The giant panda is a first-class national protected animal deeply loved by people around the world because of its scarcity and its fascinating look.
Understanding the giant panda
The giant panda is a first-class national protected animal deeply loved by people around the world because of its scarcity and its fascinating look. Giant pandas inhabit a few mountain ranges in central China, mainly in Sichuan. Sichuan always has been an attractive travel destination, so in this article, we are going to introduce two places to see giant pandas in Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan Province.
I AM HERE @Chengdu IFS
This giant panda climbing the rooftop garden at Chengdu IFS always has been on the top of tourists’ wish lists ever since its debut. Posting a photo with this naughty cub on their social media timeline has become a trend for many young people to tell friends about their Chengdu trip.
‘I Am Here’ is an installation artwork created by famous sculpture artist Lawrence Argent in 2013. It quite convenient to get there as Chengdu IFS is just around Chunxi Road, one of the busiest areas in Chengdu. You can take the metro to Chunxi Road station and you will see so many visitors around this landmark. Go to the roof garden, you can see it from the front.
I know a panda sculpture is not enough to meet your expectation of seeing live and kicking giant pandas, so let me now introduce Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding (The Panda Base) to you guys.
Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding
The Panda Base
Now seriously, give up the crazy idea of meeting wild giant pandas in the mountain area. Because of the tiny number of this nationally protected animal, it is almost impossible to see them in the natural environment. Moreover, though it is a common sense that pandas feed on bamboos, giant pandas are a sort of bear with strong paws and sharp teeth, once upon a time, they were carnivorous animals. So Xiongmao Jidi is a good place where you can take a close look at pandas safely.
Xiongmao Jidi is not only a scientific research and breeding base but also a public education and tourism base. As an ecosystem park feeding and raising more than 100 pandas, Xiongmao Jidi gathers the most pandas all over the world.
Xiongmao Jidi opens from 7:30 am to 6 pm all year round. The ticket price is 58 yuan per person. It is 10 kilometers from downtown Chengdu, you can choose public traffic tools like bus and metro or you can take a taxi or self-drive. If you plan to visit during weekends or public holidays, the traffic will be busy and it will be hard to find a car parking place.
The guide map is very clear to follow, but if you need it, you can hire an English-speaking guide in the Tour Guide Station at the entrance. In the panda base, it will take about 3 hours to walk and 1 or 2 hours by shuttle bus to travel around. Among so many spots, here we simply list several places for you to quickly find pandas.
No.1 Giant Panda Villa & No.2 Giant Panda Villa
No.1 and No.2 Panda Villas are habitat places for adult pandas, there you can have a view of pandas’ daily lives, like playing, eating and sleeping.
Giant Panda Sunning Nursery Room
Sunning Nursery Room is located in the core area of the panda base. It is visited by most tourists since pregnant pandas and newborn pandas and young pandas live here.
Giant Panda Moon Nursery Room
Like Sunning Nursery Room, Moon Nursery Roon is also mainly for mother pandas and baby pandas. If you strongly want to have a close look at newborn pandas, autumn is the best timing. Taking photos is allowed, but make sure to turn off flash-light to avoid hurting baby pandas.
www.panda.org.cn（Scan the QR code can visit）
There are more details of tour guide info on Xiongmao Jidi official website.
Now you get two good places to see cute pandas, start to plan your trip and share this article with your friends, maybe they want to go together with you.
