My third and final absolute priority was to see the German-born twins Meng Yuan and Meng Xiang at the Chengdu Panda Base. These two were still living in the No1 House, however they had switched yards, being in the first one you come to if you enter the house from the original side of the base by walking up the hill – this yard is also a good one with a lot of viewing points to choose from. Alike last time, they are splitting time in the yard, so alternating days in who has use of the yard – as I write this however I have seen that they have now been completely separated with Meng Xiang remaining here and Meng Yuan moving to the Starry Sky Pavilion. This will almost make viewing easier as I will then know for sure which panda is which. On my last visit the sign at the yard was changed depending on who was present that day, on this visit they just had both names up – and I wasn’t certain enough to know who was who without seeing them next to each other XD Luckily after going through the pictures I could be sure that I definitely saw both of them, each on one day, and could distinguish between the two!
Meng Yuan 梦圆/Paule
On the first day of my visit I saw Meng Yuan 梦圆, who was the one twin that I saw on my last visit – I only saw him in the morning but he was active the whole time I was staying around the No1 House. First when I walked up he was picking at his breakfast leftovers on the right-most side, this is where the keepers walkway is and the stone steps which make a great spot to lean against while eating. He was super cute here and moved around a few times to go through the different bundles of bamboo. He then got up and did a lot of walking around – cue me having to speed walk around the different viewing sections to be able to get pictures! I think he could hear the keepers in the inside area because he seemed quite keen to get in, so it was easiest to end up standing at the left-most side against the wall where the access door is and I got some amazing views of him. The door was closed but he kept coming back to double check it. A little bit later the keeper had thrown some more bamboo in and he was happy with that offering, settling back down to get through it. I got some very cute pictures of him at this point, he was definitely sitting in a more huddled up position and he looks particularly small and extra cute like this^ He is still only 5.5 years old so is not yet a fully grown adult. Now that he has moved to a different home in the base I look forward to seeing him exploring a new space on my next visit.
Meng Xiang 梦想/Pit
My first time seeing Meng Xiang 梦想! Last year his sign was up on the first day of my visit but I got there a little late and he was already inside because of the heat. I saw him out on the second day of my visit, and when I saw him I was pretty sure he was a different panda because the two just had slightly different mannerisms and behaviours – although it was tricky to tell (won’t be an issue anymore with the two living in different areas of the base). When I got there he was eagerly waiting on his breakfast, he was hanging around the steps and looking towards the keepers door, and soon enough she appeared with a big pile of bamboo for him! He was very keen on it and sat for ages eating, and was still eating when I headed off from the area. Then I got lucky and spotted him in the afternoon as well, this time he was looking keen to get inside as he was walking around the door – still closed while I was there but he clearly knew it was almost inside time. This is an area which is quite close to the viewing walkway, so it was easy to get in for pictures and I love some of these ones that I got. I think he looks super cute, just like twin Meng Yuan and I can’t wait to see him again on my next visit^
