We're in Chengdu!

Not much to report so far -- we got here late, after our plane sat on the runway in Xiamen for an hour before take-off. Unbelieveably, they actually served us drinks during that time! I don't think I've ever seen that happen.

Chengdu is a huge bustling city, more like Nanning than Xiamen in one respect -- BICYCLES! They are everywhere on the road and parked 5 deep on the sidewalks.

We made it to our hotel, the Sheraton, with no difficulty, and we're being spoiled by the luxury. The beds are actually SOFT! The girls are really tickled by that, but I actually prefer hard Chinese beds. We ordered room service for dinner -- my idea of cooking! The hotel has a kid's menu, and the girls happily ordered hot dogs and hot chocolate. I actually got a salad, something I don't risk often in China since you never know how the lettuce was washed. But I don't think it's much of a risk here.

We've arranged a car and driver to take us to the Panda Preserve tomorrow morning. We hope soon to have reports of lots of panda sightings. The girls are so excited I expect it to take FOREVER to get them to sleep tonight. Right now they are clamoring to take a bath in the nearly 3-foot-deep tub. More later!