3 Days Chengdu City with Dujiangyan Panda Volunteer

Ni hao and welcome to Chengdu, the hometown of the Giant Pandas! Whether you arrive by flight or by train, your local tour guide will meet you at the airport or train station and escort you by private vehicle to your downtown Chengdu hotel. The rest of the day will be free for you to explore on your own or stay In and rest up from your trip.

Recommended optional activity:
In the evening you can enjoy a delicious dinner of the local Sichuan cuisine at a local restaurant.

Accommodation: Overnight in Chengdu

We will get an early start this morning as your tour guide and driver will pick you and your family up from your hotel around 7 a.m. for the 90-minute drive to the Dujiangyan Panda Base for the opportunity to work as a volunteer at the base from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

There are more than 40 giant pandas and 5 red pandas at the Dujiangyan Panda Base. During this special one-day panda volunteer program, you will have the opportunity to act as honorary panda keepers by cleaning up bamboo, sweeping up panda poop, washing the enclosures, observing and understanding the pandas’ status and living conditions, and preparing food for the pandas. You will get to experience the fun of making a “Panda’s Cake” and deliver fruit to the pandas yourself while learning about the pandas’ diets. Watch a free panda documentary that tells all about the science of a panda’s life and how humans are trying to protect them and how we can live in harmony with these wonderful creatures. You will also be able to plant bamboo shoots and trees, and create name tags as well as other more interesting and meaningful activities that help with caring for the pandas. After your day of helping the pandas, you will receive an official certificate from CCRCGP designating you as a Giant Panda Caretaker as well as other souvenirs such as a panda badge, a panda t-shirt and a panda club magazine.

After your exciting day up close and personal with the pandas, we will take you back to your hotel in Chengdu to relax for the night.

Note for today’s trip:
1) Volunteer work for children: Children must be more than 12 years old to partake in the Panda Volunteer Program. If they are under 12 years old, special activities can be arranged so that they can interact with the pandas – please contact our friendly travel consultants for more information.
2) The Dujiangyan Panda Base can accept up to 20 volunteer workers per day. If you want to be a panda volunteer, you should apply at least one week in advance with the official application form and Health Examination Form (a valid medical certificate with a doctor’s signature) that can be done in either your home country or in China.

Accommodation: Overnight in Chengdu

After breakfast, we will take you to visit the sacred Wenshu Temple, which is hidden in a peaceful location right in the middle of modern Chengdu. This temple is the most popular Buddhist temple in the Chengdu region. With its beautiful, traditional and ancient architecture, the atmosphere is very calm and quiet, with some people praying, right in the midst of a busy and modern urban city. The grounds have a small garden and the monastery is very colorfully decorated, making it a fascinating place to visit.

After the Wenshu Temple, we will experience the leisurely pace of the life of the locals at Renmin Park and Jinlin Street. Renmin (People’s) Park is where the locals go for a relaxing walk, to meet friends or have a cup of tea. Jinli Street, by contrast, is a street mainly for tourists but it does offer a view of the way things were in ancient times. You can wander along this traditional old street to absorb the special atmosphere of Chengdu while tasting the local snacks, watching street performers, etc.

After the tour, we will take you to the Chengdu airport or train station for your departing flight or train on to your next destination.

Accommodation: None