- Visit Chengdu – Home to the Giant Pandas
- Visit Chengdu – The Majestic Leshan Giant Buddha
- Visit Chengdu – Top 3 attractions in Chengdu
- Visit Guilin – Reed Flute Cave
- Visit Guilin – Plan Li River Cruise
- Day trip From Shanghai – Zhujiajiao Water Town
- Money Can buy Happiness at Shanghai Bund and Nanjing Road
- Visit Shanghai – Yuyuan Garden and Jade Buddha Temple
- Shanghai Travel : Top 5 Attractions in Shanghai
- Visit Zhangjiajie – How to Visit Tianmen Mountain
- Explore Zhangjiajie – How to Visit Baofeng Lake
- Visit Zhangjiajie – Avatar Mountains, Bailong Elevator, Golden Whip Stream
- Visit The Great Wall of China – Greatest Feat in human History
- Top 10 Must do things in Beijing – Travel China
- Travel China – Top 5 Attractions in China
Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.Gustav Flaubert
Visit Chengdu – Home to the Giant Pandas
After a spicy start to our trip with an amazing Sichuan hotpot, the next day we were up early and on our way to the most famous must see of Chengdu – The Giant Pandas. This was one prime reason for selecting Chengdu as our first pit stop on our China journey. Chengdu isn’t complete without doing the 3 must-do things while here – Click here.
The Giant Panda Breeding research base is located just 18kms from the city centre and the best place to glimpse Sichuan’s most famous residents outside of a zoo. We met Mark who was our guide/driver for the day. After taking the tickets you can either choose to walk or take a shuttle service. We opted for the former – walking through dense bamboo foliage.
Diminishing forests mean very less Bamboo in the wild and this had led to depletion of Pandas in the wild bringing them to the verge of extinction. Unlike other species, it’s not actually hunting which is depleting their numbers. Firstly, we visited the Red Pandas found native to the Himalayas are the raccoon like cousins of the Giant panda.
We then briskly made our way to the Giant Panda enclosures. The first three were empty – my hopes started dwindling at this point. It’s a research centre, so, unlike zoo, it does not focus on displaying the animals. Sometimes, the giant pandas are all sleeping indoors, so you can’t see any of them eating, playing, or climbing outside. The best time to visit is between 8:30-10AM while they feed and also the Pandas prefer cooler weather hence mostly stay indoor during the summer heat.
You don’t need a route map or guide: you can easily find out where the Giant Pandas are by following the noise of visitors. It will be crowded and quite noisy wherever there is a panda walking, climbing, eating bamboo, or even doing nothing but sleeping on a tree. All of a sudden we saw a massive gathering and commotion at one of the enclosures and there it was – a sight to behold. A Giant Panda mother and baby were playing around and sharing those adorable cuddles.
The cuteness of these furry bear like animals exceeds all levels. Being a big Kung Fu Panda fan, this was more of a pilgrimage to this adorable animal. Time passed very quickly watching this magnificent animal. And then it was like the heavens had opened. In the next enclosure we had 3 little ones fooling around.
The Panda Keeper carries these furry balls like animals out from their rooms into the open – wish I could do this. Next few enclosures we had quite few Adults busily munching on their breakfast for the day – a Palette of wild bamboos. They don’t seem to give a damn about the whole world watching and clicking them –it’s just they and their food. 
It was almost 10AM by now and we had huge swathes of tourists and school kids descending on the centre. With a heavy heart, we bid adieu to these cute animals and made our way to the black swan lake when the heavens opened just in time for us. An amazing experience – something which we would never forget.
Relive our Chengdu journey here –
Chengdu isn’t complete without doing the 3 must-do things while here – Click here..
If you have any questions around this please feel free to leave a comment below and I’ll get back to you at the very earliest.
This is Aldrin and my partner Amoli. We bring you "Earths Pilgrim" - a unique insight into our travel escapades while leaving life in a cubicle. If you are looking for some inspiration to break the shackles of a regular life, then you are the right place. Read more about us- Click here.