Another long overnight train journey and we arrived in Chengdu, heartland of Sichuan province at 05:30.  After an early breakfast we headed straight for the Giant Panda sanctuary and made it there for feeding time.  We saw the older pandas first and they were completely adorable, lying on their backs so their stomachs formed a feeding tray.  In order to exist on bamboo alone, pandas have to eat some 40kg of the stuff a day: breakfast is a serious business.  Most of them were clutching a stick of bamboo in each paw, so they knew where their next bit was coming from. They were also surprisingly human in their movements – they have developed thumbs to help their grip and to peel the bamboo shoots.  I could also definitely empathise when I saw one of the pandas get halfway up a tree and then stop and look around, a 'what the hell do I do now?' expression written all over his face.

But the cutest of all were the baby pandas – 4 were born in captivity about 6 months ago.  They had a little more energy than their parents, and spent their time climbing all over the various wooden frames which have been erected for the purpose, play-fighting to determine who was king of the castle.  They also did a bit of walking backwards, which resembled moon walking.

Apart from its panda, Chengdu is also famous for its spicy cuisine, and the temperament of its women – earning them the moniker 'la meizi' or 'spicy girls.'  We sampled a few dishes, including the famous hotpot: various meats and vegetables are thrown into a pot of hot spicy oil, then dipped in sesame oil for good measure.  Sichuanese cooking involves two main flavours in perfect balance – the chilli pepper's la (spicy) flavour is counterbalanced by the ma (literally numbness) of the peppercorn.  I felt like I was about to have a tooth extracted, such was the power of the anaesthetic!

The second part of our Sichuan excursion was spent in the Buddhist mountains, first at Leshan and later, Emei Shan.  The main sight on Leshan is the majestic Grand Buddha, a 71m high statue carved from the rock.  It was originally the brainchild of a monk called Haitong, who in 713AD hoped that the presence of Buddha would calm the swift rivers surrounding the mountain, and protect boatmen from the strong prevailing currents.  Whether it was Buddha, or the jettisoned rocks placed in the river hollows which did the trick, no one knows (!), but the waters were duly calmed.  Perhaps more impressive even than the Buddha were the Chinese queueing skills (or lack thereof) again on display, along with the slanging match we witnessed between a Chinese tourist and a poor employee, who had the audacity to ask her to 'keep moving along.'  There were no fisticuffs, but it came pretty close.

The trekking was definitely a highlight.  We walked through acres of lush greenery relatively unspoilt by the Chinese penchant for concrete or the ubiquitous 'tourist tat' touts.  Waterfalls and streams abounded, along with the local macaques, on the lookout for a free snack.  These monkeys are so clever that they are able to open bottles of fizzy drinks and pull biscuits out of unsuspecting tourists' pockets.  We were all on our guard, especially when our guide whipped out the firecrackers to ensure they kept their distance.  Fortunately we escaped unscathed, unlike one of our Chinese counterparts, who had a monkey jump onto her shoulders!