Pandas!

Oh. My. Gosh. Today was the most amazingly incredible experience. We volunteered at the Panda Breeding and Research Center in Wolong -- about 2 hours west of Chengdu towards Tibet.

We cleaned a panda pen inside and out, picking up eaten bamboo pieces and panda poo.

The kids got to pet a baby panda briefly and have their pictures taken.

We were supposed to clean two pens, but due to a staff meeting we spent the next 1 1/2 hours watching pandas outside surrounded by beautiful mountains. These babies were too cute for words.

This big guy had no problem climbing up this tree despite his size.

Next we fed an adult male named Jinyi (sp?) age 7 or 8 who was as sweet and gentle as could be.

Next we learned to make panda cakes.

We ate lunch with the staff and another couple who was volunteering for the work. Then it was time to feed Jinyi again.