www.peregrineadventures.co.uk Pandas have made our TV screens a fair deal recently, whether for opportunist escapes, daring raids on Chinese villagers’ vegetable plots, or indeed in their natural habitat – a natural history documentary. Giant Pandas remain an enduring symbol for endangered species of all kinds throughout the animal kingdom. Perhaps if they were collectively aware of their iconic status there might be a bit more ‘getting with the programme’ when it comes to captive breeding. With an estimated wild population of around 1600 and under 170 in captivity, it’s hardly the time to be shy and retiring when it come to reproduction, but for whatever reason, Giant Pandas rarely breed successfully in captivity.
Peregrine Adventures make it possible to combine the highlights of East China with a Yangtze River Cruise and a visit to Chengdu’s Giant Panda Breeding Centre on a 13-day tour with Peregrine Adventures, departing Beijing 19th April or 3rd May 2006.
After an initial oriental orientation sightseeing in Beijing, travellers head for a remote and beautiful section of the un-restored Great Wall, allowing full appreciation of the structure’s immensity away from thronging crowds.
A domestic flight takes the strain on a transfer north to Xi’an, known worldwide for the 2,000-year-old Terracotta Warriors. However, what is less well documented is the city’s Muslim quarter of narrow alleyways, quiet mosques, and colourful markets – a vestige of Xi’an’s connection with the Silk Road and side of China few travellers experience. An overnight train journey heads south to Yichang where a comfortable riverboat is waiting on the banks of the Yangtze River for an epic 4-night journey through the spectacular Three Gorges and the enduring rural landscapes of China. Taking to firm ground at Chongqing, road transport covers the short distance to Chengdu and the Giant Panda Breeding Centre.. Finally, bright lights and big city draw the journey to a close after a domestic flight to the east coast megalopolis of Shanghai. Here, the fascinating waterfront maintains links with a time when Shanghai was dubbed ‘Paris of the East’, though more tangible is the increasingly frenetic pace of life manifest in modern China. |