There are only 1000 Giant Pandas left in the wild.
My quest to photograph this tearful soul in its natural surroundings would take me across China, but on the way, I was to meet with an army of immortals.....
I inspected the three sandy pits of soldiers in battle formnation from above, like a modern commmander. Perfectly motionless positions, each were engaged in a different role and each had its own character.
After 2000 years serving Emperor Qin they deserved, as President Regan once remarked, to, "stand at ease."
Located near the fortified city of Xian, its a worthy stop on the way to Panda territory.
Already 12 hours by train from beijing, it would be another 12 hours before I arrived in Chengdu which is in the Sichuan province.
Although the weather was cold, the food most certainly was not. Sichuan people have an affinity with chilli and almost every dish is laced with the stuff. Nightly I felt its heat work its way around my colon and down into the large intestine like it wanted me to know.
Chengdu is essentially another large city and I'm sick of them. You need to travel to get out and see the real scenery. Bamboo grows freely here and this makes it the right habitat for our Black and White fellows (and I don't mean Geordies Mick)
I visited a breeding centre for Pandas and I was not disappointed. They are a distinctive creature of cat and bear like quality. They run like a lizard with the legs moving diagrametically (think thats the word)
My first encounter was watching one sitting upright like a human and chomping noisily on the long fresh bamboo it had been left. Its noises reminded me of the Chinese eating noodles.
The baby pandas were unforgettable - almost indistinguishable from cuddly toys. Sootie and Sweep had a good right to fight over Sue - they are beautiful to watch and very playful.
My day ended at the Chinese Opera which was hit and miss.
Highlights were the face-changing guys. They wore outfits and masks and change their mask so quickly you are left wondering how it is done. They also spurt fire (not at the audience) Also Mr Silhouette as I call him is entertaininng. He uses his hands to make animals and animate them which Is probably a Chinese tradition.
