If you are planning a trip to China, you’ll probably want to experience the many interesting sights and landmarks this ancient country has to offer. But China also has an animal that is considered to be a national treasure, the Giant Panda.
So rare are these bears that you’d be very lucky to see one in captivity, never mind in their natural habitat, but here we have a list of the 7 best places to see Giant Pandas, so you can try your luck.
Bifengxia Giant Panda Base
After the Sichuan earthquake in 2008, the giant pandas that lived at the Wolong National Nature Reserve were moved to the Bifengxia Panda Base in Ya’an City. If you are crazy about pandas, then you need to visit this base where there are currently 155 pandas and the base offers volunteer programs that allow you to have close contact with the animals.
Beijing Zoo
Situated in the Xicheng District of Beijing, this zoo is the largest of its kind in China and one of the best loved and known in the world. It has the largest number of different animal species and has a fully dedicated panda house. It is no surprise that this is one of Beijing Zoo’s most visited enclosures.
Seven Star Park
If you are staying in the Guangxi area of China and want to see pandas, the Seven Star Park is the only zoo that has giant pandas. This zoo was built in the early half of the 1960′s and the pandas have always been the main attraction. Meimei was probably the best known and longest living pandas raised in captivity, dying at the age of 36 years old. Two of the big crowd pullers at Seven Star are the Olympic pandas, which are called Meixin and Fengyi.
Shanghai Zoo
One of the largest zoos in the world, Shanghai Zoo is situated near Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport in the Changning District. Even on a busy day you will not be able to miss the giant panda enclosure.
Chongqing Zoo
This zoo was established in 1955 and is situated in the western side of Chongqing. It covers a total of 45 hectares which includes gorgeous natural landscapes and rolling hills. Similar to any zoo that features pandas amongst its inhabitants, Chongqing Zoo’s giant panda is a big attraction and in March 2012 a half year old baby was named, after the zoo held a naming contest. They called it Mengzi.
Ocean Park
Located in Huangzhukeng in Hong Kong City, Ocean Park is actually a huge, ocean-themed amusement park. As well as the hundreds of marine fish you can see there, there are also 4 giant pandas – Ying Ying, Le Le, Jia Jia and An An. Ying Ying and Le Le were given to the park as presents from the central Chinese government to mark the 10th anniversary of Hong Kong being given back to China.
The Giant Panda Breeding and Research Base
This base is situated in the northern district of Chengdu City in Sichuan Province. As well as a panda house and feed room, there is a laboratory, museum and everything required to breed pandas. The base has thousands of bushes and bundles of bamboo planted to feed the giant pandas. As well as keeping the pandas in safe and secure captivity, the base is also planning on creating sustainable wild living environments for the pandas, to train pandas in living wild. This is part of the bigger picture of preserving and continuing this species in the wild. Here you can take part in volunteer programs that teach you more about the animals and allow you to help look after them.
