The zoo in Chongqing is one of the breeding facilities in China. They have 5 pandas in residence and we got there early enough to see them be fairly active. They basically eat and sleep and we got there in time for the eating part. We also saw red pandas which were cute but look more like large red raccoons than their big brothers. It was a thrill to see these beautiful animals in their homeland and in person!
Following the zoo, we visited an art gallery to learn about traditional Chinese painting and then on to the General Stillwell museum. General Stillwell was an American army general during World War II who worked with the Chinese in Chongqing and is still dearly loved by them.
Lunch brought us the first of the Sichuan dishes that we would enjoy for the next several days. We were hoping for the chance to really experience the spicy cuisine and we enjoyed a good soup and a meat dish that met the requirement.
We had time for a city tour and an optional foot massage (it was delightful - 90 minutes!) before meeting a bus that would take us to our Yangtse river cruise ship. The river was too low for our ship to come all the way to Chongqing so we had to drive for about an hour to meet it. The crew was waiting with a lovely dinner when we arrived and we enjoyed the meal and retired to our room to settle in.
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