When I visited Sichuan of China in 2005, I had a chance to visit the Chengdu Panda Rehabilitation and Research Centre (成都大熊猫繁育研究基地) and see the pandas with my own eyes. The direct translation of panda in mandarin is bear-cat. I was told that it was actually cat-bear, but the Chinese characters of 'cat (猫)' and 'bear (熊)' were traditionally written from right to left and then mistakenly read from left to right in the modern world, it has become bear-cat since.
The Sichuan Provincial Government has sent 10 pandas to Shanghai lately for the World Exposition. This has reminded me of my visit to the pandas and therefore sharing these photos here with you. They are very adorable, aren't they?
