I Was a Five-Year-Old Communist

Due to bus ticket availability, it turns out that I've had to stay in Chengdu for an extra day, and will be leaving for Lijiang tomorrow instead of today. This is actually sort of a blessing, as it allowed me to fullfill a childhood dream of seeing a live panda for the first time ever! Sichuan is home to China's panda population, and Chengdu is the site of a major Panda Breeding Research Centre. This morning, I made the pilgrimage over to the centre, and did what everyone does when they first see a flesh and blood baby panda...completely melted and fell apart. I totally lost control of my adult self, and couldn't stop "awwing" and cooing. What can I say...pandas have always had a special place in my heart, ever since my fifth birthday, when my uncle gave me a stuffed panda bear as a gift. His name was "Gong Gong", and he was just about the most fabulous gift I had ever received...I now realize that Gong Gong was a communist bear! He wore a red star pin and a typical commie hat....I loved that bear so much...I would occassionally take the hat off the bear and put it on my head....I was a five-year-old Communist...