2 Days Inspiring Ya'an Bifengxia Panda Volunteer Experience

Tour Outline: Chengdu - Ya'an - Bifengxia Panda Base - Chengdu

2 Days Inspiring Ya'an Bifengxia Panda Volunteer Experience

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Overview

This panda volunteer work will fulfill panda fans’ dream to get close to adorably pandas and even feed them in your own hands. Bifengxia Panda Base offers pandas a favorable and natural environment to enjoy their happy life. You will experience the work of panda keepers in a day to clean panda houses, feed pandas with bamboos, make panda cakes for them, and clean out the feces. Through a documentary, you’ll acquire more knowledge about the lovely panda. In Shangli Ancient Town, peaceful and tranquil environment will make you linger on and indulge yourself in the warm sunshine in the afternoon.

Start: Chengdu
Physical Demands: Easy, suitable for all level of fitness
End: Chengdu
Best Time to Visit: All year round
Destination: Chengdu - Ya'an - Bifengxia Panda Base - Chengdu
Tour Type: Private tour

Highlights

[Wenshu Temple] See the local prayers worshiping and lighting incense;
[Jinli Ancient Street] Be told what Sichuan looks like during the Qing Dynasty by the elegant style of the architectures;
[Shangli Ancient Town] Enjoy peaceful time in a picturesque ancient town;
[Bifengxia Panda Base Volunteer] Take care of giant pandas in a fresh and natural gorge, get intimate with the lovely creature.

Day by Day Itinerary

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The itinerary is just for your reference. You can make your own tour by your schedule, and taste of hotel. You can tell us your tour plan to get more travel inspiration.

Day 1: Chengdu & Ya’an Tour: Wenshu Temple, Jinli Ancient Street, Shangli Ancient Town

Wenshu Temple

Jinli Street

In the morning, the tour guide will pick you up from the hotel in Chengdu and set out for half-day Chengdu downtown sightseeing. Your first stop will be Wenshu Temple built in Sui Dynasty. It’s the most frequented temple in Chengdu. The temple was constructed in the style of traditional western Sichuan buildings and conserves many precious cultural relics and ten thousands of Buddhist scriptures and literature. Every day, there are many people coming for worship of Buddhas and praying. Strolling in the temple, quaint buildings and diffuse incense can make you forget you are in a hustling downtown and obtain inner peace.

Next, we will drive to Jinli Ancient Street. Known as “the First Street in Shu Kingdom”, Jinli is one of the busiest streets in the history of Xishu, and now it is a commercial pedestrian street built with the architectural style of the traditional old town in western Sichuan Province in Qing Dynasty. Along the street are numerous stores selling special local products like Shu Embroidery, lacquer products, folk handicrafts, curios, or calligraphies and paintings of celebrities. Here you will experience colorful traditional folk cultures.

After lunch, we will set off to the Rain City, Ya’an, 120km away from Chengdu. You’ll spend about 2 hour 13min on the way. When we arrive, we’ll visit Shangli Ancient Town, a very famous ancient town in Ya’an which has been listed as one of the “Top 10 Ancient Towns in Sichuan” with ancient wooden buildings line on the river bank. Except for the quaint shops selling local speciality and souvenirs in the town, there are also residents living in the two-story stilted building along the river, with bamboo shoots hanged up on the peristele of river bank. Roaming in the ancient town in a sunny afternoon, time seems to be frozen. You will be surround by the peace and comfort of this small ancient town.

Stay overnight in Ya’an

Day 2: Bifengxia Tour: Bifengxia Panda Base Volunteer

Bifengxia Panda Garden

In this special day, you will get a rare chance to have an intimate contact with giant pandas in Bifengxia Panda Base as a volunteer.

In the morning, your tour guide will pick you up from your hotel and then drive to the Bifengxia Panda Base. In the base, you will get a uniform, gloves, and a volunteer’s card. Your guide will introduce you to the professional panda keepers who can speak simple English. Your guide will also be there all the time to help you to translate and take memorable photos with the adorable pandas.

During your work, you need to clean panda enclosures. Panda keepers need to supply fresh bamboos to these national treasures three times each day. The pandas usually eat only 30% of the bamboo, wasting 70% of it. You will need to sweep out the leftovers, replace it with fresh bamboo, and clean out the feces. Besides, you also need to feed pandas, offering them panda cakes, apples, and carrots four times a day. The panda keepers will show you how to feed a panda with your own hands at close proximity.

In the noontime, you will have lunch and take a rest in the base. You can watch a special documentary (40 minutes) about how the shy pandas mate, give birth, grow up, and are returned to the wild.

In the afternoon, you will continue your work to do more cleaning and feeding, and learn to make panda’s cakes. The bamboos you supplied in the morning will have become dry by the afternoon. You should remove and replace them with fresh bamboos and then feed the pandas with some more panda cakes and apples. Having fed the pandas with panda cakes, aren’t you curious as to how they are made? It is time to make some panda cakes with your own hands. The ingredients will be prepared in advance. Get creative about the shapes of the cakes.

At about 4:00pm, your volunteer work will end and you will receive a certificate for this unforgettable day. Say goodbye to the pandas you take care of. Your guide will escort you back to Chengdu for your flight to next destination or home.

Notice:
1. Volunteer activities charge for 700 RMB per day. You need to book it in advance and pay down payment for the tour.
2. The age limit for the volunteering program is 12 years and above.
3. Your latest health check report should be provided.
4. Please do not make noises or sudden movements that might startle the pandas.
5. It is advisable that you do not wear any strong smelling perfumes, deodorants, or creams as pandas are sensitive to smell.

Price Inclusions

Transportation

Private transportation to the destinations and sites listed in the itinerary; ranging from 4WD land cruiser to bus depending on the group size and trip route; car gasoline, road toll and in-transport refreshments (free bottles of water, air pillow and headscarf) are included;

Accomodation

Meals

Meals listed in the itinerary;

Service

Private experienced English-speaking trip leader;
Airport/railway station pick-up and send-off services at the beginning/end of the tour;
Entrance ticket fees for all the sight spots listed in the itinerary;
First aid kit;
A coverage of 300,000RMB Chartis travel insurance;

Price Exclusions

International and domestic flight/train to Shanghai (Note: we accept the domestic flight/train tickets booking to Shanghai from other cities in advance, check the updated ticket availibility and cost with your travel consultant);
Meals that are not specified in the itinerary (Averagely a meal in the 3rdpole region cost 3~10USD per person);
Tips and gratuities for the trip leader and driver;
The expense of a personal nature like alcoholic beverages, laundry, phone call, etc;
Optional activities and excursions not specified in the itinerary;
China Entry visa fees;