Pandas, originally uploaded by Helen K.

What do you do on your last day in Beijing? Ideally you want to see something that you can’t see in the southern hemisphere…. and when in China it is Giant Pandas! Okay.. okay… I know the Adelaide Zoo is getting two very soon – but the question to be answered is “Are Giant Pandas as popular in China as they are likely to be in Adelaide?” After visiting the zoo, my guess is yes!

There were lots of people viewing the pandas… taking photos, and jostling for space. There were separate ticket prices on top of normal tickets just to see them! I hope the Adelaide Zoo doesn’t get any ideas. Once inside there were eight giant pandas, spread over a number of enclosures. Zoo’s aren’t always the most pleasant places, but I’m hoping the housing for ours will be better than we saw. We didn’t look at much else in the zoo… apart from the Australian animals section (another example of not much thought put into design or plants). They spend a lot of money on strange large concrete/wood objects that people stand in front of and have photos taken than the spaces for the animals.

I also attempted to purchase fridge magnets (stuffed panda seemed too much), but they don’t seem to be popular here, so I’m down on my quota so far.