Temples & Pandas in Chengdu, China

Upon leaving from Xi’an, we embarked on a backpacking journey to see the temples and pandas in Chengdu, China. We took another overnight train to get to Chengdu but going back to the experience I had from Beijing to Xi’an, this time we booked hard sleeper tickets. They are a bit more money but there are just 6 beds in one open area and you’re only sharing space with that many people. The trick is choosing which bed you want whether its the top, middle or bottom. With three people, the best thing to do is to occupy at least one of the bottoms that way you have a bench to use when that person is not sleeping. We ended up leaving in the early afternoon so we were able to see a lot of the countryside of China before sundown but there wasn’t much time for sleep as we had to wake up around 4:30am for our 5am arrival into the Chengdu station. When we eventually arrived in Chengdu I could tell it was much different than the fast paced cities we had just come from.

In Wenshu Monastery

The traffic here was still just a crazy as the other two cities we’d been
to (I saw at least 4 cars driving on the sidewalk) but walking through
the streets you could tell things here are a bit more relaxed and much
cleaner too. It was also much warmer here in Chengdu and it was the
first time I’d be able to go outside all day without needing a jacket
since I’d left Eastern Europe back in September.

How ironic! I had actually been in the mood that day to clean a public bathroom. Here was my chance!

Aside from the difference in climate, the biggest difference you’ll see in Chengdu is the lack of tourists. From the days I spent here, I only spotted a handful of tourists in the city. And I’ve officially decided… if you’re wondering what it’s like to be famous, just dye your hair blonde or grow a beard and get off the tourist track in China. We got more stares and attention in Chengdu than any other place we’d visited so far. Some of my friends had even given out their
autographs in the past few days…

Yeah, I don’t know either…

The first day we spent here was just walking through the city. Home to more than 14 million and established over 2300 years ago, Chengdu is the only major city in China that has never changed its name or location. And after traveling through both Xi’an and Beijing, Chengdu was a welcome change. Shortly after we arrived, we were told there was a monastery that was worth a visit and was just a fifteen minute walk north from where we staying. After a crazy lunch
experience, we found the Wenshu Monastery and spent about an hour inside.

Probably one of the funniest lunches I’ve had in a long time. The entire restaurant of at least ten people were standing fifteen feet from us just staring and taking pictures of us. If you go to China, do yourself a favor and stay out of the mainstream tourist restaurants. You’ll have a much grander experience while traveling….Since we were so popular, I decided I better grab a photo of us too

One of the most interesting things inside the monastery was the history of the Buddhism religion that they had on display. Although I’m sure there are many
different versions on the history of the religion, the intent here was
to educate people and answer some common questions about the
foundation of the religion.

Inside the temple

Questions such as where Buddhism came from, how it had evolved over the years and how its practiced. When we left here, we headed further into the city and eventually made it to the river which runs through the city. Walking along the path along the river, we came to a section in which there is a city park
that seemed to run with the river quite a distance as it took us over
an hour to walk through that area.

Walkway in the park…

The park was extremely nice too with waterfalls and streams running through it everywhere. As we walked through,we encountered everything from locals playing Chinese checkers to groups doing Tai’Chi while others were either playing instruments in small groups or just walking their dogs.

Every once in a while, you’d encounter one of these awesome signs… I still don’t know exactly what a ‘civilized’ garden is though.

The Panda Research and Breeding Center

The last place we visited while in Chengdu was the Panda Breeding Center which is located just outside the center city of Chengdu. Before we got there, I really didn’t know what to expect. In the past, you get used to visiting zoos and seeing how animals are treated and how their habitats are set up. However, at this breeding and research center, you can tell their main priority is to maintain a positive environment and to make sure the animals are comfortable in their artificial habitat.

Four of the larger adults grazing on some bamboo…

You could tell a lot went into making as close to a natural habitat as possible and giving the pandas plenty of room to roam around. It was setup quite well and at each exhibit you visited, you never had that feeling that they were being held in captivity. We had a guide that led us to the first exhibit where a group of pandas were being fed and from there, went to visit the indoor section of the complex. I’d say he liked his job too. Aside from constantly talking to us and skipping along the many paths we walked, he was also showing off his Kung Fu skills
on a bamboo tree in true Van Damme style all while wearing a business
suit. Maybe that was part of the tour or maybe it was just the pandas that had him excited, I don’t know…

While there, we learned that due to deforestation, less than 1,000 pandas remained in the wild. This center was opened in 1993 to deal with this situation and as of this year, there have been over 100 births in the center since its inception. The place was setup with several different exhibits. One was meant strictly for the younger pandas, some for older ones, one for newborns and yet another to promote breeding.

The newborns…

If you do visit China and make your way south, definitely head to Chengdu and make the time to visit this center. The morning time is the best time to visit as that is when they feed the pandas but its also great because you’ll miss 95% of the tourists that show up later in the day.

There were even some Red Pandas in the center. In the wild, they are mainly found in the Himalayan foothills in Nepal and Burma. They are also on the endangered species list. 

My time in Chengdu was soon over as was my time in mainland China. However, we decided we would make one more stop at Mt. Emei Shan, one of China’s sacred mountains….