Pandas of the Qinling Mountains A Greentours Itinerary Days 1 & 2 To Xi’an, China An evening departure takes us via Beijing to Xi’an, arriving into the largest city in southern Shaanxi at around five in the evening. We’ll brave the populous roads into the city centre where we’ll settle into the excellent Grand New World Hotel for the night. Just five minutes drive from the hotel is the old Muslim quarter of town, a vibrant colourful scene where we’ll enjoy some of the city’s finest food and perhaps even a little shopping along Beiyuanmen Street. Days 3 - 11 Foping Nature Reserve – the Qinling Mountains Leaving the city behind we’ll head south across the fertile agricultural plain that separates the Yellow River from the Qinling Mountains. There is a great variety of produce grown here, though persimmons, kiwi and apples dominate. As soon as we leave the heavily farmed lowlands the landscape becomes largely natural and people are restricted to the occasional small village. We pass a stunningly situated reservoir then drive into a deep and narrow valley that at times becomes quite a gorge. The steep slopes and cliffs are showered with the reds and yellows of Cornus, Cotinus and all manner of other trees. A fine florifeous Senecio and pink Silene fortunei remind us that winter has not yet arrived. We’ll stop and look for Wallcreepers on the roadside cliffs as flocks of Collared Finchbills and Long-tailed Minivets pass by. Striking Collared Crows perch on the parapets whilst high overhead we’ll see Golden Eagle. Ibisbills are found along the river. Only a few years ago this excellent road was the main highway through to Southern China, but the construction of a new motorway to the west has relegated it to a quiet backwater and there is little traffic. We’ll get some idea of the country we will be exploring when we reach the 2000m pass at the top. The views across ridge after ridge of forested mountains are impressive and there’s no sign at all of human habitation. We descend a little on the south side of the mountains and before entering Foping we’ll visit an area of forest where locals have for many years been putting out food for the Golden Snub-nosed Monkeys. These monkeys are now very approachable though they are not captive. It will be a good opportunity to photograph these rare and beautiful monkeys, for though we are very likely to see them in Foping, it is not guaranteed and likely not with views like these! Red-billed Blue Magpies flaunt their elegant plumes and Golden Pheasants walk quietly across the road as we reach Foping’s entrance station. The road continues to snake uphill to a pass at around 2100m. On the way up we will keep our eyes peeled for this is a very good area for the agile Goral and also for the difficult-tosee Mainland Serow. Once at the top we have a 7.5km walk to the Sanguanmiao Research Station which will be our home for the next nine nights. It is downhill all Greentours Natural History Holidays ● 01298 83563 ● [email protected] ● www.greentours.co.uk

the way along an excellent concrete path. The first kilometre is quite steeply downhill but thereafter the descent is gradual! At once one is aware of being in a completely unspoilt and very beautiful habitat. The landscape is largely forested, the rivers are swift and full of giant boulders and rising above the trees along the valley sides are steep rocky slopes and cliffs. We may be too transfixed by the fern-laden banks and stunning autumnal colours, or perhaps we will be staring too keenly at bamboo-clad slopes hoping for that first glimpse of wild Giant Panda to notice that some of the rocks by our trail have clearly been organised! Long ago, before the tarmac road we drove up on was built, a major route through these mountains actually passed down this seemingly unspoilt valley. Now the only indications of this former route are the huge blocks of stones that are the bases of walls of old houses scattered here and there down the trail. Back to keeping a keen eye out as we walk – yes, people do see Giant Pandas and other animals as they walk into or out of Foping. It is not very likely but it does happen, though there have still been so few visitors that it is difficult to get an idea of how often this happens. And the other animals – Fiona and I saw two marvellous Golden Takin on the way out during the recce visit so you never know! Most likely we’ll encounter a few busy Pere David’s Rock Squirrels and of course birds. Foping, for a temperate forest in the Autumn, has a lot of birds, but more of that later. Our path takes us alongside the rushing river for periods, we pass through glades with sparse undergrowth, and we’ll have our first introduction to Foping’s bamboo. Much of the last two kilometres takes us down a stunning gorge with cliffs covered in mosses, liverworts and ferns, the latter including Adiantum, Polystichum and Pleopeltis species. Acers, birches, oaks and the smooth orange-red barked Stewartia shensiensis protrude from the cliffs and we’ll see Little Forktails and Brown Dippers as the path winds down past some impressive waterfalls, crossing the river on several occasions by means of wooden suspension bridges. Soon we reach a clearing with a large vegetable patch and behind it Sanguanmiao Research Station. This is our base for the next nine nights. Not pretty itself, the buildings are functional only, however the setting is absolutely stunning. At the junction of two valleys and set on a bench above the rivers, the station has wonderful views all around of pristine forest-clad slopes, the greens now turning to red, gold and yellow. We’ll settle into our rooms and probably have time to have a little look around the site, before dinner. There are wooded paddocks either side of the station and out back is Mr Zhang’s small farm where he grows vegetables and some crops of medicinal plants. These areas offer very good birdwatching with flocks of wintering and migrant buntings including Little, Yellow-browed and the aptly-named Elegant Bunting. Bramblings, Slaty Buntings, Chinese Bamboo Partridges and the strauchi race of Common Pheasant also inhabit Mr Zhang’s crops! Early morning and late evening these are the best areas to see Wild Boar and Chinese Muntjac. Mid-afternoon in the small field out front of our accommodation is the best time and place to see and photograph Golden Pheasant, surely one of the world’s most beautiful birds. Nutcrackers and those Red-billed Blue Magpies are common. Greentours Natural History Holidays ● 01298 83563 ● [email protected] ● www.greentours.co.uk

The scientific community in China only became aware that Giant Pandas were found in the Qinling mountains in the 1970s, formerly they were thought to occur only in Sichuan’s mountains. The government moved quickly to protect areas of mountain forest where the pandas live and also corridors in between them. Foping is one of the biggest protected areas and actually included several small villages, the inhabitants were given the choice to remain or leave with payment. Most opted for the latter, but a number stayed, and with the building of the research station employment opportunities arose for the half dozen families still living in the small village a kilometre down the valley. Several of best hunters switched to being trackers, for years helping the scientists to better understand the habits and the populations of the many mammal species found in these forests, in particular the Giant Panda. And today, these same trackers, and their sons, are now helping to show a few foreign visitors these extraordinary animals. Visitors are still few, in 2010 there were just twenty-five Westerners who came to the reserve, however this is one very good way to both provide a living for the local people and also to emphasise to the wider local community the importance of these animals. We have eight full days in the reserve and two more days where we’ll walk into and out of the reserve. During this time we’ll be concentrating on looking for the diverse mammal fauna of Foping and in particular Giant Panda. There can be no hard and fast itinerary for such an undertaking however we can give you can idea of typical days in the field and what we will do and see during our time there. The methods of looking for the various animals differs. Looking for Giant Pandas almost always involves walking to a ‘holding area’ where we wait for news from the trackers who are covering the valleys and slopes around us. There are usually four of them and each is equipped with a radio and as they home in on a Giant Panda they may move us to another ‘holding area’, and even another! Sometimes there can be a lot of walking but often the waiting around is longer. The trackers find pandas on most days – for them that’s not the tricky part – it is getting us close enough to see the pandas that is the hard part! In the summer the Giant Pandas are generally up above 2000 metres feeding on the short succulent Arrow Bamboo however during late September and early October they moved down into the Umbrella Bamboo zone and eat areas of new growth between 1500m and 2000m. Having walked into the reserve you’ll already be aware how variable the forest is, there are areas where the bamboo will be at its most succulent and these are where the trackers will concentrate their efforts. So, after the trackers have found a Giant Panda, we’ll be taken through the forest by our local guide who will be being ‘radio-ed’ in (very quietly!) by the trackers. The panda could of course be just round the corner or over a couple of steep ridges. There are lots of paths through the reserve, and they will get us at least near to the Giant Panda on these, before we’ll no doubt be sent bushwhacking through bamboo-choked gullies or up or down steep autumn-leaf covered slopes. We’ll have to do this quickly and yet quietly, the trackers are quick to glance witheringly at anyone making more noise than a mouse! Actually of course moving quietly in this kind of terrain is next to impossible but we just have to do our best! The sightings (same Giant Panda) on our recce trip neatly illustrate the two likely sighting scenarios. The first sighting involved a rapid dash down a long slope and Greentours Natural History Holidays ● 01298 83563 ● [email protected] ● www.greentours.co.uk

then as quietly as we could (so not!) along a narrow trail through shoulder height bamboo to where a tracker was sitting on top of a rock furiously gesticulating – there it is, there it is! And within a minute five of us had seen wild Giant Panda, though not well. The other sighting involved the trackers taking us up to a ridge as the moving panda was going up a valley to the ridgetop. Carefully they got us into position and then after only a couple of minutes wait there it walked into full view only thirty metres away – magnificent!! Other animals will involve different techniques. You’ll soon become aware of just how many animals are wandering these forests as even on the walk in you’ll have abundant tracks and dung pointed out to you. It is clear that there are lots of large and mid-sized herbivores in the woods! The technique used for these is different from the Giant Pandas and involves more but usually easier walking. Golden Takin form herds up to a hundred strong in the summer high on the alpines pastures. Like the Giant Pandas, they have moved down into the forests around the research station as the autumn moves on. At this season they don’t live in herds and are scattered throughout the forest in ones, twos, or small groups. They are of course shy, but again our trackers will work hard to get us to see them. They are a most unusual and impressive beast, something like a Musk Ox, but covered in a creamy coat that is burnished gold around the shoulders, face and mane. These are thought to be the originators of the Golden Fleece that Jason and the Argonauts sought. The males can weigh 600kg, more of a cow sized animal than a sheep, though it is the goat family to which they belong. We’ll find plenty of signs of both Goral and Mainland Serow along the ridgetops, and during our stay are likely to encounter Goral on occasion, and hopefully the usually more elusive Mainland Serow too. There are deer in the forest, several species, but these are very shy and largely nocturnal, and so our best chance is at dusk around the research station where we might encounter Tufted Deer or the unusual Forest Musk Deer, the only deer species known to climb trees! As a general guideline we’ll make Giant Panda a priority and we’ll seek to get all in the group sightings of this almost mythical animal as early as possible during our stay. After this we’ll broaden the scope of our searching and target different animals each day, including panda again of course – one can never have too many sightings! We will also be flexible and split the party into two groups with the same or different aims as our stay and what we have seen progresses! Foping has some of the most unspoilt and biologically diverse temperate forest on Earth. The variety of tree species is impressive. Evergreens such as Pinus armandii, Picea species and the yew Taxus chinensis, interrupt stands of large-leaved Quercus aliena and hard-leaved Quercus spinosa, the former turning a bright yellow. Along rivers are Populus szechuanica and Populus purdonii along with Alders and Maples, the latter including brilliantly coloured Acer mono. Impressive tall red-orange barked Betula albosinensis and paperbark birch-like Betula platyphylla are common. Long ago little wooden pegs were hammered into the small Toxiodendron vernicifluum trees to harvest the lacquer. Other trees include long-leaved Ilex wilsoni, Litsea pungens, Ulmus macrocarpa, Spindle, and the beautiful autumn-yellow beech Fagus engleriana. Close by the research station Greentours Natural History Holidays ● 01298 83563 ● [email protected] ● www.greentours.co.uk

are valleys cloaked in bamboo, others are clear of undergrowth, and still others are like some kind of fairy-land, the narrow valleys hemmed in by mossy fern-laden cliffs. One such valley has a number of old lime trees with large holes, the homes of the world’s largest flying squirrel. We will be able to see and photograph these Red and White Giant Flying Squirrels in daylight. They emerge from their holes, iceblue eyes peering about, before launching into flights down the valley, their spectacular red and white fur glowing in the sun. Nose-tip to tail tip they can be more than a metre long. Fantastic beasts. Speaking of fantastic beasts, there are plenty more mammal species in Foping though sightings of any of the following are just by chance and not very likely. During the recce we saw both Leopard Cat and Siberian Weasel. Lucky observers have seen Yellow-throated Martens, Racoon-Dog and Asiatic Black Bear, the trackers usually! The following also occur at Foping though even the trackers have rarely seen any of these – Red Panda, Leopard, Clouded Leopard, Temminck’s Golden Cat and Dhole. One animal we do hope to see is another of China’s rarest and most beautiful creatures, the Golden Snub-nosed Monkey. Small groups live in the ridgetop forests and it is whilst walking these that we have the best chance of encountering these most exotic-looking primates. These trails, worn by Takin and Mainland Serow, are also very good for Koklass Pheasants and the simply stunning Temminck’s Tragopan. Now this brings us to the birds, for though our primary aim is to see the special mammals of Foping, the birding is excellent and these forests are home to some simply exquisite species. During our waits for the next move on our panda tracking days we’ll be able to watch the birdlife at our leisure. Flocks of Sooty Tits and pretty Black-throated Tits course through the trees in company with Green-backed Tits, Eastern Great Tits, Yellow-bellied Tits and altogether plainer Grey-crested Tits. Bar-tailed and Eurasian Treecreepers are joined in the trees by a healthy variety of woodpeckers, Crimson-breasted being the most common, but also Black, Grey-headed, White-backed and Lesser Spotted. Above the ridgetops fly Mountain Hawk Eagles though in truth raptors are rather scarce. In contrast the variety of fulvettas and laughingthrushes is most impressive as is the range of colour and pattern they exhibit. These birds are common through the forest though are particularly obvious around the research station. Noisy flocks of Whitethroated and Greater-necklaced Laughingthrushes party through all levels of the forest whilst down in the bamboo we’ll find Barred, Elliot’s and White-browed Laughingthrushes. Stunning parties of Golden-breasted Fulvettas twitter as they move through the Umbrella Bamboo, delicate lilac and chestnut patterned Spectacled Fulvettas sometimes with them. Plainly named, but gorgeous at close range are Dusky, Grey-cheeked and Streak-throated Fulvettas, whilst white teardrop-eyed Hwameis sing their melancholy notes in the background. More bamboo denizens include the parrotbills with half a dozen species known from Foping, parties of Vinous-throated and Spectacled are the most evident. Flocks of leaf warblers contain up to half a dozen species, though Hume’s and Chinese Leaf Warblers form the bulk. The rivers offer great birding too with Little Forktails joined by White-crowned Forktails whilst Plumbeous and White-crowned Water Redstarts perch on boulders as Brown Dippers walk under water in the large still

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pools. Giant Salamanders certainly lived in these rivers a few years ago but are at best very scarce now. Days 12 & 13 The Terra Cotta Army and/or Crested Ibis Foping is an extraordinary glimpse into what these Chinese forests must have been like many centuries in the past and we will no doubt be very sad to leave however we must, for there is still one great treasure to see on this trip. We will spend the morning of Day 12 walking out of Foping (the steep bits are uphill this way!) and will no doubt have some exciting wildlife encounters on the way. Then we’ll spend the afternoon descending to the plain and thence along the highway to Xi’an where we’ll no doubt enjoy hugely the fine hot showers and the comfortable modern rooms of the Grand New World Hotel. It was very big news back in 1974 when peasants digging a well just north of Xi’an unearthed some intriguing looking pottery, and archaeologists rapidly uncovered vaults containing an unbelievable six thousand life size pottery soldiers (the Terracotta Army) as well as chariots and horses. Not least because no-one was looking for it, no historical records had been found detailing this extraordinary place. Today, when you enter the hanger containing Vault I you are met by more than a thousand figures lined up facing you – certainly one of the most amazing sights in China. We’ll spend the morning exploring the vaults and the museum where you can see the fantastic bronze chariots. About half actual size they have wonderful detail, especially on the four horses pulling them. The terracotta soldiers were made to protect the tomb of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of unified China. We’ll visit his tomb which is under a hill close by the Terracotta Army complex, and in the afternoon we’ll take to hills that rise just to the south of this amazing place in search of more wildlife, or you can return to the shops and sights of central Xi’an. An alternative option is available for Days 12 & 13 for those who wish to see Crested Ibis and don’t mind a brief visit to the Terracotta Army! So on Day 12 all would walk out from Foping as mentioned above, but those wishing to see the Crested Ibis will then head south reaching the Crested Ibis reserve later in the afternoon. These were once one of the rarest birds in the world, down to an almost untenable population barely in double figures. Once their plight was recognised (just a few years ago!) protection soon allowing them to recover and there are now around one hundred and fifty. We will watch them as they fly over the fields to their fully protected roost site. Then, after a night at Yang County, and a morning visit to the Crested Ibis area, we’ll head north to Xi’an going straight to the Terracotta Army for the latter part of the afternoon. Day 14 Return to the UK Our flight departs Xi’an Airport at around 08.30 in the morning and by midafternoon you’ll be back in the UK a world away from bamboo and pandas! Greentours Natural History Holidays ● 01298 83563 ● [email protected] ● www.greentours.co.uk

or … Red Panda Extension Day 14 Flight to Chengdu. Transfer to Laba He We take a morning flight from Xi’an to Chengdu following the eastern ramparts of Sichuan’s great mountains southeast. From Chengdu we’ve a five hour drive to Laba He, deep in the valleys that lead up to the Tibetan Plateau, and home to many wonderful birds and animals. Days 15-17 Laba He Please note that this extension is now to a different (and better!) place from that advertised in the brochure. The cable car up to Wawu Shan is not reliable in the autumn as this is often a time when it is closed for maintenance. Additionally Wawu Shan is often foggy. The very good news is that we have found a much better place to see wild Red Pandas! And not only that, access is easier, and the weather, though still variable, tends to be much drier and sunnier, a function of being closer to the Tibetan Plateau. Laba He is a magical place, the landscape quintessentially Chinese. The lower valleys are clothed in orange, yellow and red autumn tints, interspersed with meadows where we can watch Sambar at our leisure. Higher is a stunning landscape of old-growth conifers draped in mosses and lichens, their sculpted branches twisting this way and that. Red Pandas seem extraordinarily easy to see here. On a two day reconnaissance to Laba He in 2011 we spent no less than four hours watching four different Red Pandas. What is intriguing is how approachable these stunning animals are. One we approached to with just a few metres and still it stayed feeding in a leisurely fashion right in front of us. In short, Laba He offers an unparalleled opportunity to see and photograph what is one of the World’s most beautiful creatures, and one which has a reputation for being very elusive. Not here though! Why should they be so easy to see at Laba He? It is certainly not habituation for Laba He has been closed to the public until recently and there are still relatively few visitors. We suspect that it may be linked to the rosehips and other red berries that all four Red Pandas we saw were steadily chomping on – clearly a favourite foodstuff at this season, and it seems that they prefer to continue to feed all day with the onset of winter not far away. Whatever the reason we can be sure of enjoying spending time with such a delightful creature. They vary quite a bit in the intensity of the ‘red’ from almost orange-red through to a rich deep russet-red, the bright white face markings making them easy to pick out. Their fur is long and luxuriant, especially on their long thick tails. Whilst much time will be taken up enjoying the Red Pandas there’s plenty of other mammals to be seen at Laba He. On the way in we’ll no doubt have become acquainted with troupes of Tibetan Macaques, a rather fine macaque with a thick warm coat. Long-tailed Goral is the local goat-antelope and almost anywhere we Greentours Natural History Holidays ● 01298 83563 ● [email protected] ● www.greentours.co.uk

might bump into Sambar. The park authorities have designed an ‘African-style’ salt lick which attracts many of these large deer in at night and we can sit in comfortable armchairs and watch them from just a few metres away. Up in the Red Panda zone is a considerable population of Takin. These are the dark-backed tibetana form, quite different-looking from the golden bedfordi form found in Foping. Some of the higher valleys look like herds of cattle have been roaming through the bamboo so many Takin are there up there. Jeeps will take us up into this zone, just a twenty minute drive from our rather nice chalet-rooms down at headquarters. The set-up is very comfortable at this reserve. Most days we’ll take the jeeps up and walk down, but on one of the days we’ll walk higher as not far above us is the limit of the forest and above is a zone of yellow grassland before the snow and rock of peaks that reach around 4000m. Groups of elegant bluegrey Bharal, or Blue Sheep, are common up here. Groups of Black-faced and Moustached Laughingthrushes move noisily through the low bamboo whilst pheasants include Silver Pheasant and the lovely Lady Amherst’s Pheasant, the stunning males appearing from time to time on the track. Also here is the gorgeous Temminck’s Tragopan. The rare and little-known (it doesn’t look like its illustration the Birds of China!) Rufous-tailed Babbler (Chrysomma) moves through the bamboo coming within inches of our feet as it passes by. Almost equally unobtrusive are the parrotbills, several species of which move through the bamboo in groups, notably the impressive Great Parrotbill. Above the forest we’ll see rosefinches, and hopefully Snow Partridges and accentors. Moving back into the upper reaches of the forest we’ll encounter groups of Collared Grosbeaks, flocks of Speckled Wood Pigeons and Naumann’s Thrushes. Grey-hooded Fulvettas form noisy parties with Stripe-throated and Whitecollared Yuhinas and we’ll see Sichuan Leaf Warblers and parties of tits, nuthatches and woodpeckers. On the afternoon of Day 17 we’ll travel back to Chengdu after lunch for a night at the excellent Hollies Hostel, a pleasant little hotel in the Tibetan quarter. Day 18 Depart from Chengdu and arrive UK

Call 01298 83563 or visit www.greentours.co.uk for the latest trip report from our tours to the Qinling Mountains. If you would like to ask about any other aspect of this holiday, please call 01298 83563 or email us at [email protected]. To Book a on this Holiday please fill in the booking form which you can download from www.greentours.co.uk (also found in the Greentours brochure) and post/fax to Greentours, Leigh Cottage, Gauledge Lane, Longnor, Buxton SK17 0PA, UK. Tel/Fax +44 (0)1298 83563. After booking your place you’ll receive a confirmation letter and a detailed information pack will be dispatched twelve weeks prior to departure. Mammal and bird checklists are available.

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