Page 17 - UMP 168_Final

16
SPOTLIGHT
UMP 大學廣場
OCT 2013
A Trip to Wolong -
Lee Woo Sing College Summer Exchange
Programme 2012-13
reintroducing the giant panda which so far were not very
successful.
My other concern is that the Wolong area is being rebuilt
for touristic purposes that may be a hinder to the region’s
natural environment and pandas might end up being able
to survive only in captivity. Possibly, other animal and bird
species may be driven to extinction as well due to the
touristic development.
On the other hand, the Wolong region is a beautiful natural
site with astonishing mountain ranges and a very diverse
flora and fauna. All of the hikes and trips to the natural
sites, such as the Balang mountains, were very inspiring
to me. We also spent a very warm time interacting with
the local villagers, learning about their lifestyles, eating the
local food and joining the village dance events. It made me
want to learn more about their beautifully vibrant Tibetan
culture.
It was also a great opportunity to travel around Sichuan
and visit places such as Chengdu, Dujiangyan, the 2008
Earthquake Museum, the Sanxingdui Museum, etc. It
increased my general knowledge of China’s past and
present and was a nice opportunity to spend time with my
group mates. I may say that this trip was a reminder
about the importance of the preservation
of delicate balance between humans
and nature and about cultivation of
considerate attitude towards the
environment.
Kristina Primakova
(Chinese Studies / Year 2)
As a student majoring in Chinese studies, I have a
strong interest in Chinese culture and nature, as
well as the preservation of the environment. I am deeply
concerned with the issue of the balance between the
human world and the natural world. Thus, the Wolong Trip
was an exciting opportunity for me to try to explore this
important question. It was also a chance to learn more
about Chinese culture.
This trip to the Wolong Panda Base in Sichuan province
was my fifth journey to Mainland China. Despite having
travelled to China before, I had not had any encounters
with the giant panda or experiences of working with wild
animals. It was a challenging and an invaluable opportunity
to take care of the pandas. The giant panda is a species
unique to China, and also an endangered species driven
to extinction due to human activity. The trip was a chance
to reflect on the important question of whether human
interests should come first, before the interests of other
living beings or not, and at which cost.
The internship at the Hetaoping Panda Base was an
enjoyable opportunity to interact with the pandas and to
learn about their behavior and habits. Despite enjoying
the time there, I am not very convinced by the Panda
Base’s principle of breeding the pandas through artificial
insemination to reintroduce the young pandas into the
wild. The giant panda became an endangered species
due to the destruction of their natural habitat. However,
the breeding-and-reintroduction principle does not tackle
the main problem of protecting and / or regenerating
the forests where wild giant panda species are found.
Apparently, there have been only a few attempts of