After the partial destruction of the Wolong panda center during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, plans were laid out to build a new facility a few kilometers away. Additionally, a disease control center was to be built closer to Chengdu.
It has now been five years since the earthquake and with a substantial donated amount of ~$500,000,000 USD, the two facilities are nearly complete. We were allowed inside both locations for a brief tour.
Our first stop was the disease control center in Dujiangyan city. The buzz of saws and the bright glow from colorful hard hats seemed to fill the air as we glimpsed inside the freshly constructed pens. Walking past the tourist center we could see a plaque with the national symbol of Hong Kong. From what we understood, they were the primary donor for both facitlities.
Employee housing, veterinarian labs, food prep area, quarantine, tourist & education centers filled up the main area which was about 50 acres. It is scheduled to open by the end of the year.
The second facility we visited completely blew us away given its massive size. With over three miles of footpaths, the disneyland sized Wolong panda center is sure to be a hit with tourists and panda enthusiast alike. The main entrance is dominated by a welcome center that is attached to an even more dominating museum.
Bisecting the park is a mountainous river in which you can still see some of the effects of the 2008 earthquake with freshly unearthed boulders lining its embankments. The western half of the park houses the research facilities, breeding center, vet. center, kindergarten and pens for 80 or so pandas. The new Wolong panda park has step-wise reintroduction area with three steps, each more wild than the previous. We did not tour these facilities.
The opening date was originally set for the end of 2012, but was put behind due to a series of landslides. The next expected opening date is September of this year, but from what we could see the roads are nearly impassable and continue to be plagued by landslides. The ~50 km drive over the bouncing river rock terrain took us nearly 1.5 jarring hours. The new Wolong park is sure to be the flagship center for anything having to do with panda bears and will certainly be part of our plans to visit in the future.
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- All image taken by my Canon 60d
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- Plaque dedicated to Hong Kong
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- Dujiangyan administrative building
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- Dujiangyan visitor center
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- Wolong visitor center & museum
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- Wolong kindergarten
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- Wolong Museum
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- Wolong panda pens
Hi I’m trying to come to visit Dujiangyan and Bifengxia. I need a car and driver. Do you have a good one ?
Hi Rosemary. Depending on the time that you will visit, we might be able to take you to each location. We are currently at the Dujiangyan Veterinary Center, but will be at Bifengxia later next week. We tend to take public transportation given that it is so inexpensive, but once in a while we have a driver. We are in China quite often, and our future travel dates might match- so let us know.
If you are interested in taking public transportation to Dujiangyan, you will need to transfer from the CTU airport to the Xinanamen station and buy a ticket to Dujiangyan. It’s a fun experience if you have never done it before. From Dujiangyan, you can transfer to Ya’an and Bifengxia by bus as well. It’s complicated, but easy on the wallet.
Alternatively, there is a local CTU tour guide named Haba Yefei who offers airport/Chengdu transfers to wherever you might want to go. His phone number is- 13880615705. His email is-haba_naci@163.com. I’ve used his services a few times and he is a pleasure to be around. He also speaks very good english. You should expect to pay about $150/day if you use his services to transfer.
Hi Nathan Thanks. I will be travelling from Chengdu to Bifengxia on Nov 7 then from Bifengxia to Dujiangyan on Nov 8 in late afternoon or could be in the morning of the Nov 9. I would be very happy to have travel companions. Regards Rose
Hi Rose. Unfortunately we will have just returned back home. We are here until the end of the month. However, when you are at Bifengxia, be sure to find our intern- Daniel. I know that he would enjoy showing you around the base if you would like. If you are interested I can put you in contact with him.
Ok that would be great thank you.
Hi Rose. I just spoke with Daniel and he says that he’d be delighted to show you around. His email is djhorton711@gmail.com. I told him to take you to lunch if you will allow him to treat you. Let me know if you need any assistance when you are in Ya’an/Bifengxia.
Thank you Nathan. I will be in touch. I am hoping to see Dr Tang. He came to Adelaide to do the AI for our giant pandas. I have emailed Daniel. I am just hoping I can get photos of Wang Wang’s half brother and half sister.
Sorry I won’t be there, otherwise I would gladly try to pick you up from Chengdu to make your trip easier. Daniel will be a good host, so ask as many questions as you’d like or need of him. Let me know how it goes when you are all done. Have fun.