Southern China: A Panda Adventure

  • Posted on 31 March 2008
  • By The Editor

Photo courtesy Fred Dong

Six panda bears trotted towards the wall where we were watching them. These were playful adolescents full of energy having fun in their enclosure. Many of us stayed a long time to watch this youthful display of panda magic. This was one of the experiences at the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding and Research Center where we saw a couple of dozen pandas including a couple of baby pandas. For a modest donation, you could get your picture taken with one of the many pandas there.

Photo courtesy Fred Dong

Adolescent pandas are waiting to meet you!

Chengdu is one of the many places that will be visited on this year's Southern China trip led by Fred Dong and Bruce Hale. This is a unique trip where you will see some of the great natural beauty, wildlife, culture, and many historic areas of China. Some are UNESCO world heritage sites.

Our tour includes a picturesque 3 day Yangtze River luxury cruise where we will see the Three Rivers Gorge, Fendu Temples, and Gorge Pagodas. You will be pampered as our cruise ship will take us to see misty canyons, with magnificent pagodas atop, have long been a favorite motif of traditional Chinese paintings.

Photo courtesy Fred Dong

We will visit the Dazu Rock Carvings which are a series of Chinese religious sculptures and carvings, dating back as far as the 7th century A.D., depicting and influenced by Buddhist, Confucian and Taoist beliefs. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, the Carvings are made up of 75 protected sites containing some 50,000 statues with over 100,000 Chinese characters forming inscriptions and epigraphs.

Another UNESCO World Heritage site we will visit is the beautiful 235' High Leshan River Buddha, the tallest stone statue in the World.

Our trip will conclude in Hong Kong where we will spend a few days exploring the former British colony and the former Portuguese colony of Macau. We will see the highlights of the area and you will have a day to explore or shop in Hong Kong on your own. We will also briefly visit the nearby Chinese city Guangzhou.

Our price includes all accommodations in four star hotels or five star cruise ship, most meals, all bus, ship, and plane transportation within China, and roundtrip airfare to China. Our price is $200 lower until May 22nd! Price: $2,995 plus taxes and visa fees until May 22nd (May 23rd-July 31st $3,195, after July 31st depends on airfare cost) non-members add $100. Sign-up, send 2 SASE, H & W Phones, SC#, e-mail address, deposit check of $300 (Sierra Club) to Bruce Hale, 3025 Alabama St., La Crescenta, CA 91214 phone 818-957-1936.

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