Panda Adventure

A trip to a city not too far away from Beijing throws up striking revelations

The first sight ofthe cuddly creatureselicits aseries of 'Awws'from us. Shi-shiwaits for hismother on a tree, both lookinglike Sumo wrestlers on asabbatical. We are at theChengdu Research Base ofGiant Panda breeding inChina, an oasis of greenerywith golf carts for transportation.

Chengdu is best known forthese iconic black and whitepandas, and we're taughthow they are reclusive andone of the oldest survivingspecies on Earth. Twelvemillion years ago they weremeat eaters, but, for reasonsnot understood, became vegetarian.They feast on bambooshoots, but here at thePanda Center, they are alsogiven milk and eggs. Themale Pandas may lookhealthy, but they suffer froma low insemination rate the reason this center undertakesartificial insemination.The rare red panda, whichlooks more like a fox, is alsohere and we get to cuddle oneat a fee of 100 RMB (Rs 688).

City of spice
Chengdu has seen the riseand fall of several dynasties.The southern Silk Routestarted here and during theSong dynasty it began toissue the world's first papercurrency. Today, Chengdu isa laidback place whose hedonisticpeople love spicy food,tea, mahjong and the opera!Traditional Chinese architecture,glitzy malls, tree-linedstreets and vast green spacesall come together here. It isalso the birthplace of Sichuanfood fiery, spicy dishesmade with peppercorns. Thesignature Sichuan dish, KungPao chicken, comes with aliberal sprinkling of peanutsand Sichuan peppers.

The ancient Jinli Streetextends from a gate housewith red lanterns and pavedstreets, and is a recreation ofthe traditional timbered tea houses.In ancient times, itwas one of the busiest commercialboulevards. Adjacentto the street is the Wohoutemple. Today, there are tea housesand antique shopsselling Sichuan masks, traditionalcombs, porcelain andfolk handicrafts. We watchcraftsmen make clay figurinesand paper cuts. Thestreet food here is a medleyof colours and smells agaragar jelly with red hot pepper,beef in bamboo leaves,smoked tofu, crawling crustaceansand porridge.

A change of face
In the evening, we watch theSichuan opera, which datesback to more than 250 years.It is a variety of acts wherethe grand finale is the face-changingopera. The waiterspour jasmine tea in our cupswith long-spouted brassteapots as we watch theshow. There is a session ofslapstick comedy and a stickpuppet show, and the facechanging opera is the dazzlingfinale. The performerspeel off one mask after theother but how do theychange their costumes?

We drive to Leshan to seethe Giant Buddha, carved outof a mountain in 300 AD, atthe confluence of three rivers at 71 metres, it's as tall as a20-storeyed building. It'sreminiscent of the BamiyanBuddha which was destroyedin Afghanistan. It was theinspiration of a Buddhistmonk who thought that theBuddha would calm the turbulentwaters that plaguedthe ships. The locals say,"The mountain is a Buddhaand the Buddha is a mountain!"The Buddha is mossy,but striking. We watch peopleclimb the stairs on either side even his toenail accommodatesone person. Chengduand Leshan have been a welcomebreak from the hustle,bustle and history of Beijing!

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