No visit to China and Chengdu is complete without seeing pandas, and this is one of the best places to visit them.

About the Research Base

Originally set up in the late 1980's, the panda research base now homes over 150 giant pandas and is seen as the premier research base into panda conservation and one of the more iconic places to visit within China.

Top tips:

1. Aim to be in the park for opening time as that is when the pandas will be at their most active. From our last visit, they were fed daily at around 7am so that's a solid time to aim for.

2. It's also worth noting the park can get extremely busy, especially as Chinese social media turns some of the pandas into celebrities which makes their specific encolusures very busy so go as early as possible.

3. If you're lucky enough to visit during the summer months, you are likely to see the baby pandas being cared for inside the smaller enclosures having just been born.