Amazing Giant Pandas

We are in the middle of an amazing trip to the Sichuan Provence of China. The first part of our trip focused on seeing the Giant Pandas at the Bifengxia Panda Base Research Center in rural Sichuan, and at the Cheng Du Panda Breeding and Research Center. Both were amazing visits. Since my last review was about a children's book on pandas, I wanted to share just a little information.

The Chinese are putting a lot of resources into developing research and breeding centers for the Giant Pandas. The Wolong Panda Center was heavily damaged by the enormous earthquake in May 2008. Most of the pandas at this center were transferred to the Bifengxia center. The panda above was the first we saw.

I am surprised how well the researchers have learned to breed the pandas. We saw about nine young pandas (six months old) at each center, and many more one and two year olds. The young pandas are kept first with their mothers and then in a group together. Here, you see a panda with its mother in the Cheng Du center.

We called this next picture "Bamboo Bar". We were watching a young adult happily eating, when we looked down below the fence and saw these three pandas sitting in a row munching bamboo.

It's been an amazing journey. Thanks for letting me share.