Do a google search for Chengdu and you will find panda mentioned somewhere in the text. That's because Chengdu, in the province of Szechuan, is home to the panda breeding centre. But Chengdu is more than pandas.
The first Buddhist temple was built in the 1st Century in Mount Emei, just a few kilometres from Chengdu. In the 8th Century, someone had the great idea to carve this giant stone Buddha. At 71 metres high, it is the biggest, baddest Buddha in the world or so claimed by Wikipedia.
Ranked #1 Thing To Do by Lonely Planet reader, a trek to the Golden Summit Temple is an all day affair. One of the holiest temples in China, the trip starts with a 90 minute bus ride to the mid way point. From there it is 900 steps to a gondola. A one hour wait to access the gondola and a 8 minute ride to the Temple in the Clouds. Just you and 10,000 Chinese tourists. It is a very busy place.
Worth every minute.
But lets face it, the pandas are the star attraction. The day we went for a visit, the temperature was in the high 30's with a humidex that was off the chart. Not a panda to be found outside that day. Their inside accommodations are air conditioned, so forced to wear fur coats year round, we found them all blissful, chilling inside. Can you say adorable?
Say hello to a red panda. On closer observation, it looks more like a punk raccoon. I think the name is more a publicity pitch than anything else.
It was a short stay in Chengdu but a hot one. We are off to Shangri La next. At 3,200 metres, it hopefully will be a bit cooler.
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