22/7/25
Consisting of many small plates, breakfast was mildly underwhelming. Sans meat, eggs and for some reason, the usual steamed buns were also missing. Congee was still an option, tastily infused with squash. Coffee sachets existed, but had turned to gum. Boy did we really want the caffeine.
Our host had obtained tickets for us. Bifengxia Panda Reserve was only a five minute walk away. Chengdu is famous for its panda reserve, therefore it’s appallingly busy. ‘Green Peak Gorge’ on the other hand, was leafy, set right next to a gorge and most importantly, lacked the insane number of people we’d heard flock to see the black and white beasts at Chengdu every day.
Opting not to bother with the bus and instead walking, we set about finding some pandas. It didn’t take long. Sheltered by an artificial shelter, was a man in a panda costume eating bamboo. Honestly, he didn’t look real. More like some kind of cartoon character. Surrounded by leafy branches, looking extremely relaxed, lay the cute guy. Next to him, in another enclosure, was another. Lumbering down from his bed, on a grassy path came yet another.
As everyone would, we just stared for a bit. Laying eyes on a creature for the first time was a rare occurrence, especially an animal this big. Signs pointed us to the Panda Kindergarten. Cubs were of course an even cuddlier concept. Alas, there were ‘only’ younger pandas, sleeping or eating. There was a very pasty looking German couple. The only westerners we saw the entire day.
Confusing paths meant we almost missed some of the enclosures until an attendant pointed them to us. Oddly, they had painted murals of beautiful outdoor scenes where the pandas should be, but also space themed drawings. Sometimes it was mother and children, or just siblings.
‘Overseas Panda Paradise’ was the biggest letdown. There was only one non-Chinese born panda. Mei Sheng was a 19 year old from San Diego. Despite there also being an amusing trio of hungry bears, viewable quite close, they were all born in China. Panda diplomacy was likely in its dying throes. For hundreds of years pandas have leveraged positive relations between China and other nations. Since 1984, every panda cub, bar one, born in the entire world belongs to China. Before their fourth birthday they must return to their homeland.
We spent a while observing Mei Sheng. Being slightly off the beaten track and also in the shade made his enclosure a perfect rest point. He paced up and down for a while. Though we weren’t sure why at first, a lady soon arrived with a slab of ‘panda biscuit’ and some carrots. The bears were trained to the routine. Afterwards he seemed a little happier, though we couldn’t help feel guilty visiting a glorified zoo. Pandas are released, but never all of them of course. Tourists not only enthusiastically photographed the interesting bears, but also us. Another interesting ‘species’.
Panda habitat is slowly diminishing. Not just because of the foliage cover, but also as they prefer higher altitudes and the cooler temperatures that come with them. The most successful breeding zoo outside of China, in Mexico, credits their high altitude as it mirrors their natural habitat.
During our walk back we fortuitously popped into the kindergarten as two pandas were play fighting. Twins, brother and sister. Amusing though it was, especially as they slid down a slope locked in an embrace, in the wild twins survive rarely if ever. The mother picks the strongest, and abandons the other. Twin-swapping is a process used by zoos to trick the mother into nursing both.
Satisfied with our visit we walked back to the entrance using the road – the pedestrian path was stair heavy. The humidity had already made us start sweating constantly. Indeed, given the name of the area, there was a gorge. Our tickets included access. Laziness firmly dismissed we headed down the path towards the entrance. Wooed by the fried tofu we stopped for a quick lunch.
Considering the number of people that must traverse the route, a ‘burger king’ path was really the only option. Perfectly paved stairs traversed the rocky sides of the gorge. Perfect natural waterfalls, occasional hidden speakers, concrete wood-look fences, all combined to create true feeling we were walking through a disney-style theme park. First we went steeply down next to a nine tiered waterfall, then slowly back up the gorge. Two hours and 7.5km later we arrived at a gigantic lift, the tallest sightseeing lift in the world, if one is to believe the blurb. Sadly there were no views to be had, not yet, ongoing renovation was to yield an insane intergalactic adventure.
Getting back to Ya’an was no easy feat. First we took the included, joyfully air conditioned, sightseeing bus back to the hotel. Picked up our bags, then took the same bus back to the entrance. Initially planning to get a taxi, we instead found a little yellow minibus to take us back to the city. The driver was only willing to leave once full of passengers, we were waiting a little while. Taxis plonked themselves by the bus stop, enticing people away and delaying our departure. Panda statues littered the road on the way down. Hanging off buildings, shiny and new or dusty and abandoned on the side of the road. National identity clearly depended on the cuteness of the bears.
Ya’an bus station was setup in a familiar way. Tickets for the 17:30 bus to Shimian were obtained by handing over our passport, photos of which were captured on the tellers personal phone. Security involved x-raying our bags. Soon we were sleepily flopping around on the bus as it zoomed down the Jingkun expressway. Insane infrastructure abound, crossing rivers on stilts, overcoming mountains through extra long tunnels. Highway-less travel would take yonks.
Shimian bus station was brand new, two miles outside of the city. Hailing a DiDi driver was easy, arbitrarily he asked for another ¥5 and we had no idea why. Trip.com had lots of ‘sold out’ hotels and we gave Manju Hotel a try. It looked nicer than the previous hotel. Confused staff greeted us and immediately called the police. Refusal isn’t permitted, so we were soon filling out the forms and in a twin bed room.
Barbecued gluten spirals were our dinner, we’d eaten plenty earlier and it was already 8pm. Luckily we knew where to find the good food having been shown there by our guide almost two weeks ago. Lured in by fresh durian, we spent £11 on the deliciously fresh, creamy fruit. Kicking ourselves that we hadn’t become fiends of the fruit back in Thailand. Daft.
The next day we hoped to be finally reunited with our bikes. Sort of. Of course we were apprehensive about it too. Travelling to Caoke was also not straightforward. Having to come back down to Shimian was a nightmare. At least it was predominantly down? Oh, and we’d seen pandas, tick!
Surly They Won't Make It 