The last week in the office was much of the same, although we had a wake up call on Thursday when we realized we only had one day to finish up all the work we had left. For Taylor, that meant proofreading the rest of Jakob Gerhardt’s English marketing materials and drinking some more of their products and for Ann, it was finishing her proposal for fly-fishing activities. We both had the opportunity to spend a little bit of time with our co-workers outside the office, which was a great way to say goodbye!
Our last week in Chengdu was exhausting and a little bit bittersweet. We finished our work assignments, visited the famous Jinli Street, Wenshu Monastery, and … went back and saw the pandas again. The last week in the office was much of the same, although we had a wake up call on Thursday when we realized we only had one day to finish up all the work we had left. For Taylor, that meant proofreading the rest of Jakob Gerhardt’s English marketing materials and drinking some more of their products and for Ann, it was finishing her proposal for fly-fishing activities. We both had the opportunity to spend a little bit of time with our co-workers outside the office, which was a great way to say goodbye! After our last day at work on Friday, we decided to head out to see another characteristic location in Chengdu that we hadn’t been to yet: Jinli Street. During the Shu Kingdom (221-263) it was one of the busiest commercial streets in Chengdu, and was restored to it’s former grandeur in 2004. Today it is known for the large number of local street snacks, bars, and gift shops. The street is entirely pedestrian and winds through the traditional old town architecture of the Qing dynasty, and the absolute best time to visit is in the evening. We were surprised by how long the street was, it seemed to continue on forever with more snack shops, more bars (with karaoke, of course), and more souvenirs lining the path. We even found street monkeys there! Saturday we returned to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, and had the opportunity to spend some time with some of the workers from the breeding center and learn a little bit more about taking care of panda babies, what the pandas eat from a panda trainer, and we got to take our picture with an 11 month old cub! Last time we shared a picture of their newest panda and commented on how it was practically the size of a cannoli. This time we learned that all panda babies are born prematurely and at the time of their birth are unable to see, hear, or perform normal bodily functions. It isn’t until they are 3 months old that they can see and hear, and at 5 months they can finally start walking! The cub we got to take a picture with, Sa, is 11 months old and is a very active and playful little girl. While we didn’t stick around to see all the pandas again, most of them were inside to stay out of the heat, as it was another 95+ degree day in Chengdu. So we decided to head back into the city to see the last Chengdu site on our list, Wenshu Monastery. It was originally built in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), is the best-preserved Buddhist temple in Chengdu, and is the home of the Buddhist Association of Sichuan Province and Chengdu City. And after all that… we were left with packing. Oh dear.
4 Comments
Mary
8/3/2014 03:47:45 pm
These pandas are so cute...they almost don't look real!!! You should now have been to Paris and on to Morocco. Hope you had a wonderful time there. I know it was short, but Paris is such a beautiful city. Never saw Morocco. Can't wait to see the pictures and hear about your adventures there!!! Have fun :) Safe travels!!!
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Hi Mary,
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Chance Brown
8/8/2014 09:48:14 am
Ladies! These pictures are AMAZING!!! You both with the Panda is priceless! But just amazing pictures all over the blog. Seems like you both are having an incredible time You will both look back on this and will be so happy you did this. It's not over, but I am sure it's already been life-changing. Well, continue to enjoy your trip. And stay safe. I'll continue to check in from time to time. Tallk to you later. ---Chance
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Hello Chance,
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