Just Some Panda Pictures

Throughout my stay at the China Conservation and Research Centre for the Giant Panda, I took hundreds of photos of the pandas I got to work closely with. As I am finishing up my blog posts, I am sadly coming to the conclusion most of those photos may not make it into this blog.

This post although skinny in words, will be rich in photographs from my journey. Below find some of my favorite photographs I snapped in the field that did not seem to fit within specific posts.

Pandas are everywhere in China, even on the seat covers in the taxis! 

The streets in downtown Ya'an always busy with traffic from bikes to mopeds. 

As you can see in the background, there were a rainbow of colors of mopeds for sale in the city. 

There were LOTS of bike taxis in the city, a very cheap way of getting around to close destinations.  

The view from inside my taxi taking me to the center from the bus station in Ya'an.

The river we followed up the canyon. It was pretty dry for this time of the year my guide said.

Chinese lanterns hanging near the entrance of the center. 

The sun shining over the entrance sign of the CCRCGP.

Xin His patiently waiting for feeding time. He was by far the most vocal panda at the center.

Yi Bao eating the special "panda cakes". 

What kind eyes he has huh?

Panda foot 

Xin His waiting for more food. 

Volunteer Johanna checking to see if her initial was still in the recently laid cement. 

As you can see, it is! She says she left her mark on the center forever. 

A view of the official entrance for the CCRCGP from the sunny first day I was there. 

A keeper on the fence between panda enclosures. 

Keepers form relationships with each panda they care for.

Tourists standing at the bottom of some enclosures hoping to see some panda action. 

One of many stands in and near the center selling panda merchandise of all kinds. 

The bamboo truck who delivered pounds of bamboo to the enclosures daily. 

The house next to our hostel always had freshly chopped wood. Not sure why though..

This child's poster was laid sideways against a wall outside our hostel. 

Hang drying clothes was the only option in this part of China. Dryers were nonexistent in this tiny town.

Through the trees, you can see the entrance of the base. 

The road directly in front of the base entrance. The little shops were filled with souvenirs and different foods like meat and corn. 

The bridge at the base entrance had beautiful carvings of pandas on each panel. 

Just munching on some bamboo. Panda's diet consists 99 percent of bamboo. 

A map of the base for visitors to see which areas to find which pandas. 

A large rock indicating the road to the research section of the park. This area was not open to the public. 

One of the kindergarteners drinking water from their little pool. You can see how fuzzy his coat is. 

Just playing in the tree. These babies would play all afternoon and sleep the rest of the day.

The kindergarteners had tons of toys to play with in their enclosure like these tires.

Pandas spend about 16 hours a day eating or foraging for foo

Volunteer Filippa cleaning Xin His's enclosure. 

Volunteer Dan helping remove the garbage bamboo. 

Lucikly, panda poop didn't smell very bad at all (mostly because it was 99 percent bamboo). 

Fillipa using one of the brooms to sweep up the stone area of an enclosure. Volunteers are in charge of cleaning their panda's areas every morning. 

All smiles as I feed Yi Bao his morning panda cakes. 

Repping the WSU Cougars in downtown Ya'an. Go Cougs! 

A man warming himself by a fire on the streets of Ya'an.
No central heating this time of year means everyone is cold.

The traffic coming over a bridge in Ya'an. 

A man selling cooked potatoes out of his cart. 

Motocycles lined up in Ya'an. Mopeds and motorcycles are the chosen mode of transportation.

The archway over a bridge in Ya'an.