While there’s the large, famous research base on the outskirts of Chengdu, I had read on another blog about a volunteer program at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Great Panda – Dujiangyan Base. For around EUR100 per person, you get to spend a day learning about the pandas and get up close.

Dujiangyan is quite a bit outside Chengdu, probably a 90mins drive. We decided to take public transport for the experience. I think public transport is always a great opportunity to get to know a country and its people better.

Already the day before we had made the trip out to Xipu Railway station (accessible by metro line 2) in Chengdu’s north to buy train tickets. Apparently they sell out. For RMB10 per person (EUR1.30), we took the 07:53 train the next day to Qingchengshan. The modern train went up to nearly 200km/h and took us in less than half an hour to our destination. From there we took a bus for a short ride to the Panda Base, getting there just before 9 and in time for the start of the program.

Train from Xipu

The modern train took less than half an hour

Train ticket from/to Chengdu Xipu

Entry to the Panda Base

Dujiangyan Panda Base

Our volunteering program starting with cleaning the panda cages. Step 1: scoop up all panda poop. These guys poop a lot. Apparently an adult eats around 20kg of bamboo a day (and that’s almost their entire diat) and poops 10kg. Solid. Step 2: scrub the panda cages and spray disinfectant. Step 3: replenish bamboo supplies. Employee of the year award goes to the person at the base who figured out that tourists are willing to pay money for this. The Chinese tourists visiting the base had their laughs.

Naughty Panda baby trying to escape its enclosure

Two Panda baby twins

While we were doing this, the pandas were observing us. One “panda house” we couldn’t clean because the bear did not want to come down from his tree, not allowing us to enter his area.

This fella wouldn’t allow us to clean his “kingdom”. He was busy climbing trees.

After some downtime were we got to walk around the base, we got to my favorite part. Feeding the pandas! Of course, bamboo.

Dujiangyan Panda Base

Dujiangyan Panda Base

Dujiangyan Panda Base

Dujiangyan Panda Base

Dujiangyan Panda Base

Dujiangyan Panda Base

Dujiangyan Panda Base

The Red Panda at Dujiangyan Panda Base

The Red Panda at Dujiangyan Panda Base

For lunch, the staff took us to their canteen, which was very tasty. This was followed by some more free time, followed by a documentary about efforts to reintegrate pandas into the wild. If I remember correctly, there are roughly an estimated 1’200 pandas left in the wild and 300 in captivity. The Dujiangyan Base houses 30 of them.

Lunch at the staff canteen

We skipped the last part of the day, baking panda cakes (which pandas are fed in addition to bamboo) and instead started our way back to Qingchengshan and then Xipu in Chengdu.

Getting up close with these unique animals is a very special opportunity that I can only recommend. I don’t know whether there are other places besides Dujiangyan where one can get that close. When we were there, there was a total of around 10 volunteers and I suspect it is only bound to become more popular. E-mail them at pandaeducatecenter@163.com if you want to go.

Our volunteer certificate

The arrival wasn’t without a little bit of drama. Since we stayed for just 40 hours in the country and continued straight on to Thailand, we could benefit from the Transit without Visa (TWOV) scheme and save the hassle (and money!) of getting a Chinese tourist visa. Upon departure in Amsterdam, our documents were checked and we were allowed to board without issues. However at immigration, we were motioned to step aside and wait. And wait. And then wait some more. Eventually, a senior immigration officer came over to take photos of our passports and send them via WeChat somewhere else. Soon after, an airline rep appeared and he was frightened. Apparently the origin station had not reported our TWOV arrival, so he had not prepared the necessary paperwork (which was new to me). He said the officials were discussing whether to reject our entry. Some discussion ensued and we were asked about the purpose of every United Arab Emirates stamp in our passport (the only stamps with arabic characters). Eventually it was decided we were not a threat and granted our TWOV. Yay!

With immigration behind us, cash and hotel directions in hand, we took a taxi for the roughly half hour drive to our hotel in the city center.

We opted for a locally themed hotel as opposed to one of the countless new business hotels.

Wenjun Mansion Hotel

Over the next 1.5 days we got to experience the city a little bit, but I am not sure how much more there is to explore in this 15 million inhabitants city.

Fruit at a market near Xipu Railway Station

As with most Chinese cities, the likes of Mobike and other shared bike providers have taken over

We started out at People’s Park where everyone was out and about, celebrating the start of the weekend. Adding to the jovial mood was the fact that the sun was shining and temperatures had reached a comfortable 20 degrees. Some women were even out looking for husbands for their sons in the “Dating Corner”.

People’s Park

Dating Corner in People’s Park

Emergency toilets?!

Of course, there’s also a Mao statue – here at Tianfu Square.

Mao at Tianfu Square

Tianfu Square

We walked through the shopping area around Chunxi Road. As glitzy and shiny as it could be, with every major Western brand represented.

Shopping around Chunxi Road

Shopping around Chunxi Road

In the evening we had dinner in the Kuanzhaixiangzi Alleys, an area with a couple of alleys with old Chinese houses. Although there it was overcrowded and most shops were geared towards tourists, it is an enjoyable area.

Kuanzhaixiangzi Alleys

Starbucks at Kuanzhaixiangzi Alleys

In case you would like to get your ears cleaned…

Would I recommend a visit to Chengdu? As a standalone trip, not sure. But if you’re going to visit the pandas, you should definitely add a day to see the city. Did I mention, we saw less than two dozen Westerners during our stay?

With animals and nature checked, we wanted to add some beach time and settled on Koh Lipe in the very south, advertised as “the Maldives of Thailand”. The trip would end with some days in Singapore, our old home.

This was our final itinerary:

Looking back, it was probably too much travel for the short period of time. Not necessarily too many stops, but too much travel with planes.

Stay tuned for the trip report!