My first meeting with my guide in the city of Chengdu<\/strong> comes with a headband with two panda ears, which she gives me so I can instantly blend in with the local scene\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Later, I would discover that, in the whole city, people wear something panda-related. Headbands like mine, panda bags or totes, panda keychains hanging from backpacks, and many, many other accessories that clearly \u201cstamp\u201d the city: we\u2019re the Panda people!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n I have a ticket to a famous center, located just 10 km from downtown Chengdu, where you can see pandas \u2013 one of the rarest animals on Earth \u2013 in a semi-natural habitat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding<\/strong> was established in 1987 to save the species from extinction and is now among the most important centers in the world for panda breeding in captivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They even have a fancy guard here \ud83d\ude42 Who seems to be just waiting to see your phone pointed at him, so he can show off his spectacular tail…<\/p>\n\n\n\n I ask if there’s a possibility to volunteer in this place, because that\u2019s what I saw online \u2013 people feeding the cubs or cleaning their enclosures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There isn\u2019t. Since the pandemic, they\u2019ve stopped that kind of activity. Instead, you can volunteer at another center \u2013 Wolong (Shenshuping) Panda Base, where you can actually interact with the pandas. But it\u2019s a 2-3 hour drive from Chengdu. So I give up on cuddling the bears…<\/p>\n\n\n\n After I take a photo with the team of panda-fighters, my guide tells me not to expect to find any kung fu pandas<\/strong> here\u2026 Pandas are lazy, laid-back, often clumsy creatures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We walk along the bamboo-lined paths. It’s pretty chilly!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here and there, I see signs with information\/warnings about various things. From \u201ckeep your distance, don\u2019t feed the animals\u201d, to the fact that you need to keep your voice low, because pandas are very sensitive to noise; or that drones, rollerblades, scooters are not allowed, you can\u2019t use flash photography, and live streaming activities are also prohibited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since I still don\u2019t see a single panda in sight, I take the opportunity to find out as much as I can about them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are around 2,600 pandas in the world. (1,700 of them live here, in the Sichuan region, in the wild and in centers. That\u2019s why this area is considered their home.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Out of the 2,600, 1,900 live in the wild. Practically all of them in China! \ud83d\ude42 Because the panda naturally lives only in China<\/strong>, in remote mountainous regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The other ~700 are in breeding centers and zoos. Most of them still here, in China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Zoos around the world \u201cborrow\u201d panda specimens from the Chinese, for limited periods, under a program called \u201cpanda diplomacy\u201d. And here\u2019s the cool part: if cubs are born in those zoos, they are sent back to China! That happens after 2 years, as soon as their mother finishes nursing them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this Center, you can see many pandas born in different corners of the world. All returned to their \u201cmotherland\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the other hand, some cubs born here are sometimes sent to other centers around the world, as part of conservation collaborations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wow\u2026 so many apartment buildings would\u2019ve been built by us on the land where these bears live!…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Each bear has its own little forest, with elements to help it move around, relax. And to not care at all about visitors, as you can see. Can you see? \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are about 100 pandas in this Center (including the red ones, which I\u2019ll write about a bit later). You can see everything from newborns to adults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The best time to come here is early in the morning, when pandas are most active.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I wake up at the crack of dawn to be here by 8 AM. That\u2019s breakfast time and you can spot the bears outside eating, playing, wandering around. During other times of the day, they might sleep inside, so you\u2019d miss them. That\u2019s also why mornings are the most crowded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also, keep in mind that pandas prefer cold weather. They only come outside when it\u2019s cool and retreat indoors when it\u2019s hot. So, if you visit during a heatwave, there\u2019s a good chance you won\u2019t see them past the fence…<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are also indoor viewing paths for visitors, where you can spot the bears through glass when they\u2019re inside. But the real charm is definitely outside!<\/p>\n\n\n\n A mama panda gives birth once a year. The twin birth rate is 40%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Artificial insemination is also done, to diversify the gene pool, I understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pandas live about 20 years in the wild and 30 years in captivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pandas\u2019 diet is made up of over 99% bamboo<\/strong>, even though, biologically, they are carnivores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They don’t get any meat here. In the wild, they chase bamboo, they move around a lot, so they need a protein source too \u2013 they eat eggs, rodents, small birds. Here, they don\u2019t exert any effort, everything is handed to them \u201con a silver platter\u201d, so their diet is adapted to this lifestyle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I had no idea there are 200 types of bamboo! And pandas eat only 60 of them. And only fresh bamboo! So you can imagine the work of those in these centers or in zoos…<\/p>\n\n\n\n All the bamboo that pandas don\u2019t eat is collected and recycled. It\u2019s turned into paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I filmed several pandas during their breakfast \u2013 and I wasn\u2019t the only one.![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.danamladin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Panda-Breeding-and-Research-Center_giant-panda_5-1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nTHE PANDA BEAR<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
The bears didn\u2019t care about us at all. Until\u2026 one of them gave up the bamboo and started walking toward us:<\/p>\n\n\n\n