Once-in-a-Lifetime Panda Volunteer Experience
One Day Dujiangyan Panda Volunteer Program Tour
If you're looking for close contact with pandas, this 1-day panda volunteer experience will utilize your time to its fullest. It's a memorable chance to look after a cute and fluffy panda as you clean its enclosure, make its food, and watch it be fed.
Please note:
- 1. There is a daily quota of 60 volunteers for the Panda Volunteer Program. Please inquire and book soon to secure your place.
- 2. The age restriction for volunteers is between 10 and 70 years old. You can still take good care of the pandas even if you are unable to be a panda volunteer for the day. There are several activities to take part in, such as panda excreta analysis, watching a documentary movie, making panda cakes, and so on.
Tour Highlights
- Watch the keeper feed a panda at a very close distance
- Clean panda's bedroom
- Make cakes in different shapes for the pandas
- Meet oversea returnee pandas with our expert panda guide
- Receive a unique certificate proving your love for pandas
Discover real reviews of Highlights Travel Family's best-rated service across trusted platforms.
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Chengdu at it`s best
We made a private tour through South China in January 2024. Altogether Chengdu was the highlight. We had an incredible day at Emeishan. In Chengdu our guidewas Helen. She was the diamond of all. Speaking fluently English, full of interesting stories, laughing and talking all the time. We missed her the rest of our tour. We highly recommend to go to Chengdu for 3 days when visiting China, especially with Helen. more
Feb 2024, peter
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Chengdu and Volunteer program Panda base
Our day volunteering at the Panda Base was truly unforgettable. Helen, our guide, provided us with invaluable insights about Chengdu and the pandas, enriching our tour with her knowledge and expertise. We're grateful to Helen for accompanying us throughout the day and showcasing the highlights of China. more
Feb 2024, Eliaquim
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Chengdu at it`s best
We had a booking with China Highlights through Silvia Ye who guarenteed a perfect organisation. In Chengdu our guide was Helen. She was the diamond of all. Speaking fluently English, full of interesting stories, laughing and talking all the time. We missed her the rest of our tour. We highly recommend to go to Chengdu for 3 days when visiting China, especially with Helen. more
Feb 2024, Peter
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Chengdu with friends
Bella, our tour guide in Chengdu, was excellent and very thoughtful. She picked us up from the train station (despite it being a free and easy day we wanted). She shared options for afternoon tea, places of interest around our hotel and helped us make dinner reservation at a local premium szechuan hotpot restaurant. During our stay in Chengdu, she took us to see the adorable pandas at the Panda Breeding Base, the beautiful Renmin Park (Chengdu People’s Park), the lively Jinli Old Street (pedestrian mall) and the Chengdu Opera (a must see - world famous face changing show). Bella is very attentive to our needs and preferences, and always made sure we were well taken care, comfortable and happy. We had so much fun together, laughing, joking and sharing stories. Food was excellent (best left the ordering to her). She is one of the best guide we had in China. more
Jan 2024, DLiew
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Excellent
Helen is the best! She is super knowledgeable and helpful with everything. Will definitely be using China Highlights and Helen when I bring my family back to Chengdu. more
Jan 2024, Riley
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Chengdu a great city
We had a great time visiting the Pandas, Michael was punctual, organized. He showed us around the great city of Chengdu,its museum,the Old Town, The Tea House,and while we were in the city park we saw a Chinese old lady in a wheelchair singing an Chinese Peking Opera Tune loudly and clearly.She said she is 90 years old and she comes to the park often just to sing and we asked her if she knows any song in English,she said yes and belted out a classic (you raised me up over the mountain) in perfect English. Absolutely amazing.She lived through the Civil War,Japanese Invasion, the Cultural Revolution,You can't plan an experience like this. more
Jan 2024, Peter W
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We went on a tour guided by Helen…
We went on a tour guided by Helen around Chengdu to see many cultural highlights. We were excited with the extensive knowledge. She speaks English very well. She was also always in a good mood and make us comfortable and we could see she is very passionate about her job. She gave us some gifts on Xmas day. Overall we are very grateful to have had Helen as our guide. Not to mention the great day we spent with the pandas. She took very good pictures for us and it's just a memorable day. more
Jan 2024, Monica
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Our tour led by Helen from Chengdu was amazing
Helen guided my family and I around Chengdu to see many cultural highlights. Her extensive knowledge and proficient English speaking skills enhanced our experience greatly. The historical facts that she shared with us made us even more excited to see the landmarks and left us in awe at every visit. She was also always smiling and her kind attitude during the tour made us feel that she was very passionate about her job and valued our experience a lot. She was very thoughtful, even giving us presents on Xmas day. She also recommended the best dishes in interesting restaurants that catered to my family’s taste. Overall we are very grateful to have had Helen as our guide because we know our holiday was so so much better due to her thoughtful pre-planning and positive demeanour! more
Jan 2024, Nicole
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Awesome trip in Chengdu guided by Helen
Our tour guide, Helen is superb and amazing. She is very knowledged and detailed with all the details and history of the destination. She is able to navigate through the attraction places easily, making the whole experience less tiring and easy to access.She is also very caring and detailed with taking care of us, making the trip very comfortable and enjoying. more
Jan 2024, 文文
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Fun Experience!
We had a lot of fun in ChengDu. The trip was nicely planned and organised. We had Helen as our guide in ChengDu. She was very friendly and knowledgeable, explained everything well. It was a great experience and would definitely recommend to anyone who is interested in travelling to China. more
Jan 2024, AdLee
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Helen was the best tour guide I’ve experienced! Can’t recommend her enough for anyone visiting Chengdu!
Helen was the best tour guide that my family and I have had on our international holiday trips so far! We were always kept entertained and fascinated by Helen’s extensive knowledge about Chengdu’s cultural highlights and fluency in both English and Mandarin. Helen was extremely personable and empathetic, always going out of her way to cater to our needs and ensure we always felt safe and comfortable. more
Jan 2024, Rachel
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Chengdu splendida città
Siamo stati a Chengdu città molto bella e vivace. Accompagnati da Helen guida molto attenta precisa cordiale e simpatica…the top!!! Con lei siamo stati a conoscere il panda gigante e il panda rosso. Poi abbiamo gustato il tè in una tipica casa da tè e fatto una piacevole passeggiata prima nel bel parco cittadino molto frequentato e poi per la città. Siamo stati molto bene!! Grazie Helen sei stata splendida. The top!!! more
Jan 2024, Trisia
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Excellent New Year's vacation in Chengdu! Happy memories!
Great thanks to our guide Sandy, who accompanied us tirelessly! He knows a lot about the city and every corner of Chengdu, as well as the culture of Sichuan: he lead us to amazing places and knew how to make excellent recommendations for the Opera and restaurants.The vehicle was very comfortable and Sandy was very generous to bring snacks for everyone and organize the best meals during the trips, to conclude memorable holidays! more
Jan 2024, Pioneer02494454516
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Wonderful Times in Chengdu with Aaron Huang
With the help of our tour guide, Aaron Huang, we were able to see many tourist attractions in Chengdu. We went to the famous Panda Research centre located a short distance away from the city . Our grandchildren loved the sight of so many cute pandas. We also went up to a mountain by cable car, the children had a good time playing with snow.Last but not least, we would like to thank our tour guide Aaron Huang who impressed us with his very excellent and fluent English, and he always answered our questions clearly and patiently. He is indeed a very professional tour guide and we highly recommend him to anyone who intends to visit Chengdu!Thank you Aaron again for going all the way to make our holiday in Chengdu such a memorable experience!Hope we will meet again! more
Jan 2024, Inspire39398
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Fanstric trip to Chengdu with Helen!
Helen brought me to some amazing hidden restaurants I would not be able to try otherwise. Helen was a top photographer and I really appreciate the photos she took during my time there. If you are going to Chengdu make sure to go with Helen! more
Jan 2024, David
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The Best Trip to Chengdu
Fifi is a super guide. She handled all ticket purchases and car orders professionally. I felt respected and very welcomed by her and the car driver. Fifi could recommend VEGETARIAN and VEGAN meal options for me. She even sought after restaurants that I had recommendations for, then did planning to fit them into our day schedule. I’m so happy!! more
Jan 2024, Blake
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Chengdu con Pablo 🇨🇳
Toda la experiencia fue muy agradable y se supieron sortear los problemas con el mal tiempo, los retrasos, la baja movilidad de mi mamá, y los itinerarios muy apretados.Seguramente recomendaremos a China Highlights a nuestros amigos y familiares, pues tanto en Chengdu como en otras 3 ciudades que hemos visitado, siempre han superado nuestras expectativas. more
Jan 2024, Kolombian_traveller
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Helen you are our STAR! Thanks
Our perfect honeymoon!When we decided to visit China for our honeymoon our first desire was making it the trip of a lifetime.China Highlights made it absolutely perfect!The itinerary was incredible and we could personalize and improve our experience - thanks Helen!! more
Jan 2024, Luca
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Our perfect honeymoon!
All the tour guides and the drivers provided an amazing service and they went out of their way to help us throughout all the stages of our journey. Particularly, we want to say a HUGE thank you to:Helen in Chengdu: you are a STAR! All your kindness, explanations about panda’s life and tips on the best places in more
Dec 2023, Sara
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An unforgatable experience
Dear Helen! We are slowly relaxing from the fatigue of our wonderful three-week trip to China, and all that remains are the unforgettable memories and experiences. These include the experiences I spent with you in Chengdu; the Panda Breeding and Research Center, Chengdu Kuanzhai Lane, Jinli Old Street and Shufengyayun Opera House. Thank you very much for your attitude, your attentiveness, more
Dec 2023, Geza
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Suggested Itinerary
Your guide will call you at your hotel one day in advance or will leave a message to confirm the collection time with you. You will be picked up at around 7am from your hotel. After arrival at the panda base, sign up and get a uniform. Your guide will introduce you to the professional panda keepers. The panda keepers can speak simple English but your guide will be there for you at all times, helping to translate and taking memorable photos of you with the lovable pandas.
Clean the panda enclosures. Panda volunteers need to supply fresh bamboo three times a day. The pandas usually only eat 30% of the bamboo, wasting 70% of it. You will need to sweep out the leftovers and replace them with fresh bamboo, as well as clean out the feces.
Take a break and tour around the panda base. Our guides are veritable panda lovers — they are familiar with the base and know a lot about pandas. Some of them have even hosted a live cam feed about pandas on Facebook and YouTube.
There are about 10 pandas at the base and some of them are overseas returnees, including the most popular Tai Shan and Bao Bao, who arrived from the US. You will also have the chance to meet four naughty red pandas.
Pandas are supplied with panda cakes, apples, and carrots four times a day. The panda keepers will show you how to feed a panda at close proximity.
A simple Chinese lunch is included in the canteen. Usually, there are two meat dishes and one vegetable dish. Rice and porridge are also provided. It is highly recommended for you to prepare some snacks in case you do not like the food there. After lunch, you can walk around to continue exploring or have a rest in the volunteers' office or the resting room, where benches are provided.
Having seen the panda keeper feeding 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. You will also cut the bamboo leaves into small pieces for old pandas
The volunteer work ends here and you will receive a certificate for this unforgettable day. Say goodbye to the pandas you have taken care of. Your guide and driver will escort you back to your hotel in Chengdu and you will arrive at about 4:00pm.
Trip Notes
1. Booking Panda Volunteer Program
As the first tour company in China to operate the program, China Highlights has developed stable relationship with the Dujiangyan Panda Base. Sometimes the program is subject to change due to force majeure. Usually we are able to get the first-hand information that is very helpful for your tour arrangement. Your early booking is also useful to guarantee the availability of the program. Sometimes the activities listed in the description will be adjusted according to health condition of the pandas. Hope customers can understand this.
If your time is limited, you can only join the activities in the morning. The price is the same.
This tour is very flexible. You can alter the itinerary, and extend or shorten it to suit your schedule.
Physical Examination Record is required for panda keeper program application. Please click the link below to download the form. Feel free to contact our 1:1 travel expert for any questions.
2. Age Limit
The age restriction of volunteer is between 10 to 70 years old. Even though the pandas look harmless, they are carnivores. Parents must ensure that they prevent their children from coming into direct contact with the pandas. The cost for children of 10 years old and above is the same as the cost for adults. If your children are between 0–9 years old, you can still take them with you during the program. The children can not enter the room where the panda cage is. Your guide can help take care of them if you like.
3. Dress Code
Certain pavements in the base can be very wet and slippery. To avoid slipping, please do not wear short pants or slippery footwear. Also, pandas have a very keen sense of smell. As you will get very close to them during the tour, please do not wear perfume or nail polish. Our sincere thanks for your extra care and respect towards the pandas.
4. Transportation Suggestions
If you need to catch a flight or train after the program, flights departing after 8 pm or trains departing after 7 pm are recommended. For international flights, flights after 9 pm are suggested. If your flight or train leaves earlier than the recommended times above, you may need to skip some arrangements in the afternoon and head earlier to the airport or train station.
Tour Price
Price includes: