museum, a panda art exhibit, and tons and tons of bamboo. Several of the pandas are in indoor air-conditioned cages because it's so hot and humid right now. When it's cool enough outside, they'll return to their large outdoor habitats.

In the few hours we have left before our flight leaves, we hope to visit Wenshu Temple (Chengdu's largest Buddhist temple) and perhaps Culture Park (near the city center). Till next time!