Okay, I've searched the forums, but have been unable to find what I'm looking for.

I seem to recall that some of you--maybe while you were on PANDA last year?--went to a nature reserve in China and got your photos taken with panda bears.

Can anyone tell me where this was? I've Googled and found a place in Chendung to do this but there weren't many photos on the site. Can anyone suggest where else I should search for this info?

Thanks!

Andrea

Andrea - I don't know where those from last year went, but here is a sight for a tour where you work with the pandas in China. I've been looking at this for several years and I have a friend that has used Helga and her company.
http://www.poshjourneys.com/panda_bear_tour.htm

Thank you, thank you, Betty! That's exactly what I was looking for. Len and I are writing a list of "things we want to do one day" and a panda encounter is on my list and his. (I'm trying to convince him that we should visit China in 2009.)

Thanks again!

Andrea

Ken and I along with Linda, Ron, Anne and Gary were the ones that went to Chengdu to see the Panda Bears. It was not one of the work details but we absolutely loved it. I expected caged Pandas that would be looking rather sad. Instead we saw Pandas of all ages from new borns to adults enjoying huge compounds with all the vegetation that they have in the wild and then some. It is almost impossible to see Pandas in their natural environment but at least this was the next best thing. There were probably about 60 pandas at the center.

For a "price" about $200 if I remember correctly you can have your picture taken and touch the pandas. In the end we decided not to do that.

It was an experience that I will always treasure as was the "changing faces" Chinese show we went to see that evening.

Then we went to Guilin and took the river boat ride that was a Chinese Disneyland and the next day the Li River trip.

It was an outstanding two night adventure.

Pictures probably under the PANDA thread.

There are two panda centers: The Wolong Center that's outside of Chengdu and the Panda Breeding and Research Center on the outskirts of Chengdu. Leslie's Tibet group had a fellow traveler make the side trip to the Wolong Center. I hope she can chime in here with that information.

Betty - you go, girl! Here are a few more links to groups offering Wolong volunteer programs. Like many things in China, it's difficult to get a crisp understanding as to what the volunteer experience will be like. The trip advisor reviews on the hotel stress the reason to go is the pandas - accommodations and food are basic or worse.

http://www.worldendeavors.com/China/panda-conservation-in-china.html

http://www.wildspotsfoundation.org/wolong.html

It's hard to find actual reviews of the Wolong volunteer experience. Here's one:

http://www.sandiegozoo.org/wordpress/default/early-mornings-in-wolong/

Here are four video clips. I'm a bit surprised at the enclosure in the first one

http://video.aol.com/video-detail/china-giant-pandas/2648668641?icid=acvsv4

Go to June 1 2007 entry on this blog:

http://www.becci.com/Journal.htm

At the time we went, we were told the road to Wolong was either out of service or under repairs. Various posts say it is between 3 and 5 hours each way from Chengdu on bad roads. If you take a bus, you need to stay overnight. It would have made travel difficult. Therefore, we chose to go to the Panda Breeding and Research Center.

We were told by our guide there were two price levels for pictures with pandas: 400 yuan or 1000 yuan. The day we were there only the 1000 yuan picture was on offer. As described, you were seated on a bench with the panda behind you. We all opted out of that photo opportunity.

The pandas were pretty active when we visited (late afternoon). We got some lovely photos of the pandas. A very pleasant surprise was how interesting the lesser pandas were during our visit. Supposedly the pandas eat or sleep all day. Maybe it's true with the adults, but the 8 to 18 month old pandas were like all toddlers - nonstop action until they collapsed in a heap to nap. We visited in October; at the time, they had 9 baby pandas born that year. I also think it was 60 pandas at the center. We were told poaching the biggest issue with panda population declines, not habitat destruction. The population estimate was 1,600 pandas, up from 1,000 about a decade ago. I wasn't sure how much of the information is accurate and how much is an easier way to explain things for the guides.

Here's a one page description of the place we visited: http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/sichuan/chengdu/panda-breeding-and-research-center.htm

Cheers, Anne

Thanks Anne for all this information. I know you & I "discussed" this once before, but this is great info to have. I WILL get there one day, hopefully sooner, rather than later. So many places to go, so many things to see. Andrea, you will probably make it before I do, but I'll look forward to your reports.

I posted a panda hugging picture somewhere of one of my fellow Tibet trip travelers e-mailed me from his post-trip to Wolong.

Oh boy, Leslie, that photo is so cute! I really want to meet a panda!

Thanks Betty, Ngaire, and Anne...this is all great info that I've printed out and put in my "dream vacation" folder.

Andrea

I'm really surprised they let you hug them. What if they didn't like the way you smelled and became aggressive? Seems like a liability issue as well.

Wow, Wolong is now on our list as well. Hugging a panda seems like a very good "thing to do before croaking" item.

Robert - In a country with a civil law system that is "basic" at best, there is not much of a problem with liability for things like panda bites. Hmm, a society without ambulance chasers (even ones in cute panda suits) does have a certain appeal. Unfortunately, not much else about living there does, even though visiting is wonderful.

Thinking good thoughts about panda hugs - Fred

Freddie,
Thanks for you take on China....

Billp1 - I certainly did not intend to offend anyone regarding living in China or dealing with its nascent civil law system. As a (happily, retired) corporate lawyer, I am greatly weary of the broad scope of civil liability in the U.S. and hope that China does not become another ambulance chaser society, while also hoping that it develops a decent sense of legal responsibility for genuine wrongs.

Our visits to China have been among our fondest travel experiences; and we look forward to more of them, including panda hugging. But would we ever want to live there?? - hmm, No...

Leslie, I love the panda hugging picture! This is SOOOOOOO HIGH on my list of things to see and do! Do you think you could find out where this photo was taken?
Just trying to find the right time to fit it in! One of these days.....for sure! (Maybe I can hide in Fred & Pat's suitcase !)

For those of you considering a panda visit anytime soon, here's an update following the quake

The good news

No reports of damage for the Panda Breeding Center in Chengdu. It's a bit further from the quake epicenter than Wolong. Tours, though, have been suspended in the area until the rescue and recovery effort are further along. But .. since they've reported on Wolong, keeping our fingers crossed that 'no news is good news' in this case


The bad news

Wolong has reported five workers killed, panda houses seriously damaged. Three pandas missing; no information yet on the pandas in the wild in Sichuan province.


Wolong Panda Reserve - Earthquake update 5-19-08

The three days of mourning are now on in China. Sad, sad times for the Chinese people. Our hearts go out to all of them

Cheers, Anne

We will be going to the Panda Breeding Center in Chengdu in October. Hopefully all will be settled by then. We are also going to see the Leshan Buddha just outside of Chengdu.



So far, it seems to have survived. You can see all the people climbing on the left of the picture; we hope to do the same.

China is getting to be difficult to travel to now; hopefully, this will all pass after the Olympics. Tibet is closed to foreign tourists, they have drastically cut back on visas especially multi-visit visas, their restrictions on carryons are now more stringent than at Heathrow, and, of course, the earthquake in Sichuan.