Michaela Willer shared part of her experience working abroad in China on her blog.

The shelter had been commended for their work on the Crested Ibis. The guide told me there were only 7 Crested Ibis in the world back in the 1980’s and the center we were at was responsible for helping them stave off extinction. There are now thousands in the world. Apparently it is easier to breed birds than bears.

We also saw golden takin, silk deer — who are hunted for their antlers which are used as traditional medicine, black bears that they called moon bears,  Sibuxiang — a chinese animal that is a mix between a horse, donkey and goat — and golden monkeys. There were also vultures, eagles, an owl, an  eagle and a peacock.

It was really cool to see all the animals and it was better yet because there were barely any people there. Most people go to Chengdu to see Pandas so this place isn’t very well known. It was 30 years old though and you could tell. It wasn’t necessarily in a state of disrepair, but it needed a little loving.

Right now I am in the middle of my flight from Xi’an to Guilin. It is only an hour and a half versus the 20 hour or so train ride that it would have been otherwise. The warriors were definitely worth the time spent in the train and the Muslim Quarter was great. I am really excited for Guilin, maybe we might even get fresh air there.