So If you don't like pandas (red or giant) you might want to just scroll right on down to the last like 10 pictures out of the 100 because you are about to get panda OVERLOAD. Also, if you don't like pandas you need to go stand in front of a mirror and contemplate why you are such a horrible person.

So we told everyone the reason for the trip to Chengdu was to see the pandas because yeah, why the heck not? This is the panda breeding research base and don't worry there are BABY pandas to see somewhere in this post. Yes, maybe I did squeal when I saw them... anyway.

We showed up after a bit of an epic journey in Chengdu that included walking, a subway, a bus and a taxi and it was pretty much a torrential downpour. We hoped this meant the crowd would be smaller so we ventured in. It was, btw, and it was AWESOME. 

Now, without any further ado, I present - a ton of panda pics along with a lot of witty commentary.


All those red dots? PANDAS. Also do you see the amount of rain on that sign?
Eep! They know exactly why we're here.

This was the first panda we saw. I have to admit I was worried they'd all be in rooms and I'd be starring in the window, so I got really disappointed when I saw this guy... even though if you look at him he is being AWESOME lounging and eating away.


Eating and lounging... my hero


we took A LOT of pics of this guy... (girl?)

Our first panda sighting in the real world! (well natural habitat replica enclosure...)

The dirtbag wouldn't look at us



Chad is getting artsy now! Aren't you proud? (it was pretty cool)

You guys I didn't zoom! I was this close to this guy!

And then his/her brother/sister showed up... from now on I will be using the feminine term for all because I didn't check  (and I'm a raging feminist - yes, 'raging' is emphasized, just ask Chad)


Hey! Where are you going?



Oh right by us!!!

I may look like a drowned sewer rat but I was elated! Alllll day. These 2 guys led us to below...

The ultimate panda hangout spot!! This lady was up here away from everyone just rocking out swaying back and forth... we have video of it and if I ever get a good enough internet (and emotional - you need to earn this awesomeness) connection I might share it with you...

Three amigos having some breakfast


There they all are... see what I mean about this one up top haha

You better  believe everyone got their own close up!
I also like their style... why sit and eat when you can lay in your food and eat?



Or against a sweet backrest


This panda looked like she had just been shot and was eating/grabbing new bamboo as her last, dying act.


This is a quick shot of the crowd around these 4 girls. Craziness even though it was raining pretty crazy like
After these guys I neeeeeded to see baby pandas so we found the nursery. There was a line and all you could do was walk in, walk by and take one picture before security hustled you out. And in Chengdu so many people know English we couldn't even pretend we didn't know what they were saying because they said it in English too.. Sigh. 


BAAAABBBBBBIIIESSS!

Thought you might want the zoomed in picture to be extra big... this is pretty much their ACTUAL size now!


So this guy is just sleeping in the Y of a tree... we stood there for about 30 minutes trying to get a picture of the rain and him, but couldn't and he hardly moved. That is a dedication to napping I aspire to have
This is probably the best shot we got of the rain and the panda....

As we ventured further we found ANOTHER panda nursery. This was funny because if you look closely you can see an adult panda being taken somewhere and she is just sitting in a chair right now. Eventually the guy in the blue tarp-y coveralls just picked her up and carried her away like a pouting child.

So many babies of so many sizes!!




This lady made me laugh just laying there relaxing haha

We watched her sit like this and not move for like ten minutes. We thought she might be dead at first, but we could see her breathing as we approached

We tried a failed at taking a selfie with her

much better attempt



I liked this picture because it almost looks like we just spotted a panda out in the wild!


These two were on the move, so I started running from the crowd to get a picture of them.. turns out I'm the only one who thought ahead and I got quite a few pics of them close up without a crowd around me



Yeah the big one might be pooping right now haha



As we were watching the 2 above I looked over and realized there was a third panda in the pen! It kinda looked like she fell down the wall so I was worried about her


You can see all 3 of them now
but as you can see from this picture she had no problem climbing up

We were going to do another panda selfie and someone offered to help... this one and the next one were her work... I think the selfies were better


After all that, it was time to check out the red panda enclosures... yeah you can tell there isn't as much love in China for the red panda as there is for the giant panda. It's kinda like they said, "oh yeah I guess if we breed pandas we should do all of them." But don't worry, I love red pandas so you'll get so many pictures of them coming up!

These guys are a bit trickier to see...


And this guy didn't even want to acknowledge the humans while he was eating




Red panda selfie! Can you spot the panda?

that looks like a hiss face no?





way better red panda selfie!

can you spot the other white person there?!?!

There she is again (The white person. Also the panda)

This sign made us laugh every time we saw it. I wonder if they are offended at only being 'somewhat' fierce. I guess it is a half full/half empty situation - do they want to be fierce? Who am I kidding, who does NOT want to be fierce? Yeah, it's offensive.

Turns out red pandas really like hanging out in the top of the trees


Can you spot the FIVE red pandas in this picture??


Red panda ZOOM!


Chad got to hug a panda! (Don't fret, this one was not 'somewhat fierce', he was 'somewhat' friendly)

I know it might look like I'm sick, but I was just trying to do his pose...(and before you get all offended at classifying him as a he (ahem* feminists), what self respecting woman would wear that shirt? Really? - Chad)
panda statue selfie!

Classic Chinese shot

These pandas were dancing... it was awesome



And as we were watching the pandas dance a man wearing 2 hats walked by
We were told no pictures. But we are born rule breakers and can you see this hat? It needed to be immortalized through the miracle that is our blog
After pandas we were STARVING and had read about a yummy Chinese Muslim restaurant in the area, so after another couple of buses, a subway and lots of walking we found the place. This is extra impressive because we weren't given an address but a general location consisting of an intersection of 2 streets. Oh and we did not have a name so we had to translate 'Arabic' into characters and match it to the name of the suspected restaurant. It was super yummy but quite spicy.

You can see the wonderful food, and a skewer from one of our meat kabobs which were a mystery meat but extremely delicious as well

On our way to lunch we not only saw the "Corn Juice" store on the left, but also where we assume Robert DeNiro shops...

Not to mention the original app store!

We also happened upon the US Consulate. They said no pictures,  but you know... rule breakers
After lunch we decided to wander around Chengdu, and no wander around Chengdu is complete without a visit to the Mao statue. Which happened to be in a pretty cool public square.

Mao!





Panoramic of the square

times two...

Come to find out, kids love bubbles in any country


We were never able to figure this out exactly. 

There was an ice skating rink in the mall! Like inside the mall. On the fifth floor.

Oh and no one is on the ice here... people are just watching that video of other people ice skating

Random sign on the subway about subway rules... are superman and batman not allowed to sit next to each other on the subway?

We noticed these cool dragons under the bridges

Yeah, that's an R8 in Chengdu
The view from the cab we got when I was done walking for the night... I might have started crying...but we walked a long way! And that beautiful castle like structure you can see? That was still miles from our hotel. I regret nothing.