Panda-pocalypse
How we went to the southwest Chinese city of Chengdu on a trip to see the pandas, and entered a pollution-filled haze that the air quality index said was: 'hazardous'
The first thing you should know about air quality indexes in China, is that there are actually two. For instance, if I open the Weather app on my iPhone right now it says the current AQI (CN) in Hangzhou is 58, which is ‘Good’. However, when I look at the international IQAir app, it says that it’s currently 147, and ‘Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups’. The difference is that ‘CN’ in parentheses, which of course stands for China.
When we recently visited Chengdu, a sprawling city of 21 million in the country’s southwest, the air quality seemed generally fine. On our first evening, we walked down to the Jinli Ancient Street area, a charming area of old stone lanes, where local vendors were selling a variety of traditional Chinese New Year and winter snacks, such as tang yuan (汤圆), gluttonous rice balls often filled with black sesame or red bean paste, and bing tang hulu, a sweet and sour snack made by coating hawthorns in a malt sugar syrup glaze, though you’ll often find strawberries or other fruit used now. Of course, this being Sichuan, there were plenty of spicy snacks too, and we tried meats and vegetables on sticks (shaokao, 烧烤), dipped into numbing ma la sauce.
Afterwards, we walked south in search of the Tibetan quarter. Apparently, Chengdu is home to one of the largest Tibetan communities outside of Tibet, some 60,000 or so. The city has long been known as the gateway to western China, making its fortune as a major trading centre, but this community is more recent, with a younger generation of Tibetans seeking out better opportunities. We quickly came across signs in both Chinese and Tibetan, advertising Tibetan restaurants, and stores selling traditional clothes, gold and jewelry. On the street corners, young men hung out in groups (with the police keeping a close eye), sporting stylish stetsons and jeans - the local cowboys (in Chinese they’re known as niúzǎi (牛仔), and jeans translates as cowboy trousers). It was an eye-opener into a different world, and made me start planning a Tibet trip.
The next day, it was time to visit the pandas. We got up (reasonably) early, had a buffet breakfast, then hailed a DiDi (taxi) to head up to the Chengdu Panda Base, a 30 minute drive north. As we headed out of the city, glancing up from my phone I noticed the rather ‘foggy’ weather outside. As I strained to look further, I realized that the air quality was not good - in fact, it was downright terrible. Looking back to my phone, I flicked on the IQAir app and the reading said: 425 - ‘Hazardous’, with an alarming graphic of a child wearing a full face gas mask, and warning of ‘adverse health effects’, advising to avoid outdoor activities - presumably, like walking around a panda park. At this point, I started to panic. Should we just go back to the hotel and wait it out? The problem was we didn't have any more free days left - it really was now or never.
Since we’d gone all the way out there, we decided we may as well see if it was open. Surely they’d consider closing due to the severe air pollution? As we walked up to the entrance, it was quickly apparent it was business as usual. Little kids wearing panda ears bounced along the path, and large buses adorned with panda faces disgorged family after excited family. Chalking it up to a ‘this is China’ experience, we were given some masks and a map by the nice lady at the reception, and proceeded to enter the park. At this point we were still thinking that, considering they’re national icons and somewhat endangered, that they’d probably be kept inside. Nope. At the first habitat we reached, dozens of locals were pressed up against the glass to see a panda out exploring his sanctuary, well-designed with bamboo, trees and climbing areas.
And so we spent the rest of the day going from one panda habitat to another, as the air quality slowly improved. Altogether the Chengdu Panda Base is home to more than 170 of the bears (yes, they are part of the bear family), incredible when you realize that they started in 1987 with just six animals, rescued from the wild. The setup is impressive, with a modern expansion of curved enclosures providing maximum viewing angles for visitors. However, and perhaps I shouldn’t say this, but once you’ve seen one panda, you’ve seem them all. The exceptions, perhaps, were the younger pandas, which were somewhat rambunctious and playful, and I did just miss an older panda climb up a tree - by the time I got there though it was flat on its back on a wooden platform, the effort clearly getting to it. For these are truly lethargic animals - after all, how much energy can you really derive from an exclusive diet of bamboo?
I should mention that the center is also home to red pandas (my daughter’s particular favorite animal), which are not actually related to pandas at all - instead, they’re closer to raccoons on the evolutionary tree, but do share an affinity for eating bamboo, with crossover in habitats, though the red panda has a much wider range that stretches to Nepal. To add to the confusion, in China it’s known as the xiǎo xióngmāo (小熊猫), which means ‘small bear cat’, while the giant panda is dà xióngmāo (大熊猫), ‘big bear cat’. Walking through a large aviary-style enclosure, we spied them eating fruit, sitting in the trees, and walking through the undergrowth. Regardless of their etymology, for the vast majority of the local visitors though, they were simply kě'ài (可爱) - cute.
From here, we went to the alarmingly busy Kuanzhai Xiangzi, a collection of narrow lanes that sounded fun on paper, but ended up being shoulder to shoulder crowds, shuffling along in front of tourist-packed restaurants. We beat a hasty retreat, and instead had a dinner of Lanzhou lā miàn (拉面), filling and simple bowls of piping hot beef noodles that cost hardly anything, and were the ultimate comfort food on a cold winter’s evening. Most of all, we were just glad we’d survived the Panda-pocalypse.
Chengdu: Beyond the Pandas
So, what else is there to do in Chengdu besides see the pandas (both big and small)? Lots, as it turned out. For starters, there’s the famous Sichuan Opera, where the performers change masks in fractions of seconds, conveying different emotions and Chinese gods. We caught a show at the centrally located Furong Guocui Sichuan Opera House (芙蓉国粹川剧院), which was excellent, showcasing a variety of acts including shadow puppets, fire breathing, comedy skits, martial arts, and acrobatics.
For shopping there’s a bunch of malls, but the Hong Kong-developed Taikoo Li is the standout. The low-rise development incorporates traditional buildings, accented by newer structures built sensitively to blend in, including the 100-room Temple House boutique hotel. Although luxury stores abound, at its heart is the 1,600 year-old Daci Temple, where Chengdu residents still come to pray for good luck, health and fortune.
There are also plenty of museums to visit, including the Chengdu Museum, a vast modern building on the edge of People’s Square devoted to the city’s history; and the Sanxingdui Museum, which tells the story of a mysterious 3,000 year-old ancient local civilization. If you’re into planes though (as my son is), then make your way about an hour’s south of the city center to the LCA Aviation Museum. We caught Line 1 of the city metro to the gargantuan New Century Global Center (the world’s second largest building by floor area, apparently), then found ourselves lost in an indoor water park complete with indoor beach and a screen for artificial sunrises and sunsets, before opting to walk around the entire building, a 20 minutes odyssey in itself. We finally found the museum, and it was worth the trek - an unexpected treasure trove of all things aeronautical, including simulators and full-scale aircraft. Recommended!
You had a great time, Chengdu is awesome! We love visiting there. I did a whole series of articles on Chengdu in Medium last year. Tibet -Lhasa - is a special place to visit. 🙏
Sounds like quite the experience!
I take it since you grew up in China that you must be fluent in Mandarin, Simon? What Is the coolest thing about being there as someone who's been well integrated but is still technically a foreigner?