Volunteer for a day with a private tour at the Chengdu Panda Breeding Center – a Viator Exclusive you won’t find anywhere else! You’ll see giant pandas up close as you help to clean enclosures, prepare food and record panda behavior. Upgrade your experience to include a photo session with a baby panda and you’ll hold one of China’s most beloved creatures. Your volunteer service and program fee contribute to the important work of the non-profit research and breeding facility, and help ensure the survival of this vital species!
Depart from your hotel around 7:30am after pickup by your professional guide. You’ll drive by private vehicle for approximately one hour to the Chengdu Panda Breeding Center. When you arrive, take a private tour of the non-profit research and breeding facility for giant pandas before beginning your volunteer work – a combined experience that is only available with this exclusive tour!
Your guide will provide a complete overview of panda development so you can understand their progression from infancy to adulthood. Visit the baby garden, where you can see panda cubs, which only weigh about 3.5 ounces (100 grams) at birth and by the third month are able to walk on their own. Then, stop at the sub-adult garden, where the adolescent pandas between the ages of one and five years old hang out. You’ll observe full-grown giant pandas in the adult area, where these endangered species eat bamboo, sleep and frolic about. Keep an eye out for red pandas stretched out on a branch or with their legs dangling from the treetops.
Meet the panda keepers who work to create a natural environment for China’s most beloved animals, and receive a short training session. Throughout the day, you’ll help clean the pandas’ indoor and outdoor enclosures, carry and wash bamboo, participate in multiple feedings – including panda cakes, fruit and carrots – and even learn to record panda behavior. Volunteers mainly work with the mature pandas in the reproduction facility, and the center limits direct contact with the animals to ensure their well-being. (Please note: The duties of your volunteer service may be changed due to the needs on any given day.)
Take a break from your volunteer duties midday to walk around the park at leisure and enjoy a complimentary lunch. After a full day helping out with these impressive animals, you’ll receive a volunteer certificate and the satisfaction of contributing to a great cause. At the end of your tour, you’ll be transported back to your hotel by private vehicle.
Optional Upgrade: Get your photo taken with a baby panda
With this tour upgrade, follow your guide to a panda enclosure where you will be able to hold a baby giant panda, age six months to one year. This unique experience lets you admire this rare, endangered species up close and get your photo taken together – a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! When you purchase one of these photos, you're contributing funds for the breeding and research program to further its work in helping the giant pandas thrive. Afterward, you’ll become a member of the ‘Panda Club’ and receive an authentic donation certificate as a token of appreciation in helping to preserve this incredible species.
