This Day in China Changed My British Family’s Minds Forever

Welcome to Changdu, the new year. It doesn't even really feel like they're in a separate area. Almost feels like you can you're here with them.

Sunday night just riding a bike around Changdu. This dur beef beef beef. Yeah, my Chinese is getting good. Hi guys, welcome back. We're in tour with Dridgers. If you're new here, we're

getting good. Hi guys, welcome back. We're in tour with Dridgers. If you're new here, we're a full-time travel couple from the UK. We are currently in Chengdu in China. Changdu is one of our favorite cities here. Probably because they're very famous for pandas. They're mix between modern, ancient, so you get a bit of everything. It's just such a vast big country, China. And

Chengdu has got over 22 million people living it. But yesterday we explored the ancient towns, the famous streets, the popular areas, street food. Today we're going for the pandas. We had

to come here. It's not our first time here. We've been here a few times, but actually joined by Ben's mom, dad, and two of the friends, Paula and Dave. We're kind of like tall guys now. It's our

third time here. And we're going to show him all the cute and fluffy pandas. So to get here, it's only about a 30inut ride from Chengdu. I thought it was further. I felt like it was further. Or you

can get like buses. There's loads of these local buses here. So there's like multiple ways. I don't

think there's any tube station, but if you want to get any of your panda bits, it's all here. I

actually might go over here and get some ears. I'm going to get the girls some ears. So, grab

these. Three of these and uh four of you. I hope they wear them. Who works here then? Hello. Free.

Normally Ben does the pain. So, this is a little bit weird. I never do this.

Ali that one 15 is it? How much?

Hey. Oh.

Only eight of That's a bargain. I swear it says five minute. It must translate different. All

right. I don't know why Ben's mom and dad isn't here yet. Like they were literally in a taxi just behind us, but we're actually still waiting for him. I got us all right. I just told him that you're a taxi driver and I left my phone on the I left Rian's phone on the back seat and we we left

and um taxi driver give it to him cuz in China it's legal for people the drivers the company's company policy that they need to take the back seat every time someone leaves. Yeah. And I said like in England it's not that's not the case. No. So obviously you've found a few phones in your time. We try and um give them back obviously, but I've lost I've lost the phone in the taxi.

time. We try and um give them back obviously, but I've lost I've lost the phone in the taxi.

Yeah. It's very hard because you can't unlock them. Yeah. Yeah. When they're unlocked, you try and go through, find mom's number, sister's number, home number, something, ring them up, and then take them back and charge on the fair to take them back. Yeah. But I literally just said

I'm I'm glad that was in China when that happened cuz I would I would lost my phone. Imagine if it happened in India or something like that. I'd never seen I'll never seen it again. So yeah,

that's that that is a good thing. So if you're if you're worried about something happening to your phone in China, at least you got like a little bit of reassurance. A lot of them lose if you lose the phone, people don't return. That's the all the time. Yeah. Yeah. We're

sort of going in like the back door. So, I'm hoping that he uh he knows like a secret route going through the back door. Are we? That's what she said. Right. We're going in through the staff gate. Our god. Right. So, he presented the Olympics. He's a bit of a celebrity cuz everyone's

staff gate. Our god. Right. So, he presented the Olympics. He's a bit of a celebrity cuz everyone's just giving him the nod when he walks through. Right. He's uh going to introduce it into hish office. So, this is behind the scenes in the Chengdu Panda base. I'm quite uh quite excited.

office. So, this is behind the scenes in the Chengdu Panda base. I'm quite uh quite excited.

He said, "Yeah, follow me and I'll show you the cameras and all the behind the scenes stuff." So,

this is owned by cctv.com. He's going to take us inside. He said you can camera inside. There's

loads to uh see. So, cool. Yes. This is where the baby pandas go in. That's amazing. So, yeah. So,

this is for a human baby. But they they they raise the the babies in there. Look how small they are when they first get born. They're tiny. Looks like a little mouse. Not only a zoom, but also to for the little baby. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Look, a breeding breeding base. Yes.

Yeah. [ __ ] [ __ ] Trying to try. I don't think the camera does it justice, but this is a uh a really impressive room. Little screens everywhere. This is amazing like 360 uh style. It's telling us a story. So, we're just speaking a little bit about

uh about the pandas and um them living in the wild. So, obviously there is uh there is pandas in China in the wild and I asked are they uh are they um are they prey? Are they um are they um food for other animals? He said, "No, no, no. Um, pandas are top of the the food chain.

They're although they look very cuddly, they're they're strong. They're very strong. Obviously,

they're they're bears. So, they are they're very capable of protecting themselves." So, this panda here Yeah. 2,000 2,000. Yeah. But because it's um sheep and when you lift it up, it's as heavy as

here Yeah. 2,000 2,000. Yeah. But because it's um sheep and when you lift it up, it's as heavy as a normal panda. Really? Wow. And this is how Ha, the famous one. Haha. Ha. Sixmony old. Six month

old. And this one's a baby. Yeah. One and a half. One and a half. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. All right.

Yeah. What are they? Caught bigger fish in there. And it's made of sheep. That sheep. Sheep. I don't

know now. Make me doubt myself. I thought you said three months. Three months. Three months. Oh,

you look cute. One and six months. One and a half months. Yeah, three months.

You'll see him. That's the famous one here. How old is he? How? How? Three months. Six months. Six

months. He's 6 months now. How's 3 months? Well, that's the weight of it. I don't know if he's 6 months now. That's a cct.com company. Yeah. Yeah. Us need to be centered before for panda to send

months now. That's a cct.com company. Yeah. Yeah. Us need to be centered before for panda to send

sentence. Okay. Only one, two, three. Three room for tot. Really? Three rooms for CCTV.

sentence. Okay. Only one, two, three. Three room for tot. Really? Three rooms for CCTV.

Wow, look at this. So, they're monitoring all the uh all the pandas.

This is awesome. So, in this room is a 24-hour feed and they can um they can stream all over the world on X on Facebook. Um yeah, so this is like a 24-hour feed. I think they could they even even on TV and stuff. We come to the bamboo restaurant. We're going to have some lunch. I'm starving.

I've actually I've actually I was going to say I don't really like bamboo, but I've actually tried it before. I've tried it. Yeah, I tried it in this sand. It's actually quite nice. So,

we could be eating bamboo like the panda. Wow, this looks nice. Tablecloths. There's a little um little rule I use and in the UK you use it, but it's not the case in China, but if there's tablecloths on the table, it means it's al also very expensive, but uh it doesn't

seem to be the case in China. I'm trying to tell them about um Chinese um Chinese hospitality. So,

they're if they invite you for lunch, they're paying. And um Chinese people sometimes they even have fist fights about who's going to pay. They're like, "Oh, I didn't even bring my wallet."

Sort of thing. Like you need a wallet in China. Um you don't ever bring a wallet with you any I don't ever bring a wallet. Yeah. Every time it's my round at home back in England, I'm I'm always I'm always gone. You just see the uh dust. Yeah. You just see the dust where I was. Very true.

Yeah. But um yeah, China that their uh their way of thinking is very different. If you We're We're guests, so we we can't pay. We We've actually been served some panda meat. I'm only joking. What is

it? What are they? Rice balls. I don't think so. It's too soft. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Look at that. Yeah.

There's not a lot of flavor to be honest. The food literally just keeps coming out. Wow. Nice. This

This one here, I want to try this one. This is a Konga chicken. I've got some here. I'll try

Changdu Sichuan style. I've got some here. So you got loads of chilies in it. Oh my god. Now I'm on camera. I can't pick it up. Yeah. Yeah. M. That is so nice. So cross between sweet and sour with

camera. I can't pick it up. Yeah. Yeah. M. That is so nice. So cross between sweet and sour with a kick at the end. Never will never stop. In in China though, if someone meets you for the first time, the first thing they'll ask you is, "Have you eat? Have you eaten?" All right. They say,

"Have you eaten?" before you've even before you've even said hello. Leslie, have you eaten? Tell you

what, we've just had the best ever lunch and I'm so stuffed. I'm actually a little bit tired. Well,

we're going for some coffee and then we are eventually going to see some pandas. Yeah,

I'm stuffed. Colleen, I get No, no, no, no, no. By myself. I No problem. Okay, I tried. Maybe in the future been to England. UK. Yeah, in England. Yeah, English expensive. Web streets. Yeah,

web spoons. Yeah, I did offer, but I'm now I'm paying for it when in callings in England, which means Weather Spoons. We're finally heading to go and see the pandas. I think we're going to be given some like secret information. And I was going to say not information, secret tours like

behind the scenes stuff. But the uh their efforts um here have really boosted pandas. So they were at one point in the 1980s they were nearly come going below 1,000 pandas in the wild and since they've done their efforts they have now up to 1,800. Once the pandas are capable of surviving on

their own they do uh release a lot of pandas into the wild as well. Yeah. Normally at 1 years old but they're monitored. I think they put something on there to monitor them cuz if they get pregnant they want to obviously look after them cuz a lot of babies don't survive in the wild. It's not a zoo. It's a breeding facility. So, they're doing their best efforts to get the panda population

zoo. It's a breeding facility. So, they're doing their best efforts to get the panda population back up to how it should be. So, they're doing a lot of stuff to boost the panda population um for us to enjoy cuz they're very cute. We've just spotted our first panda. I'm not sure of the name. There is a sign that normally says their name, but he is an older panda. He's 28, so they

name. There is a sign that normally says their name, but he is an older panda. He's 28, so they uh they live till like their early 30s. You can always tell when there's pandas because there's always lots of people like looking. You see, look around. There's the camera from the control room.

So, literally behind me, we've got Gail, but she's known as the yellow one cuz her hair on her head's like yellow. Yeah. I don't know what she's eating. I don't know if it's an apple. It looks like a

like yellow. Yeah. I don't know what she's eating. I don't know if it's an apple. It looks like a round red thing. So, it's probably an apple. Colin just uh told us earlier that when they release them into the wild, they put them like a collar on them to track them to obviously make sure everything's okay. And then they can listen through and stuff and listen to what's going on.

um when they when they get pregnant, like they just showed me in that that video, they uh they they go capture them and then they they'll so they can raise the baby until it gets one years old and then when it's one years old, they release it back into the wild. Are you there? Are you

filming? Really? That's you. Yeah, pretty close. A really clever like cage. You say cage system, but like an enclosure. Um you thought you think like when you think uh animals are normally kept when they're in zoos are quite quite um segregated from the public but here it's quite you feel it's

quite um you feel quite close to them. So here and there's this wooden enclosure. There's one

just here just behind here I can see and you've just got this bit and the the fall here. So really

they're it doesn't even really feel like they're in a separate area. It almost feels like you can you're here with them. I actually don't know where we're going. I have heard that we're going to see baby pandas, but I don't know if that's just a rumor. So this is the new area in the Changu panda base and this where the baby ones are. These are like one years old. They're so cute. When

they're under one, they're kept in a in enclosure. They're not normally allowed out here. They look

really dark. Pandas aren't really that white. No, they obviously rolling about and messing about, aren't they? We've got three pandas in here. We got one over there. Oh, yeah. One up at the top

aren't they? We've got three pandas in here. We got one over there. Oh, yeah. One up at the top and then one that walked right near me. That one. You can definitely see them better here, can't you? All right, we just come back to our place for a bit after we've been to the pandas. The oldies

you? All right, we just come back to our place for a bit after we've been to the pandas. The oldies

were a bit tired. Now, I say that they're actually gone out for a beer. Me and Ben's just been working. We're going to head out now. We're going to head to the snack street here. What's the name,

working. We're going to head out now. We're going to head to the snack street here. What's the name, Ben? Uh, Dillian Old Street. It's um an old engine street where you can get loads of traditional

Ben? Uh, Dillian Old Street. It's um an old engine street where you can get loads of traditional snacks and stuff. Um I'm starving. I know we had that big lunch early and you're probably thinking, how are you starving? But time has passed and now I'm hungry. So we're just going to grab a taxi.

It is now like rush hour. What is the time? 74 is it? It's 7 so it's going to be quite busy out there. I think it's about 15 minutes in the taxi. Look at this though. This is how cheap it is.

there. I think it's about 15 minutes in the taxi. Look at this though. This is how cheap it is.

like one pound for a taxi. And this is rush hour. See how quick I could get one. So if you want, you can change it and up it to like a better one, like a premium. You might get it quicker.

Oh, I got one. BYD gray 183 Ben 5 minutes away. Yeah, she said get out. Watch out

for the guards. All right, we arrived. Look at this. As we were pulling in, the street looked well good. I think they're going in there. Oh, wow.

I think that's the entrance there. But they got all red lanterns along it all lit up. It's cool along here as well. Good. I'm quite excited. All boats come along here

lit up. It's cool along here as well. Good. I'm quite excited. All boats come along here as well. This is awesome. You've got like old effects and different stores. Just

as well. This is awesome. You've got like old effects and different stores. Just

really cool to look at. This is actually said to be one of the most prettiest.

This street's known for its traditional snacks. It's got like ancient style. You can see the yellow lanterns above selling traditional food, drinks, jewelry. This is wow. And it's quite like wide, clear. It's not too busy. I thought when we were down here like late than we'd normally

wide, clear. It's not too busy. I thought when we were down here like late than we'd normally get down here. That would be really busy. I think it will actually be later on. Here we

go. We got the perfect photo spot. Look at these on the wall though. They are actually really cool to get a picture. You got like 3D images of fishes. It's definitely wowable down. It is. I feel like I need one there. Look how beautiful she looks. [Music] Oh,

down. It is. I feel like I need one there. Look how beautiful she looks. [Music] Oh,

small treats. Oh, thank you. That um you're getting snacks everywhere. Sh. I have tasters here. They literally do not care if you don't want to go into the shop. They just want you to

here. They literally do not care if you don't want to go into the shop. They just want you to taste their product, which I'm quite happy to be doing. I think I've had about 15 tasters today.

Hello.

[Music] Hello. Hello.

Is it as well? Good. Loads of scooters.

Yes. Do you want anything else? Do you want to get this one? Whatever you want to get. Yeah. Oh, this one. Okay.

this one? Whatever you want to get. Yeah. Oh, this one. Okay.

[Music] So, these are like stuffed chicken, I think, with rice. And then we got some skewers. We're not sure what meat it is. You can probably tell by that what it is.

skewers. We're not sure what meat it is. You can probably tell by that what it is.

Beef. Beef. Beef. Yeah. My Chinese is getting good. Yeah. Well done. Oh, look. Or did you get

spicy? Very spicy. She says 20. I'm going to say 20. Yeah. Bargain. I'll go straight in. It's good.

spicy? Very spicy. She says 20. I'm going to say 20. Yeah. Bargain. I'll go straight in. It's good.

The spice is not that spicy. I see why she put so much of it on there.

It's not too bad. I think sometimes it's like sugary as well. And the meat's a little bit tough. Why would that be? You're the chef, Ran. Why would that be? Um, tripped. Well,

tough. Why would that be? You're the chef, Ran. Why would that be? Um, tripped. Well,

tough meat's normally old or stewed or depends on the cut. It looked quite libery when she was cooking it. Yeah, maybe it's been sat there for a while. Sat there for a while. Yeah. Well,

here's the chicken. It's actually not that hot and it feels really soft and rubbery. Just go for it.

M. Go.

M. What's inside? Rice. Oh, [Music] it's quite chewy on the outside. It's only a thin layer of chicken. That rice is really nice. That sauce on the outside isn't that strong spicy cuz they've got like a sweetness in it as well.

I think where the rice is quite mild. It's actually really nice. It's actually really delicious. For both these it was only like 20 y. Yeah. Cheap. Isn't it? And to be honest

delicious. For both these it was only like 20 y. Yeah. Cheap. Isn't it? And to be honest right down here like it's a bit of a vibe. There's music coming from all the stores.

So there's like a variation of different music, different sounds, different smells, loads of food being cooked. There's plenty of like homemade crafts and stuff. So for tourists, it's a good place. It's a very lively street. But you're probably wondering where is Ben's mom and dad and their friends. Well, they actually went to the pub where we went back to our room for a bit.

We're going to go and meet him now at the trade towers, Tianfu financial, the international financial center. Okay, got the name completely wrong, but we got to hop hop in the taxi and go

financial center. Okay, got the name completely wrong, but we got to hop hop in the taxi and go and meet them quick. It's um it's iconic. Anyway, like one of the most famous things, most famous bits of cuisine in all of Changdu are rabbit heads. You get like spicy rabbit heads. Oh,

they got different flavors. Oh, different flavors. Yeah, different flavors. But to be honest, right, we've actually eaten these before and although the meat is all right, it's not amazing. I don't

want to. No, no, the meat was all right. It was quite basic, but there's not a lot of meat on there. Yeah. Oh, look at that. It's like a whole body of it. Oh, rabbit. What? Look, they're just

there. Yeah. Oh, look at that. It's like a whole body of it. Oh, rabbit. What? Look, they're just grilling them over there. The traditional one is spicy rabbit head. You get it if you get it really spicy. That's uh that's the tradition. And then you go you get a bit of meat on the

really spicy. That's uh that's the tradition. And then you go you get a bit of meat on the cheeks and that's where you get the good stuff. But it's a like we say it's it's quite hard work.

Nice brain here as well. What sort of brains it? I'm not sure. Rabbit. Nuro. Juro. [Laughter] You

tried. Huh? Jew. Jul is Jul. Um, is pork pig pig? Yeah. So, as we said, we were heading to the Twin Towers and I accidentally got the taxi to drop us off too far. We got like 25m minute walk. So,

we've got bikes. See you. Stay in the bike lane. Sunday night. Just riding a bike around Changdu.

It's lovely though. It's so dead. And you got your separate line. Like there's no one else about. Oh,

just catching up to Ben. You're waiting for me, Benny. We're going straight across. That was such a fun bike ride. I being funny, but we should do that more often, especially in the evening when the traffic ain't bad in a quiet area. It was actually really scenic. And I'm actually shocked how quiet the streets was. But I got to say, these two towers, if ever you come to Trindu, you've got

to see them. got to come here, get a picture, get a video. They are one of It's hard to say they are the best towers in China, but they're definitely one of the best towers in China. They're amazing.

And the areas look beautiful. You got all the trees lit up and then you got this really posh mall, I think. Yeah, we think that's where his mom dad is. There's there's beer in there. So,

I reckon the chances of them not being in there are quite slim. They're going to be in there. That seems a little bit fancy in there. Oh, I can see them when you're right. Hello.

there. That seems a little bit fancy in there. Oh, I can see them when you're right. Hello.

Wow. He's got like white gloves on and suits. There they are. There they are. This is nice.

Hi guys. Not all the way. How much is a beer in there? 50. Really? Yeah. I

thought it was going to be expensive in there. Looks quite posh. [Laughter]

Thank you. Go and have the other one. Good morning, guys. Today we are visiting is Wuhart Shrine here in Chengdu. We're just at the ticket station. If I'm reading this right, it should be 50 per person, 25 student, and three for sixy old. My Chinese is nothing to do with translation at all. We went to come down here yesterday when we went down the snack street,

but it's closed in the even. So, makes more sense to come during the day.

That's why you should always have your passport on you in China. They always need it.

I don't think he's even done it, Ben. Don't know. Just keep it there just in case.

No.

Yeah. So, it's 100 100 for both of us. Oh, it's got busier. We got here at the right time. Ben,

I don't know anything about this place. So, Ben's going to be my tour guide again. But looks

cool. Very big. um Chinese statue, you know, the mystical statue. We found out the bigger they are, the more important the person is inside. Yeah. They always Yeah. They always put them on the entrance to protect whatever's inside. So obviously these guards Yeah. Glosses. These ones

are huge. So obviously it's very very important. Took it. That's actually pretty easy. I think

we're pros here. Yeah. We are We're getting pretty good. We're literally locals. We're actually not with Ben's parents today because they've actually gone to the zoo. We don't do zoos.

We're not zoo people, but the Changdu Zoo is supposed to be very impressive. So,

if you like zoos, yeah, they did text us and say it is brilliant and definitely worth it, but it's just not our thing. We'd rather look a bit more history.

Thank you. Bye. She's a bit tired. Wow, look at this. Ah, this looks amazing.

They always make like their um ancient stuff like am trees and greenery so it feels like really airy and breathable. Is that the right word? I don't know what I'm going for. You know when you go to

and breathable. Is that the right word? I don't know what I'm going for. You know when you go to like these ancient buildings and seeing shrines and I don't know what do you see? Uh all sort all sorts of things. It's always Yeah. It's always surrounded by trees and that and like outside. So

you don't go in like a boring museum and just look around in there. You got all these like cool like architecturist designs. I can see I can see what you're trying to explain. So, as we were queuing,

architecturist designs. I can see I can see what you're trying to explain. So, as we were queuing, a uh a monk come up to me and he spoke honestly he spoke perfect English and he was just telling me uh where he was from. He said he's from Tibet and asked where I was from and uh yeah, it was

just really nice. A really nice interaction. So, it does say protected historic relic. No graffiti.

Um, I'm not being funny, but you ain't going to see graffiti in China. You don't see graffiti anywhere. So, this shrine is dedicated to Lube. He's the biggest statue here. So,

anywhere. So, this shrine is dedicated to Lube. He's the biggest statue here. So,

I'm guessing he's the most important one. He led an army at the end of the Hen Dynasty and fought among rivals for empire. Declared himself emperor in 2021. um later called himself Shu Han and he died of illness in Chongqing after he defeated Other Woo. A little bit information

for you there. So this one um this is Lu Chen. It doesn't actually say his um when he was born, but obviously didn't know that this is China's only shrine that's dedicated to two people, which is uh which is unusual. So, if I'm getting this right from my understanding of just reading

these plaques is Lou B went to fight against the Woo army and lost and his grandson adviso him not to. That's why he killed himself out of anger cuz he lost. And that's one of the generals that was

to. That's why he killed himself out of anger cuz he lost. And that's one of the generals that was murdered at the fight and then obviously Lubie was killed because he had the fight with the Lubie army. I'm guessing this is all about taking land or conquering parts of China and all that.

Lubie army. I'm guessing this is all about taking land or conquering parts of China and all that.

I think I think we're actually learning a little bit. Is that Do you think I sound about right? You

sound right to me. We're going to end the video here. Um, we're just about to meet up with my mom and dad again and I'm going to get their honest opinions and their first impressions of China and it's all coming up. So, make sure you're not. So, make sure you watch the next video and subscribe.