"In the pictures you just see. But in the real life you feel," said Ambassador of Kiribati to China David Ateti Teaabo as he toured the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in southwest China's Sichuan Province recently.

The diplomat was among the many foreign visitors who traveled long distances for a glimpse of the giant pandas there.

Founded in 1987, the research base is now home to 244 giant pandas.