Chengdu city’s Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding (let’s call it Panda Base for short) is definitely the one place in our itinerary that wasn’t negotiable. Everything else could shift, but cute baby pandas are waiting for us!
We went early, we went hungry, and we came out with around 400 panda photos. We now have a much better sense of how to actually visit the Panda Base without wasting so much time standing in queues. Here’s how we planned our half-day trip, how we got there, and how much sheer willpower you need to visit Huahua — the internet-famous panda. 🐼
- When to go
- Opening Hours
- Getting to Panda Base from downtown Chengdu
- Address
- Transportation Guide
- Things to know: tickets, timing, entrances
- Seeing the pandas: route & tips
- The morning feeding- is it worth the early start?
- Where we stayed
- Where we ate
- Savory food
- Coffee & pastry
- Other places to see Panda
- Book it: tickets & transport links
When to go
The most important thing you should know about these cute pandas is: they love cooler temperatures! Therefore, the cooler mornings (opening hours – 10 AM) are the best time to visit the Panda Base.
Opening Hours
16 Mar – 31 Oct
07.30–18.00 (last entry:17.00)
1 Nov – 15 Mar the Next Year
08.00–17.30 (last entry:16.30)
Go early! Gates open at around 07:30 and pandas are most active (read: awake) in the first two hours before the heat sends them straight back to napping. Peak panda activity is from 8-10 am.
We went on a mid-May morning, not too hot and a little overcast, which turned out to be quite ideal.
Pandas are noticeably lazier on hot, sunny afternoons. If you’re visiting from June to August, morning is not optional.
Getting to Panda Base from downtown Chengdu
We stayed near Chunxi Road, so this is written from a central Chengdu base; adjust timing if you’re further out.
Address
📍No. 1375 Panda Avenue, Chenghua District, Chengdu
Transportation Guide
Metro: Take the Line 3 to Panda Avenue Station (熊猫大道站), Exit A. From there it’s a signposted 15-minute walk to the South Gate, or a 5-minute taxi if you don’t want to walk it first thing. Total cost from central Chengdu: under ¥10.
If you are going to the West Gate: take the Line 3 to Military General Hospital Station.
Taxi/Didi: 25-40 minutes from Chunxi Road depending on traffic, roughly ¥25-50. Simplest option if there are two or more in your party, or if you’re going for the early feeding and don’t want to deal with the metro before 8am.
Organised tour: If you’d rather not sort tickets and transport yourself, group tours from central Chengdu are cheap and handle both. They are worth it mainly for the early-entry option.
Things to know: tickets, timing, entrances
- Must buy tickets online in advance through Trip.com, the official WeChat mini-program, or a platform like Klook. They do real name bookings, so bring your passport!
- Standard admission is ¥55; children under 6 years old and seniors over 60 years old with valid ID can get free admission.
- There’s a separate, extra-cost early entry / panda keeper experience that gets you in before general admission.
- There are two entrances (North and South). Most people use the North Gate — it puts you closest to the panda enclosures first, rather than starting with the museum and swan lake.
- Bring cash or have your phone payment sorted for park snacks (use Alipay or Wechat Pay) card is not reliably accepted at the smaller stalls inside.
Seeing the pandas: route & tips
One thing you need to decide before making a walking route: do you want to see Huahua? Huahua (or He Hua) is the superstar of the panda world, the Beyonce of pandas, if you will. She is famous for her onigiri-shaped back view and cute antics, and has so many fans.
If you want to see Huahua –> enter through the South Gate. If you don’t care so much about visiting her, then go through the West Gate.
The base is large (over 100 hectares!) and it’s easy to spend 3 to 4 hours here without meaning to. We did the following in roughly this order:
- South Gate entry: South gate is the most popular entry point for Panda Base. If you are looking for a more laid-back itinerary and do not care so much about seeing Huahua, enter through the West Gate.
- Giant Panda Villa No. 6: You will find the crowd moving to Villa No. 6, where Huahua lives! 9-10 am is when Huahua is the most active. Expect to stand in queue for a while; we lined up at 7.50 am, and it took us 30 minutes to finally see the cute onigiri-shaped panda 🐼. She was happily munching on bamboo when we got our turn to see her close-up. The later you go, the longer the queue will be.
- Giant Panda Villa No. 7: More giant pandas (Ying Ying and Cheng Shuang)! This villa is less crowded than number 6, and you can still see the active giant pandas munching around.
- Sun Nursery House: Baby pandas! This is where baby pandas and juvenile pandas live. Expect a scrum of people; go here early or expect to wait.
- Giant Panda Villa No. 3: Habitat of pandas Xianglin, Yali, Bingcheng, and Yayun.
- Giant Panda Villa No. 5
- Red Panda Activity Area: Do NOT miss out on the red pandas- they are more active than giant pandas and they absolutely stole the show for us! They are the subject of our best photos.
- Moon Nursery: This nursery is where little baby pandas are; when we went there, they were pretty much immobile and stuck up on trees- still SO CUTE!
- Star Nursery: Play area for baby pandas.
Honest tip: Don’t try to see everything. The base rewards slowing down at two or three enclosures rather than power-walking the whole map. Bring water; shade is inconsistent and there aren’t many places to refill inside. Wear comfortable shoes that won’t give you blisters- this is not the occasion to test out those new pair you just bought!
About the crowd- it DOES get overwhelmingly crowded. The most crowded area is by Huahua’s habitat, villa no 6. The Sun Nursery House is also a big attraction; be prepared to inch your way through to take good photos.
Transport tip: If you want to see everything though- buy the sightseeing bus ticket! Panda Base park is huuge, and it can take 20,000 steps to walk all the way. The sightseeing bus can be bought on the spot for ¥30, unlimited rides.
The morning feeding- is it worth the early start?
Yes. This is the one part of the day I’d tell you not to skip. Around 8:30-9am, keepers bring out fresh bamboo and fruit, and the pandas that are usually a distant, sleeping shape in the enclosure actually get up, move around, and (if you’re lucky) start eating right in front of the viewing glass. We got to Sunshine Nursery House at 8am and had a clear front spot within twenty minutes. Arriving at 10am, we’d have been three rows back looking at the top of someone’s phone.
If you only do one thing differently based on this post, make it this: don’t sleep in!
Where we stayed
We stayed at local hotel chains this time around. I can attest that the service is good! The rooms and well-furnished and very clean, and bonus of cute robots that will handle your deliveries.
HanTing Hotel (Chengdu Taikoo Li Chunxi Road)
This was our first hotel, which is located on a pedestrian street (no cars allowed!). It is within walking distance to many restaurants, pastry shops (we loved Bao’s Pastry!), and stores. The staff did not speak English, but was more than happy to communicate with translation apps.
We used DiDi (China’s answer to Uber) to get around, and the pickup point is nearby.
JI Hotel is a Japanese-inspired local chain hotel with zen-like atmosphere. I liked JI Hotel’s room layout and amenities more than HanTing, to be honest with you. If you are looking for hotels nearby Kuanzhai Alley, I really recommend this particular branch. It is located right by apartments surrounded by greenery and walking paths. The famous Kuan and Zhai Alleys are nearby, and it is also easy to get around by DiDi.
Where we ate
We didn’t eat much inside the base; food options there are limited and mediocre. So this is mostly what we ate on the way there and after, back in the city.
Savory food
- Chicken Feather Sichuan Cuisine (鷄毛店川菜 / Jī máo diàn chuāncài): The go-to for Sichuan cuisine in Chengdu! It is a chain that is famous for chili chicken and vermicelli shrimp dish. Very delicious, but also very very hot!! They offer tea to quench your fiery throat.
- Fei Da Chu: The ultimate destination for Yunnan cuisine. Famous for its green pepper pork dish and golden egg coins- so, so delicious! Though a tad oily-
- Tao De Casserole (陶德砂锅): Home-style Sichuan cuisine dishes. After getting some fiery chili oil dishes, we couldn’t take it anymore and headed to this restaurant. It is crowded, but the staff were genuinely so helpful. We ordered some veggies, tomato egg, and fish dumplings. I personally do not recommend the latter; get their vermicelli shrimp instead!
Coffee & pastry
- Luckin Coffee: Local coffee chain with branches everywhere. Check the Meituan app to see if there are any discounts!
- Chagee: My favorite milk tea chain! It is one of the healthier options for milk tea lovers; the depth of their teas is amazing.
- Bao’s Pastry: Also known as Bao Shi Fu, the meat floss cakes from this pastry shop is so legendary it is sold by weight! Prepare to line up if you go during busy hours.
- Holiland: The best destination for all things cakey and sweet. We tried their cheese mochi balls (芝士麻薯团 / Zhīshì má shǔ tuán) and blueberry cheese tart- great desserts.
Other places to see Panda
If you think Chengdu Panda Base might be too crowded for you, you can take trips to Dujiangyang Panda Base (group tours).
Hope that helps! Thanks for reading!
P.S. = For more adventurous trips, you can check out my guide to Cao Bang Loop and how to see Japan’s onsen monkeys.
Book it: tickets & transport links
- Panda Base ticket via Klook
- Panda Base ticket via Trip
- Panda Base Group Tour (& Sanxingdui Museum) via Klook
- Panda Base Group Tour via Trip
- Panda Base and Sanxingdui Museum Tour via Trip
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