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 .

Two Pandas

Up at 6.30 to use the shower early while the water is hot and there is still water.  In and out quickly ,although the water is hot the air coming in the window is fresh.  A sweet warm coffee is welcome, although at home I would not have sugar I had only been able to find sachets of Nescafe in the shops which had the sugar already in.  I have a adapted quickly to the taste as there is not much choice of hot drinks. Even the tea  we have every day with our meals although very nice is always  luke warm and as the room is cold if you do not drink it straight away it soon goes cold., you cant beat wrapping your hands around a mug of something that is steaming early on a chilly morning.  To add to the sweetness, three slices of sweet bread toasted with jam.  At this stage I am thinking how nice a bowl of cereal would be but tuck into what there is as I have to be at work for eight.
Today I meet Ya Ya. A volunteer left at the weekend who had been there four weeks so now I would be looking after Xing Xing and Ya Ya.  Ya Ya is only  three years old and was born at the panda rescue center.  She is a real character and has a sense of mischief about her.

Ya Ya had been previously trying to escape from her outside enclosure so she had been moved to the one next to Xing Xing.

The first time Ya Ya was let out into the new enclosure the keeper kept a close eye and removed any branches on any trees that would of helped her with her escape plan.

All watching Ya Ya explore her new home.

I had two lots of milk to make up in now and both Xing Xing and Ya Ya  rattle the cage waiting for me to mix up the powder.  Ya Ya became inpatient  and decided to pick up her water bowl and throw it, one look at her cute face and you had to smile.  Ya Ya would also sit and slide the connecting door backwards and forwards making a loud crashing sound and occasionally glancing in my direction to see if she had my attention .  

One of my jobs was to carry the bamboo through the tunnel to the outside enclosure and place it against a bank ready for them to pick the leaves off.  After I had finished all my cleaning I go to the outside and watch them eat the bamboo that I have left for them.

The pandas pick individual leaves off and store them in the side of their mouth

When they have enough to make a decent size bundle they then twist them with their paw , make them into a tight bundle and then eat them.

This is Ya Ya enjoying eating outside in her new enclosure. You can see the leaves collecting in the side of the mouth, then her munch the bundle in the second picture.

 Ya Ya was distracted by a fly, she followed it and ended up falling backwards!

Watching the pandas eat was so relaxing , they did not rush just took their time occasionally looking around, unless there was a tour group visiting it was usually so quiet you could just hear the bamboo rustling and birds singing .  It is easy to just watch these animals all day.

Climbing 2000 steps

After lunch Tiger led us up into the National Park , we were going to attempt to walk up 2000 steps to reach the top of the mountain.  From our base with the Pandas we could just make out flags that marked the top and we had all been itching to get up into the mountains.

Beautiful artwork on some of the buildings we passed to get to the first steps.

Stuart and Amanda at the base of the steps

The above picture is the start of the 2000 steps, the steps were quite shallow in places and it was easier to take two at a time.

We stopped half way to take in the views and to take a breath, it was getting quite hot walking and we were certainly burning off our lunch! From here we could look down onto the new Panda base being built.  Unfortunately there was quite a lot of mist so the photos do not show the view to clearly.

Near the top there were trees with red ribbons, these are prayers or wishes . They looked so pretty blowing the wishes .

Hooray we reached the top!

A group photo to celebrate, minus Stuart and Amanda who followed shortly

A lovely group who wanted to join in the photos

They helped us take our photos

and then all jumped in the picture!

Stalls at the top selling colourful gifts

Incense

A head appeared briefly at a small window

Another group photo now Stuart and Amanda have joined us.

We begin our climb down passing homes and animals

House on hillside

The views as we made our way down the mountain..  

The walk down was certainly easier than the steps up and we saw beautiful views of the valley at times the drop was very steep. It was peaceful and we only past a handful of locals, some sitting outside their house and a lady who I  thought was shouting at us but was apparently talking to a child in a house some distance away.  Horses were tied up and we had seen these at the base of the mountain they are used to take tourist up who do not fancy the walk.  As you approached they would smile and walk over to you and point at their horses in an attempt to get you to pay for a ride. 

So it was back to the bottom and back to the Panda base before our afternoon shift at two.  More cleaning up of Panda Poo, change of bamboo and then a rest for us all before the last feed of the day.

Yes that's just how we felt after walking up 2000 steps!