The next morning, we wake to sunshine for the last leg of our 'round the rim' tour, and arrive in Chengdu before noon. After lunch, we take a whirlwind tour of the nearby Chengdu Breeding Base for Giant Pandas, a center for research, breeding, and exhibition of giant pandas.

This fairly new center has excellent facilities for pandas and a good record of breeding. On this visit, we see four youngsters who were born this year alone, and many other individuals as well.



The next morning, we gather for a final meeting with our Chinese colleagues. Wang Fuxing, Director General of the China Wildlife Conservation Association, our counterpart organization, and Li Zhong from the State Forestry Administration's panda office have come from Beijing for this wrap-up. We offer our impressions of the reserves we visited and urge that work begin on the projects designated to receive funds from the Zoo's loan donation.

For their part, Wang and Li pledge to share information about progress and agree to a long-term training collaboration. All in all, a highly successful ending to an informative and productive trip, one we hope will make a real difference to conservation of giant pandas in the wild.

We leave for home on May 28-Memorial Day-and, after a brief stop in Hong Kong, arrive back in Washington, D.C., on May 30. This adventure is over; the work has just begun.

The End.

return to panda home page