Dear China traveler,
The May earthquake in Sichuan, China has been an event of immense concern for China and the entire world. While the Chinese government responded to the disaster quickly, and by all accounts, professionally, recovery is still ongoing and will continue for some time.
Since you have enrolled in our China panda tour that is scheduled to visit Wolong Panda Preserve, we want to give you an update on what is happening in China and at Wolong.
What has not been reported in the American press is the response of the Chinese people to the earthquake. In a word, the Chinese people have reacted with overwhelming compassion. For the first time in decades, ordinary Chinese feel directly affected by a national tragedy and are determined to help in any way they can. There is now a mobilization to help earthquake survivors that has spread across China. Blood donation lines are 5 hours long on city streets. Money, food, clothing and medical suppliers have been donated from all over China.
While the earthquake has been an unprecedented disaster, with tens of thousands of dead and many more injured, it has brought forth a resilience and spirit from the Chinese people that has amazed everyone. Along with this summer’s Beijing Olympics--which Chinese people view as their first moment of international attention in living memory--the earthquake has produced a bond between ordinary citizens and between government and society.
Given such Chinese energy and determination, it is likely that the reconstruction of the earthquake zone will proceed more quickly than any foreign observers expect. People have been relocated to relief camps for now, but roads will be repaired and local economies reinvigorated as quickly as possible.
Additionally, the Wolong Panda Preserve will certainly attract special attention. At this time, not one of the pandas was injured or killed in the earthquake and the one hundred and twenty staff at the Panda Breeding Center continues their work with the pandas today. Because the panda is the national symbol of China, everything will be done to get back to normal quickly. The Chinese people will expect nothing less.
The Smithsonian’s National Zoo and the other three U.S. panda-holding zoos have agreed to mount an emergency relief campaign to raise funds for the people and pandas of Wolong. This support will provide the necessary resources for the staff to rebuild their lives and the breeding center, and continue to provide quality guardianship for the giant panda.
As for your upcoming China panda tour, we feel that all the conditions are in place for a wonderful experience of China and her pandas. Today, China is normal except for the area around the epicenter of the earthquake. In fact, China Advocates has six tours in China currently. But as we have just outlined, the Chinese are energized to bring recovery to the area soon. And remember, this is the same energy that planned and executed the construction of countless venues for the Beijing Olympics!
At the time of this communication, we do not know how fast Wolong will be reconnected with the outside world. So we have in place a plan to go to Bifengxia, another panda preserve two hours outside Chengdu in the biggest wildlife park in China. This area was not affected by the earthquake. People call this the second Wolong as more and more pandas from Wolong are being transferred here. We will still visit the Chengdu Panda Breeding Center with more than 30 giant pandas and 50 small red pandas.
If Wolong is not open at the time of your tour, Bifengxia will be an excellent venue to see and interact with numerous pandas as well as meet the Chinese staff entrusted with their care. Not least, the world famous panda Mei Sheng is in residence at Bifengxia. Mei Sheng was living in Wolong, but was recently transferred to Bifengxia, evidently for fighting and attitude problems. For more information on Mei Sheng in Bifengxia, please go to this link http://www.flickr.com/photos/kjdrill/2282594254
We will continue to monitor the situation closely in Sichuan as it unfolds. But we are confident that your experience of China will be especially rewarding given the awakening of the Chinese people to the earthquake and to the upcoming Beijing Olympics. These twin events are reshaping the identity of the Chinese people today, and your tour to China will certainly encounter a positive and buoyant feeling that has invigorated the land.
Thank you very much,
Sincerely yours,
Charlotte Xu
Executive Director
China Advocates
888.333.2585
415.346.4505
415.346.0411 (fax)
genie@china-advocates.com
www.china-advocates.com
2098 Pine Street
San Francisco, CA 94115