14 March 2024
VISITING THE CUTE PANDAS AT CHENGDU RESEARCH BASE OF GIANT PANDA BREEDING (成都大熊猫繁殖研究基地)
Today marked the highlight of my trip to Chengdu: seeing the cutest and most precious panda, He Hua (和花), or more affectionately known as Hua Hua (花花).
Tickets can be purchased on the WeChat platform, but this requires a Chinese phone number. I got a friend’s help to buy the ticket. Use the WeChat mini-program to book tickets: select "Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding" and choose the morning ticket option for a better chance to see Hua Hua.
When planning for your visit to the panda base, it is important to note that Hua Hua rests every Monday and will not be on display, so avoid visiting on that day if you plan to see her.
The panda base opens at 7.30 AM, and Hua Hua begins her day at 8.00 AM. This is the best time to catch Hua Hua eating her breakfast. Although I wanted to arrive early, I couldn’t wake up on time and didn’t want to miss the hotel breakfast, so I reached the panda base at around 9.00 AM.
Route to See Hua Hua:
Enter through the South Gate and keep walking straight.
When you see the golden panda statue, take the stairs to the lower right.
Follow the main road straight to Villa No. 6.
If all else fails, just follow the crowd!
There was a long queue to see Hua Hua, and I joined it with much anticipation.
A sign indicated an approximate wait time of 2 hours and I was super excited but also nervous since seeing Hua Hua depends a lot on luck.
While waiting, I saw Bao Mei (宝妹), who is also super cute.
Despite the long queue, it definitely took less than 2 hours. I chatted with a fellow solo traveler from Hong Kong, who came to Chengdu just to see Hua Hua as well. The conversation and excitement made the queue time feel much shorter.
Many people say "seeing Hua Hua is all about luck." In the 3-5 minutes you have to see her, Hua Hua might not be there as she could have gone to the back to play or be sleeping.
Several groups before us didn’t see Hua Hua. The first time I queued, both Hua Hua and Ye Zi (叶子) were nowhere to be seen. So, I decided to queue again. During the second round of queuing, we were fortunate to see Ye Zi playing on the wooden deck and Hua Hua hidden behind a pile of bamboo eating. She was super cute! Unfortunately, I was blocked by a row of tourists and could only take a quick photo when the security was clearing the crowd for the next batch of tourists.
Hua Hua is still super cute even though the photo is blurry.
So, I queued a third time! This time, I saw Hua Hua resting. Just when I thought I’d only glimpse her fluffy back, she stood up and walked towards us! I nearly squealed with excitement! Super fortunate!
Look at how slowly (gracefully) she walks!
It was around 11 AM when I finished queuing for the third time. Even though I spent a total of two hours queuing and only saw Hua Hua for possibly 5 minutes, it was still worth it to see her happily munching on bamboo and walking towards me.
I was super thankful to see Hua Hua despite arriving late. Do note that when outdoor temperatures are high, exceeding 25 degrees Celsius, Hua Hua and Ye Zi will be kept indoors, so it’s best to visit early in the morning when it’s cooler, especially during the summer period. This was less of an issue for me as I visited during the beginning of spring when the temperatures are still low.
After seeing Hua Hua, I then walked around the panda base and visited the nearby Villa No. 3, Villa No. 4, and the Sun Nursery to see other cute cubs and giant pandas. Most pandas were asleep at this time, but they were still adorable in their funny sleeping positions!
I recommend visiting the red pandas, which are just nearby. They are super cute and free to roam. You can see them sleeping on the trees above you or crossing bridges right overhead.
Look at how close the red pandas are.
When the pandas are awake, you can see them munching on bamboo and hear the crunching sound. Occasionally, you can hear the sounds made by pandas. Super cool!
Sound on to hear the bleating sound made by the panda.
Look at this adorable little baby panda munching on bamboo shoots.
The younger pandas may stay together in the same enclosure and are really playful.
Although only seeing Hua Hua requires queuing, spots where the pandas are awake and active can also be very crowded.
At 2.00 PM, the panda keepers came around to add meals for the pandas. I watched Yuan Run (圆润), Hua Hua’s godmother, who happily came out into her enclosure, enticed by the honey and apple slices that her keepers placed around.
The scenery is great along the way, with many bamboo groves and flowering trees. There is even a pond with ducks.
I walked from the South Gate to the East Gate. Along the way, there are snack stalls and souvenir shops. I bought a cute panda ice cream and some Hua Hua merchandise.
This souvenir shop is super cute, offering a wide range of panda-themed merchandise and charming decor.
The panda ice cream is lime-flavoured and surprisingly good!
I tried the Juntun Guokui (军屯锅魁), a type of flatbread. The text on the packaging appears to provide some historical and cultural context about the snack. “According to historical records from the Three Kingdoms period, famous generals such as Zhuge Liang and other commanders stationed in present-day Yutian County, Sichuan Province, often consumed a local specialty called 'Juntun Guokui.' Over time, this snack, with its unique flavor and convenient portability, became a beloved delicacy among the local people.”
The side view of the panda plushie looks remarkably like Hua Hua.
I also bought these Hua Hua and Ye Zi keychains. The Hua Hua keychain is the same one carried by Grandpa Tan (谭爷爷), Hua Hua’s keeper.
Near the East Gate, there is a café where you can watch the pandas while enjoying coffee and snacks. The packaging for the iced latte is super cute, and the purchase came with free panda stickers.
It’s quite a long walk from the North Gate to the East Gate. Thankfully, I met a nice lady from Dongbei, and we kept each other company throughout. There is a sightseeing car that can take visitors to different stops in the panda base. However, I had difficulty loading the website on my phone to purchase the ticket, so I didn’t take the sightseeing car. The panda base is large, and touring the entire park can be tiring, so consider buying a sightseeing car ticket.
Panda Base Information:
Opening hours: 7.30 AM - 5.30 PM
Ticket price: 55 RMB per person
Sightseeing car: 30 RMB per person, recommended for the elderly and children for a more comfortable tour.
DINNER AT MICHELIN-STARRED MA WANG ZI CHUAN RESTAURANT
I spent almost the entire day at the panda base and left around 5 PM. After that, I took a DiDi ride back to the hotel to rest before heading out to Ma Wang Zi Chuan Restaurant (马旺子川小馆) for dinner. The restaurant, located just opposite the hotel, is awarded the Michelin one star.
There was a long queue at the restaurant, and I waited for almost an hour. The good thing is that you can take a queue number and walk around before returning. The food and service were excellent. As I was dining alone, the waitress recommended some dishes so I would not overorder. I tried the dan dan noodles (担担面), mapo tofu (麻婆豆腐), and poached pear in fermented rice wine (酒酿梨). The food is great and really affordable. I only spent a total of 88 RMB!
Feeling tired from the visit to the panda base, I returned to the hotel to rest after dinner. Initially, I planned to visit Jiu Yan Qiao (九眼桥), but decided against it.
Address: Jinjiang District, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
China, CN 四川省 成都市 锦江区 东糠市街 1 1号附5 邮政编码: 610023
Opening Hours: 11.30 AM - 2.00 PM; 5.30 PM - 8.30 PM
All in all, it was a great day at the panda base, and my wish to see Hua Hua in person was fulfilled. I would recommend the Panda Base early in the morning as the pandas were mostly asleep in the afternoon. The best times to see Hua Hua are right after the park opens or around 2 PM after her lunch break. I’m also really happy to have met and talked to other Hua Hua lovers. Wishing all Hua Hua fans a chance to see her face!
Thank you for reading through this post. In my next post, I will be sharing my trip to Mount Qingcheng and Dujiangyan Irrigation System. See you there!
Love,
Shu
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