Trip to Chengdu Giant Panda Base

There is no better place for visiting the beloved giant pandas than the Research base of giant panda breeding in Chengdu, Sichuan. Studies have it that Chengdu has been a natural habitat for giant panda for thousands of years. Currently the research base is inhabited by over 80 giant pandas.



The research base is about 10 kilometers away from downtown Chengdu, locating at Futou mountain. You can get there by bus or taxi. For bus, there is non-stop bus no. 902 at the Xinnanmen transportation center. You can also look for buses 1、63、69、70、71、83、82、49、60 at the bus stops that are close to you and go to the Zhaojue Temple. Then switch to bus 198 or 532 to the research base. The cost for bus is not clear but it should be quite affordable. For taxi, if you get into a cab at downtown, the price to research base should not exceed 55 yuan. As always, ask the cab driver to use the taximeter. If the driver insists on a fixed price and the price is much higher than 55 yuan, you should probably find another cab.



The entrance ticket is 58 yuan. After the main gate, you can go to the panda museum first. There you will be able to know the origins, the living habits, and preservation methods of the giant pandas. The next stop can be the sanctuary of young giant pandas. This is the place mainly panda monitory and for pandas to rest. So very likely you will see a bunch of pandas lying around, chilling under the air conditioners, and being completely indifferent of your existence. There is also a panda cinema that you can find on the map. It plays documentaries of the pandas. The movie charge is not included in the entrance ticket.

While you keep walking, soon you will be able to see the pandas outdoor. One important hint, if the day is too hot, they will not let the pandas out, so pick the date of your visit wisely. Check the weather broadcast before you go. I remember that if the temperature is above 30 degrees, you won’t get the chance to see pandas outdoor. But am not sure at what time of the day they will let out the pandas. If you really want to know, leave your comment below and I will try to get the answer.



Last but not least, we will head to the maternity room of pandas. There you will see baby pandas under 6 months old. You will have the chance to hold one of the cut creatures and have your photo taken. But you have to pay. The price is not clear. I believe it is similar to the entrance price.

In fact, besides giant pandas, the research base also has some other rare animals such as the red panda, the black-necked crane, and the Siberian white crane. You can visit them in different parts of the research base. And for your information, there are English under every Chinese sign in the whole research base.