Private Half-Day Chengdu Panda Base Tour

Visit: Giant Panda Breeding Research Base (Xiongmao Jidi), No.1375 Xiongmao Avenue the Outside Northern Third Ring Road, Chenghua District, Chengdu 610081 China

The day begins around 8 am when your private guide collects you from your Chengdu hotel. It's about half an hour's drive to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, and a morning visit is best as that's when the pandas are most active.

As you explore the extensive grounds, you'll see a myriad giant pandas eating, playing, and relaxing in their spacious enclosures. This conservation facility was one of the first places in China to successfully breed giant pandas, and you'll be able to learn all about the program at the museum on site. At most times of year, you'll also be able to see adorable baby pandas, which are born pink and just the size of a mouse but rapidly grow to black and white chubby fur-balls.

Kids will love the veterinary exhibits here, as well as the fascinating film about the daily lives of pandas. Besides giant pandas, the base is home to red pandas, golden monkeys, flocks of birds, and black-necked cranes, as well as floral displays and luxuriant bamboo stands.

After around two and a half hours at the base, your guide and driver will transfer you back to your hotel, arriving around 11:30 am.