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Pandas set for capital trip

CHENGDU: The eight pandas chosen to entertain tourists during the Beijing Olympics will arrive in the capital on Saturday as scheduled, despite last week's quake wreaking havoc at their home at the Wolong Nature Reserve in Sichuan province.

The bears will leave the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding at about 11 am on Saturday and travel to Shuangliu International Airport, from where they will take a two-hour flight to Beijing at 3 pm.

The octet arrived at the base at about 2 am on Monday, after a 10-hour drive from Wolong, its deputy chief Wang Chengdong said.

The journey normally takes just three hours, he said.

"But because some roads were blocked, they had to take a roundabout route, crossing Jiajin Mountain to get to Chengdu via Ya'an, a city in western Sichuan.

"Four keepers from Wolong accompanied the bears, and they told me the animals are all in good health," Wang told China Daily.

Xiong Beirong, director the wildlife protection division of the Sichuan provincial forestry bureau, said the keepers from Wolong will fly to Beijing with the bears and remain with them for the duration of their six-month stay.

Wang Pengyan, deputy chief of the administrative bureau of the Wolong Nature Reserve, said two pandas were injured and one is still missing following last Monday's quake, the epicenter of which was just 30 km from the reserve. Fourteen of the 32 panda houses were destroyed and the rest were severely damaged.

"Since the quake, several of the pandas have been skittish, and have not been eating or sleeping properly," he said.

"It's very important that the keepers from Wolong, who have been caring for the bears since they were born, stay with them to help them cope with the stress of living in a strange place."

Wang arrived at the research base yesterday to help prepare the bears for their trip.

Vets and technicians from Wolong will also travel to Beijing to ensure the bears are well looked after, he said.

The eight bears, which were chosen in an online poll from 16 Wolong pandas born in 2006, will live at Beijing Zoo until November.

Many of the zoo's resident pandas are getting old, so the new bears should provide more entertainment for the millions of tourists we expect to come and see them, Wang Pengyan said.

Wang Chengdong said all 67 of the pandas at the Chengdu research base are safe, although the quake had caused some damage to walls and the surveillance system.

"We were keen to offer any help we could to the Wolong reserve, but we were unable to make contact with them until May 15, due to the communication lines being down," he said.

The next day, the base sent 1,500 kg of bamboo, 1,000 kg of bamboo shoots, 1,000 kg of apples, 200 kg of milk powder and 100 kg of specially made buns for the Wolong pandas.

It also provided 200 liters of liquid nitrogen, which is used to freeze samples at the reserve's sperm bank.

Bamboo has been in short supply since the quake, as people have been reluctant to go into the mountains to gather it, Wang said.

(China Daily 05/24/2008 page2)


[ 本帖最后由 xjinshan 于 2009-3-21 11:26 编辑 ]

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Teacher Yuan Wenting will be forever remembered for saving her beloved students on the day Sichuan was hit by a massive 8.0-magnitude earthquake.

Wu Jiahui was the last student to be saved by Yuan on May 12.

The 7-year-old boy will never forget the moment his teacher brought him outside to safety, before returning to the classroom to fetch more of his frightened classmates.

But, at that very moment, the building collapsed - and Yuan never came back out again.

"Teacher Yuan is there. She did not die. I saw her hug my classmates," Wu cried.

"We were in class when the earthquake happened. We were too shocked to run. Teacher Yuan took two students out immediately while shouting 'Run, run, run'. We were so frightened that we had no idea where to run," recalled the primary school boy. "She had to return to get us out again and again."

Yuan was finally discovered in the ruins on the evening of May 12, with two students under her arms.

The 26-year-old teacher chose to return to her hometown Shifang, to be a teacher at the Minzhu Primary School of Shigu town after graduating from Sichuan Zigong Normal School.

"Yuan once told me that every student is her kid," said Fang Yingnian, a classmate of Yuan's from college.

Fang said Yuan believed the 6- and 7-year-old kids could be compared to pieces of blank paper - at important stages in their lives - developing and establishing personalities and views of the world, values and life.

"She (Yuan) wanted to initiate them on their way of life," said Fang.

(China Daily 05/24/2008 page4)

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Class, village, touched by longtime teacher

Twenty-seven kindergarten students are alive today because of Wang Guangxiang's selfless efforts to save her class from the May 12 earthquake in Sichuan.

The 52-year-old vice-director of a kindergarten in Jiangyou's Wutong village was discovered among the dead after the quake.

But, miraculously, Yang Yang and another student, the last two kindergarteners of the class, were found alive - protected under Wang's body.

More than 100 children were napping when the quake rumbled through the area.

Wang quickly woke up the 20-odd children under her care and helped bring them outside as fast as she could. She rushed back and forth, pulling more kids out again and again.

Before Wang could make it out one last time, the building collapsed.

Wang had worked at the kindergarten for the past 24 years. Nearly half of the villagers had previously been her students when they were young, including Yang Yang's father, Gang.

"Once I fell in the river when I played with other kids near it. It was teacher Wang who jumped into the river and got me out," the 28-year-old father recalled.

Wang's son Li Jun says his mother had always been especially fond of children.

"My mother loved children. I had asked her to retire and enjoy the remaining years. But she always said she wouldn't get used to a life without the kids."

(China Daily 05/24/2008 page4)

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Spain welcomes pandas from China

Two giant pandas have made their public first appearance in Spain. The Madrid Zoo held a special ceremony for the two guests from China. Queen Sofia of Spain attended the ceremony.
7-year-old "Bing Xing" and 4-year old "Hua Zui Ba" will stay in Spain for 10 years. The zoo has arranged comfortable homes for their guests. They are equipped with air-conditioners and humidifiers, as well as an outdoor recreation area. The pair took a chartered flight from their home in Chengdu to Madrid two weeks ago.
In June, China and Spain made a program for the protection of the endangered animals during a visit by Spanish King Juan Carlos the First.

[ 本帖最后由 xjinshan 于 2009-3-21 11:31 编辑 ]

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