i've always wanted to visit the Wolong Panda Reserve each time i visited Sichuan in the past but due to transport difficulties, never did make it and alas, the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake had destroyed it. Fortunately the pandas there with the exception of one, were rescued in time and transported away safely. i heard most of them are now housed in a place called Bifengxia in Ya'an, a 2 to 3 hours drive from Chengdu while awaiting for another site at Wolong to be reconstructed into a new panda breeding and research base.
Having only slightly more than half a day to spare this time round in Chengdu, we decided against going to Bifengxia, instead we visited the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding and Research Centre (aka Chengdu Research Base for Giant Panda Breeding) which is only 10km north of Chengdu city centre. It proved to be a worthwhile trip after all.
Away from the chaotic traffic jams and pollution of the city heart, the research centre, a huge park with an area spanning about 92acres, and constructed to imitate the natural habitat of the pandas, houses not only the giant pandas, but also the lesser pandas (aka red pandas) and other endangered and rare animals like the black- necked cranes and white storks. Smoking is banned within the premises and we were welcomed by noticeably fresher air there than elsewhere in Chengdu. The huge park is not only an animal sanctuary , it also contains various facilities like a veterinary hospital, a giant panda museum with 3 exhibition halls, a research lab and training center, an animal food processing center and a restaurant as well as a souvenir shop for tourists. Having only half a day to explore, we skipped all these and headed straight for the panda enclosures. Like everyone else, we were delightfully entertained by these absolutely adorable creatures.
Suggest you watch the clips below on full screen.....
If you have only a day in Chengdu, i strongly recommend the Chengdu Panda Breeding and Research Center (aka Chengdu Research Base for Giant Panda Breeding 成都大熊猫繁育研究基地) as a must-see.
Opening time : 0800h-1800h (all year round).
Go early, best before 8am if you want to carry the pandas. Yes, you are allowed to carry the pandas for a few minutes for a 'donation', a sum that can range from 50RMB to 1000RMB , depending on which of the staff you approach. You get a receipt in acknowledgement of your contribution to help sustain the research centre and you can take lots of pictures with the pandas. Even if you do not wish to carry the pandas, do go early in the morning to catch them at their most active after feeding, playing and running about outdoors. If you go after 9.30am, it's likey that most of the pandas would be rather lethargic by the time you get to their enclosures and in summer, it would be too warm for them to stay outdoors for long.
Entrance fees: 58 RMB, discounts for groups of 10 or more, as well as for senior citizens and students
How to get there:
1. By Taxi:
From downtown Chengdu like the Minshan Hotel or Chunxi Shopping area, it costs about 30RMB one way for a taxi. Tell the driver you want to go to the 'Xiongmao Jidi' (熊猫基地) which means Panda Base.
2. By public bus:
a)Take bus no. 902 from the bus stop outside the Traffic Hotel (next to Xinnanmen Bus Station), costs 1RMB, goes all the way to the Panda Base
b)Take public bus no. 99 from around Carrefour (the one near Minshan Hotel) to the zoo and change to bus no. 537, total cost less than 4 RMB
3. By tour group:
If you are staying in backpacker hostels like Dream Travels, or Mix Hostel, or Sim's Cozy or even the Traffic Hostel, the travel agencies there all run a day trip for ~100 RMB that includes a trip to the Panda Base, as well as spending the evening watching Sichuan opera which is known for the art of rapid masks-changing. i would think such a package would be quite worth the money considering the entrance fees and transport fees you would have to fork out if you were going alone to see the pandas, plus the fact that it might not be easy to find a cab outside the panda base to go back to town. The only consideration is how much time would you get to spend with the pandas when following a tour group?
For details and more info on the research center: check out
http://www.panda.org.cn
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/sichuan/chengdu/panda-breeding-and-research-center.htm
i shall make an effort to visit Bifengxia (避风峡) at Ya'an (雅安) the next round, i did hear there are more pandas there and the entrance fee is less, heard too they do not charge for carrying the pandas.....
Opening time : 0800h-1800h (all year round).
Go early, best before 8am if you want to carry the pandas. Yes, you are allowed to carry the pandas for a few minutes for a 'donation', a sum that can range from 50RMB to 1000RMB , depending on which of the staff you approach. You get a receipt in acknowledgement of your contribution to help sustain the research centre and you can take lots of pictures with the pandas. Even if you do not wish to carry the pandas, do go early in the morning to catch them at their most active after feeding, playing and running about outdoors. If you go after 9.30am, it's likey that most of the pandas would be rather lethargic by the time you get to their enclosures and in summer, it would be too warm for them to stay outdoors for long.
Entrance fees: 58 RMB, discounts for groups of 10 or more, as well as for senior citizens and students
How to get there:
1. By Taxi:
From downtown Chengdu like the Minshan Hotel or Chunxi Shopping area, it costs about 30RMB one way for a taxi. Tell the driver you want to go to the 'Xiongmao Jidi' (熊猫基地) which means Panda Base.
2. By public bus:
a)Take bus no. 902 from the bus stop outside the Traffic Hotel (next to Xinnanmen Bus Station), costs 1RMB, goes all the way to the Panda Base
b)Take public bus no. 99 from around Carrefour (the one near Minshan Hotel) to the zoo and change to bus no. 537, total cost less than 4 RMB
3. By tour group:
If you are staying in backpacker hostels like Dream Travels, or Mix Hostel, or Sim's Cozy or even the Traffic Hostel, the travel agencies there all run a day trip for ~100 RMB that includes a trip to the Panda Base, as well as spending the evening watching Sichuan opera which is known for the art of rapid masks-changing. i would think such a package would be quite worth the money considering the entrance fees and transport fees you would have to fork out if you were going alone to see the pandas, plus the fact that it might not be easy to find a cab outside the panda base to go back to town. The only consideration is how much time would you get to spend with the pandas when following a tour group?
For details and more info on the research center: check out
http://www.panda.org.cn
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/sichuan/chengdu/panda-breeding-and-research-center.htm
i shall make an effort to visit Bifengxia (避风峡) at Ya'an (雅安) the next round, i did hear there are more pandas there and the entrance fee is less, heard too they do not charge for carrying the pandas.....
