"Chengdu - Home of the endangered Giant... " a Chengdu Travel Page by K.Knight

Like most people that travel to the Sichuan Province of China and Chengdu, Anne and I visited the area to see the Giant pandas. The Panda Sanctuary is located close to the edge of the city and can be reached within a thirty minute drive

We were in the sanctuary for approx 3 hours and Anne was so pleased that she saw so many pandas, literally dozens.

The Leshan Giant Buddha was carved into the side of a mountain where 3 rivers meet. Its main purpose was to look over the rapids in the river and stop the deaths of so many boat people during the monsoon season.

This is the largest seated Buddha in the world and sits at over 70 meters in height

The carving began in the year 713 by a Buddhist monk, Haitong, and the Buddha was completed after 90 years of hard work. The work was interrupted when a corrupt official wanted bribes for the funds and work to continue. As a protest the monk removed his own eyes and presented them to the official!

While in Chengdu you will notice the amount of tea houses that are literally everywhere. It is not as simple as sitting down for a quiet cup of tea though! The tea ceremony that the waiter will often go through is quite elaborate and time consuming and just when you thought that he had poured you your first cup of tea…he throws it out! (Apparently the first cup is often bitter.)
At some larger and ore elaborate tea houses you can sit and enjoy a sample of Chinese opera or other form of entertainment.