I saw most of the show and really enjoyed viewing the panda reserve just outside Chengdu. I flew into China on Sept. 11, 2001 to adopt my first daughter, age 4 1/2 from DeYang. I met her at the Min Shan Hotel in Chengdu through CCAI (adoption agency). She is my "little panda". I would REALLY like to purchase a copy of the show. We were at the panda reserve and saw the baby pandas in their incubators, with one mama panda sitting nearby eating an apple. I hope you will be selling the DVD copy of this visit. I wonder, would you also be going to Changchun, Jilin Province? In the winter there are ice scultures. There are Audi and Volkswagen Passat plants in the city. I adopted my second daughter from MeiHeKou, Jilin Province and met her in Changchun, Feburary 10, 2003, age 6 1/2. She was on the Waiting Children's List. Thank you very much.

What a beautiful story. Thank you for sharing with us. So far the panda bears seem to be a favorite, tender moment with other viewers/posters as well. Definitely my favorite of the China series yet.

The cute panda. haha, the baby panda was ignoring her when she hug him/her.

The best part of the episode was the adorable Pandas. Wow! They were so cute!! If I ever make my way to that Panda observatory, I would totally do what Sam did.

She spent what? Like 300 bucks and going home with a great experience? I would TOTALLY do it too. Especially knowing the money goes to great things like keeping the observatory going especially after the horrible earthquake.

Ironically I found out today that my first bedroom ever in my life was decorated with Panda bears...no wonder I loved this segment so much!

The panda portion was very indearing and cute. I was hoping someone could help me with another portion of the show. I just caught it a few weeks ago, long after your initial posts. Sorry for being late. Anyway... I was hoping for information on the water park, where the water is dirty at one end and by the end of the walk, the water is suitable for drinking. I think that is amazing but I can't remeber where it is or the name of the park. Any help?

Welcome,earth_girl,

No need for apologies here. The three China Passports premiered last summer and have only recently been shown again. I suspect that no one has been talking about them here for a long time because not many have actually seen them. They give us rich content that is both eye-opening and entertaining. What captured your interest was The Living Water Garden in Chengdu, Sichuan province. It was the first inner city ecological water park in the world, founded by environmental art pioneer Betsy Damon. She also founded a non-profit organization called Keepers of the Waters. You might be interested in that if this sort of project has motivated you to register and post here.

Unfortunately, viewers do not often express interest in, or appreciation for the very wide range of subject matter that Samantha Brown covers in her various Passport episodes. It is something I have always loved about them. The short segment on this very unique water park was fascinating to me, as well. Thanks for posting.

We will be in Chengdu in May. I loved Sam's eposides in China. Where in Chengdu did she go see the Sichuan Opera?

Thanks so much for your help.

images,
There are hundreds of Sichuan Opera troupes that perform in the province, and the ones performing in Chengdu are top notch. There are at least four different ones, performimg at:

Sichuan Opera Theater, #20 Zhuangyuan
Shunxing Old Tea House,Chengdu International Exhibition Center, 258 Shawan Rd.
Shufeng Square, inside People's Park
Shufeng Yayun Garden, in the Culture Park

My best guess is that we saw the last one, in the Culture Park, in Passport to China.

Samantha mentioned that the one she went to was in an open air theater in a park. Maybe all of them don't offer the same experience, but I found an online account of a family that went to this one with the face changing and shadow puppets. Samantha saw nine different acts,and got a back massage and a beer. They might all offer different experiences.

If you are going to places like this in China, my family found that is is often absolutely necessary to have your destination, written in Chinese characters, available to show. Cab drivers seem to appreciate this.
Taking a picture on a digital camera of Chinese names to show a driver was a convenient way to do this.
Also, some hostels may sell tickets to Sichuan Opera at a reduced price.
Good luck with your trip!