IRP Gatekeepers visit Chengdu & earthquake zone
By Christy George | May 17, 2010 | China
A giant panda in Chengdu
Spent two days in the countryside outside Chengdu in Southwest China.
Chengdu is famous as the home of China's beloved giant pandas. We visited the panda breeding center just outside the city yesterday and yes, they are adorable. (I'll post video of the pandas when I'm back in Portland next week.)
We also visited the Baishuihe Nature Reserve north of Chengdu, where pandas live in the wild, munching bamboo (we didn't see any wild pandas).
The reserve is very near the epicenter of the devastating earthquake in Sichaun Province two years ago.
We visited the quake zone and saw a great deal of new construction, some of it so new it's still unoccupied.
There's plenty of evidence of the quake, too - from damaged buildings to a broken bridge, next to large blue letters "5/12," the date of the 2008 earthquake.
Perhaps the most poignant sight were signs in the corridors of a new school that read "Psychological Inquiry Room," and "Spirit Home - Social Worker."
Click here for more pictures on flickr
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