Last Look Around Before Heading Home

As my trip is nearly over and I am looking forward to going home and seeing my family I make the most of my free time and  head off out for a last look around the area.

Walking down the road the locals are not shy at having a good stare and many like to try out their English and beam at me when I say 'hello' back.

These two lovely boys were on their way back to school, they had been home for lunch.  They said in English, "Hello, how are you ?" they were thrilled that I replied and went off laughing.

These two workmen were covered up so they could continue their work in the rain.

These were a couple of the options for the locals to eat at.  

Stopped for lunch and sheltering from the rain under the arch in Daoist Center.

Workmen heading off to the local restaurants .  Next to this street they are building brand new shops and housing, the builders flock here for lunch and the street gets very busy with mopeds and trucks. This is where I also shop for biscuits, mainly breakfast tea, tuc biscuits, tomato flavour and Oreos. Just a little snack to keep me going in between the meals provided.  Some of the volunteers also found chocolate in one of the shops but it was well passed the sell by date and white spots all over it. 

The last day working with the pandas was sad but at the same time I was ready to go home, a few last photos.

This was not a problem, I could of watched the Panda's all day!

This is Chi Chi the Panda my son bought for me when going to China was just a dream, I took this with Ya Ya in the background on a last walk around the enclosure. 

So many lovely colours of nature surrounding the enclosures.

This is me putting the final touches to my blog.

 What will I miss about being in China? Well of course these! 

A truly wonderful experience and a privilege to work with China's national treasure. The Panda is a captivating animal but also endangered with estimates at just 1600 in the wild.  The Chinese are allowing volunteers into the research centers to help with public awareness. I will miss the little bleating noise that the Pandas would make as they came up to see me and the intense stare while I cleaned up the poo, swept , mopped and prepared food. 

 Saying goodbye was sad but I was ready for a comfy bed, cheese, a cup of tea, a sandwich and a hug from my wonderful supportive family who made it all possible.

Thank you for reading and sharing my experience

Jo 

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Training the pandas

When I arrived at the panda enclosure Ya Ya was waiting for her food.  The keeper chopped up apple and carrot. The keeper raised a finger and Ya Ya opened her mouth for the carrot to be popped in.  I watched Ya Ya before the keeper let me have a go with Xing Xing.  This is quite scary as you have to get the carrot or apple in the wide open mouth before she shuts it without getting too close.  I missed a couple as Xing Xing shut her mouth just as I was throwing them in.

I then had apple on a stick and got Xing Xing to stand up, sit down and then lay across the bars her paws flat against them.  This is so the vets can do their checks .  I was thrilled when I got a well done from my keeper when I got her to lay beautifully .
Walking around the enclosure was beautiful today, the trees and the mountains are changing colour. It is a shame you cannot pick out the colours of the mountains with the camera , it is so relaxing just walking around being able to look at them all day.

Ya Ya was playing in the tree today, I took a few photos of her as she kept falling out and quickly getting back up and having another go.

 Afternoon training was done outside with a long piece of bamboo and chopped carrots and apples.  First the keeper called the pandas to the bottom of the enclosure.  We stood on the wall and dangled the food in making the pandas stand up and walk along before letting them take the food off the end of the bamboo.  I asked the keeper if this was exercise.  She did not understand me at first but once I started bending my knees and waving my arms around she laughed and said "yes ,exercise" .
After nearly three weeks of being with these lovely animals I get to see their different characters , no two pandas are the same and its easy to fall in love with them.

The Golden Man the father of Taoism

From the panda reserve in the distance you could see a golden man , all the volunteers were keen to get up close and see this dominant figure.

We had to have lunch at 11 so we had time to walk up the mountain and be back for our afternoon shift. He was always referred to as the Golden man by us and by Tiger who looked after us at the base but this was Lao Tsu or Tzu. Lao Tsu  was a generation before Confucius about 600 BC.  Lao Tzu is the father of the Chinese spiritual tradition Taoism, mainly because of his text called Tao te Ching (Tao: the way of all life, te: the fit use of life by men, ching: text or classic). Lao Tsu believed that the way to happiness was for people to learn to "go with the flow." During my time in in China, going with the flow was very relaxing. Lao Tzu was not his real name, but an honorific given to the sage, meaning “Old Master.”

Once again we made our way up the beautiful mountain.  We passed a group of school children who seeing us began to chant.  When we inquired what they were chanting it turns out it was 'foreigner' . Once we smiled they all wanted to wave and say "hello". 

 The views from the platform were beautiful we were so high up and the statue was huge.

 We climbed back down a different way, passing lovely art work and very colourful buildings.  We also bumped into another group of excited children.

Old housing on way back down mountain 

Nestled under the Qin Lin mountains this important cultural area is a peaceful and beautiful place to be.  There were trees strewn with red ribbons and prayer requests.  The area is changing rapidly, they are investing in new eco  buildings to rehouse many of the people still living in the mountains.  The area has become a ecological conservation area and by moving people out of the mountains they are hoping to re -green the mountain and allow a better habitat for biodiversity. Just down the road from this wonderful place in the mountains there are new buildings and shops rapidly being built. Right next to the Panda base a brand new Daoist Spa opened while we were there.

Daoist Spa, all heated with solar and natural gas with low carbon emissions.

We made it back for 2pm afternoon shift, more carrying of great bundles of bamboo, a little sweeping of poo and leaves , making sure the pandas were happy for another two hours before the next feeding time.

Taoist Culture Center

Just down the road from the panda research center was the Daoist Culture Center .  This is another name for Taoist . Taoism is a philosophy or a way of life which is believed by some in China to have been started by a man named Lao Tsu or Tzu. Up in the mountains above the panda research center I could see a huge golden statue of Lao, these temples at the bottom of the road stretched up the mountain towards this.

I spent quite a few hours here often taking a walk after lunch before my afternoon shift with the pandas. Although right by a busy road it always seemed a very peaceful place.  Music and chanting would be playing all the time through small speakers dotted around.  These are just a few of my photos.

This area will be a tourist attraction and inside some of the temple styled buildings are new shops and a museum where you can discover this history of Taoism.

I watched a man do some beautiful calligraphy on huge long sheets of paper inside one  of the shops. Everything inside the shops was so expensive compared to the calligraphy brushes I had bought at a market in Xian. 

 The photograph of me was taken by a lovely lady who first asked me to take a picture of her and then insisted of taking one of me , she was very particular about getting me to stand in the right place and get my head in the right direction .  As I was the only white face around that afternoon a group of teenagers asked to take my photo and two girls jumped in quick to have their photo with me. Every one was really nice and usually they asked before taking a picture of the alien! 

In my next blog I head up the mountain to visit the statue of Lao Tsu .