Since the panda kindergarten I mentioned was a hit yesterday, I realized it was about time I actually wrote about this magical place I visited last summer.
We visited the Bifengxia Panda Base near Ya’an in rural Sichuan province while I was working with earthquake survivors as part of my international internship experience. It’s a little hard to reach–you’ll need to fly in Chengdu and take a bus from there.
(There is also another panda base, a bigger, more famous one, much closer to Chengdu. While I didn’t go there, it might be easier to get to!)
When you arrive at the main visitor’s center, you have two route choices to reach the panda sanctuary–hiking through a ravine, or riding a bus through a tiger habitat. Only in China. We were with our volunteer team, and the consensus was the hike. They were showing videos of the buses riding through the tiger habitat, and as the bus riders were feeding tigers meat from the windows to get them to come closer, I agreed with the hike.
I’m glad we chose that way, because it was gorgeous. Imagine getting lost in the mountains of China, as seen in the movies, and you’ll get an idea of what this hike was like. We rode an elevator to the bottom of the ravine (I really never figured out why, but it was a long hike back up) and hiked up to the pandas from there. It was a long hike, through the jungle, near rivers and waterfalls, filled with gorgeous flowers and weird signs in Chinese.
Along the ravine, I noticed strange rocks hanging from the cliffs and asked one of our Chinese colleagues what they were. Imagine my surprise when they were actually hanging coffins. The inner history nerd in me lit up like a Christmas tree.
The end of the hike was a little slippery and steep, but it was next to a waterfall (which you eventually cross) and finally, we made it up to the mountain to the pandas, which I’d been waiting to see my whole life.
Of course, China being China, the sanctuary wasn’t open quite yet, so we ate some snacks and waited. Upon arrival into the sanctuary, we still had to walk a lot, although you did have the option of riding in little golf-cart type vehicles. Luckily, we saw a few grown-up pandas along the way, which helped the time pass quickly, but we all know my true goal: the panda kindergarten. I mean, really? You had me at panda kindergarten.
We reached the kindergarten and immediately saw the little ones sleeping in the trees. Commence photo taking! I took a million, and a few videos (because baby pandas) and ended up buying a small stuffed panda as a souvenir.
Just past the panda kindergarten, there is a panda nursery, where the really tiny pandas were mostly in incubators. Not as cute as the toddlers, because they kind of look like black-and-white spotted rats, but still, baby pandas!
Bifengxia Panda Base is actually a panda breeding and research center as well. While China’s millions of dollars spent on the conservation of their most popular symbol has been highly criticized, and unfortunately, there are few left in the wild, I was so grateful that there are still pandas to see. I expect that the Sichuan province will continue to try to save the pandas, as pandas are native to that area.
Even in China, pandas are somewhat of a mysterious creature: One of the Chinese volunteers from a different province in China told me all of her friends back home were under the impression that pandas are just wandering the streets in Sichuan, and all ask her to bring them one as a pet!
I definitely would have liked to bring home a little baby panda.
^I can never resist overloading my camera with images of flowers. You’ll see.
^No boring benches to rest from the hike here. Only gracefully covered ones.
^Leopard print flower? So chic.
^J getting her zen on.
^K in the stream. More zen!
^This was hilarious at the time. I don’t get it now.
^I know you all want to see a selfie.
^How could I not take a picture on this bridge??
^The gorgeous ravine (and the elevator down).
^This is sadly the best photo I was able to get of the hanging coffins–they were very far across a river. Can you see them? They look like little wooden boxes.
^A beauty at a pedestrian beauty spot.
^And FINALLY what we’ve all been waiting for! Toddler pandas! This little guy was in so many cute poses I just couldn’t help myself.
^Ridiculously snuggly.
^this little guy was being taken to “school” according to this panda keeper, but didn’t want to go!
^I can’t even handle their cuteness.
Do you have any unique animals you’ve always wanted to see?
Linking up with Travel Tuesday!
What a stunning scenery! The woods look exactly like I always imagined China! And the pandas – so cute! I first saw pandas at the Edinburgh Zoo in January but I’m sure those in China have a much better life! I’d love to see wales and kangaroos some day….
Kangaroos are on my list, too! I also saw whales several years ago and it was a dream come true 🙂 isn’t it beautiful there?? I was happy to see that part of china because so much of it is just concrete it seems!
I am just dying from all the adorable pandas! I would love to visit looks amazing.
I know, so beautiful and adorable 🙂
Those pandas are go adorable! I just can’t handle all this cuteness. Although on a more serious note the scenery in this area is incredible – definitely not what I first think of when someone says China
Yeah it’s gorgeous! It looks more jungly than I had realized. And aren’t they the cutest? I could not get enough!
Amy, We went to the panda sanctuary in Chengdu. It was also very cool. Not only did we see Giant pandas, but we got to hold red pandas….coolness at its best!
Oh I love red pandas! I was so sad I didn’t get to see them in China but I’ve seen them at the Seattle Zoo 🙂 I heard the sanctuary in Chengdu is great! I think a lot of pandas came to Bifengxia from Chengdu after the 2008 earthquake.
The pandas are so adorable! I have a friend who really loves pandas and I haven’t seen such a collection of pandas in my life since we became friends.. and I started to like them too, realizing how cute they are! <3
They’re just TOO CUTE. I sort of have a collection starting after seeing them haha!
These pandas look so cute and like they are having a lot of fun playing on the trees. When I visited the panda sanctuary in Chengdu, I was shocked at how they are kept there. Some of the places looked like cells in a prison and there didn’t seem to be a lot of outdoor areas for the pandas to live.
I loved the area with the hanging coffins! It’s really beautiful. I went there in August 2009 and except for some locals, my friend and I seemed to be the only people there. It was sweltering hot and we got invited by a local to their home and had oh so delicious (mostly vegetarian) homemade Sichuan dishes.
Yes I agree, I was not happy at how the pandas were kept in their cages, except for the little ones! It’s sad that they don’t have much natural territory left 🙁 they are such a unique and amazing animal! Plus those little ones are SO CUTE.
The hanging coffins were so cool! I haven’t seen anything like that before. How amazing that you were invited to a locals’ home! We were certainly the only foreigners for miles and miles, and sometimes the only people around! It was nice and surprising, considering the rest of China (or at least the places we visited) seemed so, so crowded.
Thank you so much for visiting and for your thoughtful comments! I hope you stop by again 🙂
Found your blog just now and was even more excited when I saw this! I went here last summer too and volunteered at Bifengxia for two weeks. I loved it, and I miss Sichuan province sooo much!! I never made it up to the Valley with the waterfall, though. But we did to go Emei Shan and Leshan Giant Buddha.
Awesome! 😀
Hi! Thanks for reading and stopping by 🙂 so happy to have you! How awesome that you volunteered at Bifengxia–I LOVED it there! It was gorgeous, plus…pandas :). I was working so Bifengxia was the main touristy thing we did–I would love to go back and see the Leshan Buddha, I’m bummed I missed it! I will just have to go back I guess. I also miss Sichuan food–I’ve never found it nearly as good anywhere else!