We have arrived in Beijing! The new airport is HUGE! The airport was brand new in 2008 built especially for the Olympics and all the people that would be visiting China for the Games.
We make it through customs and find our guide. He is very nice and speaks great English. So far he is answering every question we have.
There is an overwhelming sense of the number of people here. You can just tell from the area there are a LOT of people who occupy this space. It's actually hard to describe. China is much bigger than Korea. Korea has to maximize the space they have for the number of people since it is on a peninsula, but China has a lot more space for all these people.
We get settled in the Hotel Sofitel which is beautiful and decide to head for the Beijing Zoo to see pandas. The guide is not coming with us but gives us directions and his phone number in case we need him. We grab two taxi's and head out.
Wow! What a ride. The two cabs drop us at two different locations and we get our first taste of Chinese people while waiting for the Metz' to "catch up" but they were on the other side of the zoo. We decide to get out of the chaos of the street and enter the zoo. Turns out, all the buildings from the zoo are large too. Some are empty (we guess renovations). We are charged more to get into the area with the pandas and are quickly learning that everything here costs "extra".
We finally find the pandas and while most are sleeping or waiting by a door for food, we do find one that is frolicking around his habitat. He is really active, climbing a jungle gym, rubbing on trees and rolling around. Every now and then he checks his "door to food" but then goes right back to running around. It is really a neat experience. We catch up with the Metz family and they get a chance to see the bear goofing off too.
After the pandas we decide to walk around the zoo some more. We see all the usual types of animals in various habitats. The pandas are by far the best cared for with the best habitats. The tigers have the biggest sculpture but really the worse conditions. Most are still in small cages and can be seen pacing.
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