Wolong Panda Base Volunteering Program from Chengdu

We did this last year..and it was just wonderful! We were set to work clearing out our panda' s enclosure..and later in the day fed him. Amazing. Your guide takes all the photos at this time as you are not allowed to. His poo had to be collected by us and put in a special basket to be weighed..part of his health check. We had lots of time in the afternoon to walk around the centre and take lots of photos and see the antics of baby pandas in their "nursery" enclosure where they have an "adventure park " and play equipment ..like children. Do do this if you can ! Incredible creatures. They just don't look real!

Do not miss this once in a lifetime opportunity to interact with Panda bears! They are incredible, beautiful, gentle, animals (but wild animals). As a volunteer you will clean out their enclosures which I wasn't looking forward to having spent much time as a child on a farm. However, they pretty much only eat bamboo and the remnants are what comes out; not distasteful to clean up at all! We also "cracked" their bamboo for feeding, learned to make a special dietary "cake" they feed them, fed them "treats" two different times, and for a pretty hefty fee you can have 20 seconds of photo opportunity with a young Panda. The fee seems like a lot and it is but remember that you will NEVER likely have this opportunity again in your lifetime unless you live in China. There is also an informative movie about the Pandas and you will have lunch with the facility staff. You also have ample time to observe the Pandas in their enclosures. We particularly enjoyed watching a set of twins playing together; precious! I highly recommend this if you have the time (whole day) and money to do it. The drive from Chengdu is a couple of hours but beautiful scenery of the mountains along the way.

Volunteering at Wolong Panda Base was a memorable and amazing experience. The day was very organised and involved various panda activities highlights include feeding a panda up close and holding a panda you have to make an additional payment but it is absolutely worth it! Our English-speaking guide, Summer, was excellent. She was very friendly, told us a lot about Chengdu and answered our questions. At the panda base she was with us at all times, helping with translation and taking photos for us Thank you Summer! I highly recommend visiting this wonderful nature reserve if you love pandas or think they are cute you will never forget this experience!