Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding

100+ giant pandas across multiple enclosures, 30 minutes north of central Chengdu. Visit before 10am for the active feeding period.

The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding houses around 100 giant pandas plus red pandas. The base is a serious conservation and breeding facility (50% of all giant pandas in captivity worldwide were bred here or from this lineage), but it also functions as the city's most-visited tourist site. The pandas are most active in the early morning during the bamboo feeding period (8:30–10am); they spend most of the rest of the day asleep. Arrive at opening time. The newer Dujiangyan Panda Base, 60 km away, is quieter.