Giant Panda Research Base, Chengdu, China
Location: China, Sichuan Province, Chengdu City, Chenghua Qu ( 外北熊猫大道1375号 邮政编码: 610081)
Opening time: 7:30am-18:00pm
Price: 58RMB per adult (concessions for children available)
Ticket validity: 1 day
One of Chengdu's claim-to-fame is it's 4 Giant Panda Research Bases. We visited the base in the North-East of Chengdu. The base is surrounded by bamboo forest, with paths winding amongst the bamboo stalks, giving a very natural and mysterious feeling as you explore. The paths lead you from the busy main entrance deep into the territory where you feel like you're transported back to a long time ago, when you may have seen pandas walking freely.
There are enclosures for different aged bears, with the older animals spending more time sleeping than the cubs. Which is to be expected as a pandas diet is famous for being so specific, and so specifically a plant that holds no nutritional value - although Pandas have huge canine teeth, it is jokingly said they become too lazy to hunt and decided bamboo was a good alternative. This lack of nutrition leads to a huge amount of food being consumed (50% of their time) and a long digestion period (the other 50% of their time). Of course they also sleep during this digestion period. For this reason, I would suggest visiting the research base in the morning when they are most active.
The weather also affects how much movement you'll see within the enclosures. Panda bears are used to a cold climate, and so they have thick fur coats... if you plan to go to see them in the warmer months you may be slightly disappointed. BUT we went in May 2017, on a rainy day, when it was still 25 degrees plus, and there was plenty of fun to be seen from all age groups of bears.
My favourite moment? Near the Sunshine Birthing Room there was an enclosure with a mum and a couple of cubs under 3 months old. The cub was climbing trees until he decided to pay his mum a visit. While trying to drink water she got attacked with cuddles and play fighting and their general interaction was so adorable.
There were quite a few people in the park when we got there around 11am on a Sunday, but the park is large with winding paths through bamboo forests. The further you head from the main entrance the less crowded it feels, and at any point you feel you want to head back to the entrance/exit point, there are convenient golf buggys that have 'bus stops' at specific points to wiz you back for 10RMB per person.
All signs are in English and Chinese, and guests are well catered for in the food and beverage areas, as well as new and modern toilets (western and Asian styles).
There is also the possibility to 'be a keeper for a day'. This opportunity comes at a cost - around 2000RMB - but it can be very worth the money if you fancy a cuddle with a new-born baby panda. An experience you'll remember forever!
Getting to and from the site is very easy. Take Metro Line 3 to the very last stop Military General Hospital, from here you can catch one of the big yellow buses to the site entrance.
For more information on this experience and how to get to/from the site, visit the link below:
Seeing pandas is a definitely must-do while in Chengdu. They are utterly adorable and there is a lot of information about the species which is quite interesting, as well as many photo opportunities. I had a wonderful day, and I don't know anyone who went and was disappointed!
