Pandas in Chengdu, China

On the left I’d like you to meet Yuan Da, born August 3rd, 2006 and raised in Chengdu Panda Base. It seemed a sin to travel all the way to China and not see a panda. It was my sole purpose for visiting the city of Chengdu. The main attraction is at the Chengdu Panda Base for an admission of 58RMB per person. The park is enormous with over 80 pandas through out the park. As if cute cuddly pandas weren’t enough, they also have red pandas, golden monkeys, and other wild and/or endangered species.

You do have the option to hold a baby panda yourself, though prices were high. When I visited in May 2009, the cost to hold a baby panda was over 300RMB. The baby pandas are the most fun to watch because of how active they are. They’ll be a group of six baby pandas chasing each other wobbling as they run and knocking into each other. This area is popular but you can usually find a spot for pictures. Be prepared to take plenty of video as they are just hilarious to watch play.

Founded in 1987, they have had over 110 panda births with an existing population of over 80 pandas. It’s continued effort to educate the world of giant pandas has been successful with many global research partners that have contributed to the well being of the pandas. You can find the complete list of pandas being born and raised on the Chengdu Panda Base website.

It didn’t feel like I was at a zoo at all. All the animals were in open spaced environments and the area seemed to be well maintained. The entire park can be done roughly around 3 hours. Being that it’s 200 hectares big, prepare for some long walks between panda sights.