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Sunday, May 27, 2007
Day 06 - Chengdu Panda Research Base / 1:02 pm

Day 06 - Chengdu Research Base for Giant Pandas
30 Apr 2007 (Mon)
Temp: 15 - 29c

We finally had proper Western buffet breakfast at our hotel 5F. Finally theres some good food to indulge on... Today is time to explore the outskirts of Chengdu..to visit the Giant Pandas...Travelled about 1h+ to Chengdu Research Base for Giant Pandas, listed as UNESCO Protected Site. The interiors are filled with bamboo plants for asethetic purposes and there are sure alot of educational posters with regards to the conservation & lives of the pandas. We were whisked away to to the 3yr old panda site on a golf cart, which was a few miles away. Apparently all the pandas are classified to their ages and are kept separately. This site was chosen as the air is relatively fresher and is on relatively unpolluted, conducive for the pandas' breeding.


A short cinematic experience on the lives of pandas and how conservation is important


Endangered Red Pandas

Entrance of Giant Panda Museum

Educational Board of the story of the Giant Pandas

Entrance Gate of Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding

Red Pandas on the prowl

Feeding of the Red Pandas


Red Pandas lurking around

Sculpture at the lab & research base

Infant Pandas (less than a year old) at their dedicated playground
Fighting Pandas (apparently one rolled down the slope after that)

To feed the pandas personally, the cost is RMB 400 (S$80). You'll get a pail of bamboo shoots and have to don a plastic sheet around your body to prevent any infections. Pandas are national treasures!

One of the warning signs about message from the pandas...
Heavenly lifestyle for the pandas with toys all over the place...

Pandas Feeding Corner
Introduction of the Panda Family History

Munching on the bamboos

Eeewww....what a muddy panda!

Munching.........
The sign tells you everything....pandas are indeed precious to them...


Pandas are known to be picky on the panda shoots...it must be fresh & tender



Conservation Centre (background)

Pics of pandas when just born




Sculpture of the UNESCO Global 500 heritage site outside the breeding & research centre

Left around noon, back to Chengdu city via Third Loop Highway which is also the route to Chongqing. Arrived near Chunxi Shopping District.


Newly opened newasiaplaza shopping centre

I 'd comment that most items here are almost same-priced as our homeland, while branded goods are much more expensive. The only things that are cheap are mainly books & cd which spans several storeys. Even though if you can't find the book you want, there are actually staff roving around to assist you in your search. If the shop really don't have the book, they will give you instructions to the next bookstore that will have. That's really good service! =)
Many departmental stores have signs stating that the escalators, lift, trolley are all sterilized like 6 times a day! They even have enough manpower to employ staff to distribute shopping baskets at the entrance and greet you at the same time! The superamrket is spectacular....mountains & mountains of goods ranging from roasted rabbit meat to live fish of many kinds. Due to the massive number of customers, the supermarket just give you an estimated number of plastic bags for your purchases and you can proceed to this long table ahead of the cashiers to do your DIY packing.



Tianfu Shopping Complex



Sichuan Library @ Chunxi Road


Shopping District @ Chunxi


Sichuan IT Plaza (several storeys of gadgets and computer accessories)


Travelled to Olympic Park Plaza to have "yuanyang" steamboat. Basically, it is labelled yuanyang as it is red spicy soup base in the middle (circle), while the surroundings is plain chicken soup. There is a huge buffet spread and beer buffet at the corner for consumption. Actually the buffet spread has many internal organs of many unidentified animals, made me wonder what on earth i'm consuming...sometimes it disgusts me, but it is seasoned to delight my taste...so its all right. The worse dish is probably the frozen fish, which is so hard & tasteless. A group of Korean tourists came shortly, but they also didnt have any appetite after looking at the raw buffet spread, and started opening their kimchi lunchboxes and munching and mixing their food with their homecooked chili. As for the Korean elderly, they just munched on watermelons only. How hilarious! Haha.


>>>>>>>>>>>Beijing 2008 Olympics Countdown clock (on the opp side)


Travelled to Jinsha International Theatre to watch a cultural show. Initially i thought it was a waste of money as it costs roughly S$30++ for 1.5hr show. However, after the show it proved me wrong, it was indeed worth every cent. The songs, dance choreography, snow, water and fire effects was sensational. Since this is more of a tourist attraction, there were English subtitles screened at the side to translate the speeches. The cast were so popular that there was a huge crowd of local teenagers screaming and jostling to get the actors' autographs & photos. Hahaha. Following that, we left the theatre and headed back to our accomodation by our private van.





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City checklist :)

[Republik Indonesia]:
*Java* - Jakarta
*West Java* - Bandung
*Sumatra* - Kepulauan Riau

[Federation of Malaysia]:
*Johor* - Johor Bahru, Kota Tinggi
*Malacca*(Melaka)
*Pahang* - Cameron Highlands, Kuantuan
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*Chiangrai* - Meuang-Chiangrai, Mae Suai, Mae Chan, Mae Sai
*Chonburi* - Pattaya
*Phuket* - Mueang-Phuket, Kathu, Thalang
*Songkhla* - Hat Yai

[Lao People's Democratic Republic]
Champasak

[Union of Myanmar]
Taunggyi (Shan)

[Hong Kong S.A.R. districts] 香港特別行政區
Central & Western
Kowloon City (九龍)
Kwai Tsing
Lantau
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Southern
Wan Chai
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Yau Tsim Mong

[Macao S.A.R.] 澳門特別行政區
Coloane (路环岛)
Cotai(路氹城)
Macau Peninsular (澳門)
Taipa (氹仔島)

[P.R.C. China]
*Anhui* - Hefei (合肥), Huangshan (黄山)
*Guangdong* - Zhuhai (珠海)
*Hebei* - Chengde Shi
*Jiangsu* - Nanjing (南京), Suzhou(苏州)
*Sichuan* - Chengdu (成都)
*Zhejiang* - Hangzhou (杭州)

[China Municipalities]:
Beijing 北京
Shanghai 上海
Tianjin 天津

[China Autonomous Region]: 自治區
*Tibet*西藏自治區
- Lhasa Prefecture(拉萨)
- Xigazê (Shigatse) Prefecture (日喀则)

[Prefectures of Japan]:
Aichi 愛知県
Chiba 千葉県
Gifu
Hiroshima
Hyogo
Kanagawa 神奈川県
Kyoto
Nara
Okayama
Osaka
Shizuoka
Tochigi
Tokyo 東京都

[Tokyo Municipal Wards:]
*Chiyoda* - Akihabara, Ginza
*Meguro* - Roppongi
*Shibuya* - Ebisu, Harajuku, Aoyama
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*Sumida*
*Toshima* - Ikebukuro
*Taito* - Ueno, Asakusa

[South Korea 대한민국]:
*Seoul* 서울특별시
*Gyeonggi-do* 경기도
*Gangwon-do*강원도
*Jeju* 제주특별자치도

[Republic of India]:
*Delhi* - Old/New Delhi
*Harayana* - Fatehabad
*Rajathstan*- Jaipur
*Uttar Pradesh*- Agra

[Republic of Turkey]:
*Istanbul*
İzmir
Bolu
Bursa
Çanakkale
Tekirdağ Province
Aksaray
Ankara
Nevşehir Province

[Commonwealth of Australia]:
*Queensland* - Brisbane, Gold Coast



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[Air Central]:
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CA 0403
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[Air France]:
AF 8090*

[Air Japan Airways]:
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[American Airlines]:
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[British Airways]:
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CX 0415
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[Continental Airlines]:(new!)
CO 6333*
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[Finnair]:
AY 5896*

[Gulf Air]:
GF 6302*
GF 6310*

[Iberia Air]:
IB 7623*

[Japan Airlines]:
JL 5911*

[Jet Airways]:
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LH 9728*
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MH 0652
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[Singapore Airlines/Silkair]
MI 0186
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SQ 5652*
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SQ 5751*
SQ 5752*
SQ 5901*
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[Swiss International Airlines]
LX 0182
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[Thai Airways International]:
TG 0109
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TG 0201
TG 0202
TG 0315
TG 0316
TG 0401
TG 0402
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TG 0404
TG 0405
TG 0409
TG 0410
TG 0412
TG 0614
TG 0615
TG 7102*
TG 7103*

[Tiger Airways]:
TR 0802
TR 0803

[Turkish Airways]:
TK 8866
TK 8867

[United Airlines]:
UA 9675*

Travel Wishlist
Everest (Mt. Qomolangma) Base Camp; 5020m
Ho Chi Minh & Halong Bay (Vietnam)
Bali & Lombok
Sailing down the Amazon river and upon the Machu Picchu
Visit Salar De Uyuniin Bolivia
Mumbai-Kerala-Goa
Shigatse(Tibet)-Kathmandu(Nepal) on jeep
A long haul ride to Toronto/Montreal
4WD Desert sand dunes ride in Dubai
A ride down the Nile River to Luxor
View the magnificient Hermitage of St. Petersburg & St. Basil's Cathedral of Moscow
Safari Rides in Nairobi
Pristine beaches of Maldives

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