Since the last blog, we did a Szechuan cookery class: we learnt to make sweet and sour pork/tofu, kung po chicken, chinese salad and dumplings. After the cookery, we went to see a cultural show, including szechuan opera, AMAZING shadow puppets, an acrobat (who could rotate a coffee table with her legs really fast), a musician (who played czardas really fast), and this crazy thing where dancers wear masks, but are then able to change them in like literally second (its freaky!)

We have also been to the PANDA SANCTUARY, which was the cutest thing EVER. It was a really well maintained place: very clean, and the enclosures were designed so that we could see them up close. We were able to see pandas eating bamboo, baby pandas, teenager pandas fighting, red pandas (boring compared to the other pandas though). Jess held a baby panda! We also watched this movie about them and bought panda stuff in the shop. After this, we went out to this really strange restaurant in a Buddhist monastery. Because we are in the Szechuan region, the food is extremely spicy and hard to stomach sometimes. Also the restaurant was completely vegetarian: they did fake fish, fake meat, fake everything! It was weird.

We had a wander around the Buddhist temples, and then last night went out to the "MGM" - they have a variety show with singing and dancing (asian playboy bunnies at one point, so the boys were happy!)

Today we're getting on a bus to a Buddhist monastery

Sarah xxxxxxxxxxxx