PANDAS!

Thursday, October 17, 2013
Chengdu, Sichuan, China
I can't express how modern and unique this city is. All the buildings are new and the city holds 14 million. 5 million more than New York City. The lights on the buildings at night remind one of a futuristic sci fi movie. All we need are flying cars.

We are staying at the Shangri La Chengdu . This is an exquisite
hotel. The breakfast buffet was out of control. I have never seen
anything like this.

We had the opportunity to go to the Panda research center. It is a great facility that provides research, breeding, infant care and viewing opportunities. For a large donation, one can "hold" a panda. Tim wasn't interested, but I had to do this. This is the only place in the world where one can pet or hold a panda.

The behaviors of some cultures is truly remarkable. Our group, those who paid the large donation were being treated to a private lecture and video showing birth to adult cycle of the pandas. We were in a small room that happened to have an open window. Two women were outside the building hanging into the window to listen to the private event. It was obsurd. I resisted the urge to close the curtain. Others were pushing into the back of the room to hear the presentation. I wish I had taken video or a photo of them.

Tonight we went to a Sichaun face-changing Opera. This was held at a tea house and some of the added services is a chair massage and EAR CLEANING! Are you kidding me? Our local guide Susie told us she would make sure the instruments were cleaned between cleanings for us. What, pray tell, do they normally do????? There were some very interesting performers and registers and decibels that my ears and brain have never heard before. There was Chinese comedy that was challenging to follow, but you just needed to follow the audience's lead. The finger puppets and mask/face changing were the best..We head to Xian by 5am tomorrow.

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