An Incredible Experience

I smile every time I think about what we did yesterday -- um... we sat next to a panda. A PANDA. A real life panda! It was amazing. And it took a lot of restraint for me not to put my arms around him and squeeze.

We got to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding early Sunday morning. We were one of the first visitors there and began exploring in the cold, dense morning fog. The pandas hadn't even come out yet, so we headed to the Sunshine Nursery where we first saw this little guy... 

...and where we signed up for one-on-one panda time. When we first approached the keeper, Mike asked (in Chinese), "is this where we can sign up to hug a panda?" "There's no hugging the panda," she responded, "but you can sit next to one." Okay, we'll take it. (Even though I really, really wanted to hold one like a baby.)  

While we waited for our panda appointment, we toured the park, which we found to be really well-run and well-kept. We saw baby pandas, teenage pandas, and adult pandas; pandas in trees, pandas on the ground, and pandas on log beds; red pandas, twin pandas, and families of pandas; pandas eating, pandas sleeping, and pandas lounging.

A group of 10 of us had signed up for panda time. And yes, it was somewhat costly, but the $220 was considered a donation to research, and we also got a hoodie and a DVD out of the deal. When the panda was brought out, carried in the arms of its keeper (who was more so heaving the one-year old wild animal), you could feel the electricity of excitement in the air. As each of us took turns playing with the panda, the keeper continued to feed her (I think) sticks of bamboo dipped in honey, which helped her completely ignore the giggling adults surrounding her, giddy with delight. It was pure joy, and I was elated to have had the experience.