Four giant pandas were resting in a tree about 30 feet in front of
me. Two were sound asleep on precarious perches and one was gazing
across the mountain landscape. The fourth was crumpled in a heap at
the tree’s base. Each one was clearly enjoying a well-fed,
post-lunch slumber, and none seemed likely to move in the
foreseeable future.
As I clicked my camera furiously, I stopped to take in one of
those highly prized “travel moments.” I had driven for almost four
hours from the city of Chengdu to the Wolong Giant Panda Protection
and Research Center, in Southwest China’s Sichuan province. The
bumpy journey followed the stunning Minjiang River Valley and
trundled across some extremely precarious dirt roads.
But while watching these magnificent creatures with scruffy
white faces and baggy black eyes in their natural backdrop not a
city zoo the journey seemed more than worthwhile. Though it can get
busy on weekends, today the reserve had only four other visitors. I
pretty much had the pandas to myself, though their nonchalant
mannerisms clearly told me: “Buddy, you need us more than we need
you!”
The giant panda is a symbol of both ancient and modern China.
Its natural habitat once extended across this vast nation, but
man’s actions have pushed it near to extinction.
It’s almost inconceivable today, but on April 13, 1929, the
Roosevelt brothers, Theodore and Kermit, became the first
foreigners to shoot a panda. Ever since, the population has
declined due to poaching, logging, deforestation and the
accumulated destruction of its pristine forested habitats.
The news is not all bad. Conservation efforts have been stepped
up in China, and by 2010, a new Wildlife and Protected Areas
Program will invest $18 million on 15 flagship species, including
the creation of 18 new panda reserves. Wolong was the first and
largest of several captive panda breeding and research centers set
up in the early 1960s. In 1980, China and the World Wildlife Fund
(WWF) began working together to upgrade the panda research and
conservation program.
The Wolong reserve is built into the mountain side and the
pandas have large, sloping grassy areas to roam (no cages), with
plenty of trees to climb and, most importantly, a natural supply of
bamboo to munch.
The WWF has also built wooden layered decking platforms for the
pandas to lie on and sun themselves in the afternoon.
No guide is needed, as the area is easy to walk around, and
there is some good English-language explanatory information about
breeding programs, the panda’s genealogy and the park management
and history.
Some of the younger pandas are trained to accept close human
contact, and you can pay extra to have your photo taken cuddling a
panda. We didn’t do this, but a Chinese couple did while we were
there, and they all seemed very happy though the pandas did seem
more interested in their next apple than in tactile humans.
The Chinese are very attached to the panda, a global symbol of
their nation, and stories about the bears’ plight regularly appear
in newspapers. The marketing appeal is not missed, either: The five
official 2008 Beijing Olympic mascots include a panda, called
Jingjing.
The closest city to the reserve is Chengdu, a rapidly growing
metropolis of 10.4 million people. But during my visit to Wolong,
the sharp, clean air and wind whipping through the mountain valley
made urban China seem like a different planet.
Moving further into the reserve, I climbed a gentle path and
spotted a more active panda tucking into its favorite meal: The
leafy bamboo shoots that thrive on the fertile mountainsides. In an
upright sitting position, the panda clasped the branch in its paws
which have five finger-like claws and a modified wrist bone that
acts like a thumb and assiduously stripped the leaves with giant
molars about seven times the size of a human’s. It was a highly
impressive, but clearly tiring, chow-down. Still chewing the last
mouthful, the panda rolled sideways and curled into a fetal
position an invisible “Do Not Disturb” sign pinned to its back.
Heading back down the hill, I came across two larger, older
pandas lying on a wooden decking set in a slight clearing. Facing
up to the slowly weakening afternoon sun, they stretched, yawned
and scratched each other’s stomach with their paws. Near a small
creek, another older bear snuggled contentedly on the grass beside
a tree, his head protruding slightly over the creek’s edge.
As well as breeding and research, Wolong focuses on education
about panda habitats, genealogy and diet. The souvenir hall
features several pictures of squinting, furless, pink newborn
pandas reared at the center. Next door is the wonderfully named
Panda Conservation Hospital, a modern facility that cares not just
for newborn pandas, but also for the sick and injured, rescued from
the mountains.
As I prepared to leave, I heard a loud shout. One of the panda
wardens was beckoning the four pandas I had first spotted down from
their tree. Two clambered inelegantly down; two others stubbornly
refused to budge. At first, it seemed unclear what the inducement
was, but the two proactive pandas were now bounding, even less
elegantly, across the grass. Then it became obvious: The warden
produced a bucket of large apples and threw one to each panda.
Though their naturally doleful eyes betrayed little emotion, they
clasped the apples like Christmas presents. But, rather than
unwrapping the gifts slowly, they devoured them with a cracking
bite and held out their paws for another.
| WHERE TO STAY
The journey from Chengdu (pronounced Chung Doo) to Wolong (Wore
Long) takes around four hours each way. It passes through the
mountainous Minjiang Valley, cut by the broad, meandering Minjiang
River. The scenery is spectacular, not unlike the Yangtze River’s
famous Three Gorges, which was recently damned and partially
flooded. The Minjiang Valley is to be similarly flooded to allow
for a hydroelectric plant. However, new roads are being constructed
to improve access to Wolong. Along the way, clients will pass
through rural Chinese villages and market towns and gain a real
insight into Chinese life beyond the cities.
Hotels in Chengdu will arrange private transport, leaving early
in the morning and returning in late afternoon for $120-$160. v
Chengdu has frequent daily flight connections with all China’s
major cities. Recommended hotels in Chengdu include: Crowne Plaza Located in downtown
31 Zongfu Street, Chengdu
8628-8678-6666
www.ichotelsgroup.com Kempinksi Located in the southern part of the city, near the
U.S. Consulate
#42, Renmin South Road, Section 4, Chengdu
8628-8526-9999
www.kempinski-chengdu.com Shangri-La Located near the river and scheduled to open in early
2007
7F, Block B, Chengdu International Commercial Building
1 Tianxianqiao Road South, Chengdu
8628-8665-1333
www.shangri-la.com |
