PDXWildlife’s main base of operations is in Bifengxia, which sits in the mountains above Ya’an, Sichuan, China. It’s a 30 minute bus ride from our apartment, winding through a steep, bamboo lined canyon of rain soaked rock. The Bifengxia base currently houses about 30-35 adult bears and is largely considered the “breeding” facility in the lineup of CCRCGP bases. Altogether, the CCRCGP has four bases (Bifengxia, Dujiangyan, Gengda, and Hetaoping). Maybe we can get to Gengda and Hetaoping at a later date. But, for now, we hope you enjoy this video tour of the Bifengxia panda base.
If you would like to come visit during one of our multiple trips each year, we would love to show you around. We also enjoy responding to your questions, so don’t hesitate to post a comment below regarding any of the CCRCGP locations or pandas. Thanks for visiting-
Nate–thanks so much for the tour! I think I’ve seen bits and pieces of the BFX base in pictures but never had an idea of the whole grounds. Also loved the pictures from the visit with Lin Ping and her cubbie. When you visit Zhen Zhen again, can you get us a few more pictures and maybe some video? Don’t mean to be greedy, but you and other visitors to BFX seem to be our only way to get pictures from there. Do you think they will ever be able to follow Chengdu’s lead and set up a site like iPanda to let us see more? You also mentioned traveling with you on one of your trips–can you give a brief idea of times and costs? It would be fantastic to be there with you guys! Thanks again.
Frances
Hi Frances. We will be posting a new video and pics of Zhen Zhen and her cubs in the next few days… As long as our internet cooperates. As for iPanda- I think Bifengxia attempted to do something similar, but was abandoned for an unknown reason.
Trips- You have been with us since we first began and would love to have you here. With the increased amount of research that we are performing here, we anticipate 4 trips per year. I will have to look up our dates to be absolutely sure of the times, but the tentative or general schedule for 2016 is- March 1-21, May 10-30, Aug 10-30, & Nov 10-30.
Costs- I think a fair cost is $100/day (example, 4 days = $400). As a non-profit working solely off of grants and donations, we would be super grateful for anything beyond this cost and could provide a tax deductible receipt. This would include me picking you up in Chengdu at your hotel, transferring to a Ya’an hotel via public transportation, Entry to Bifengxia, touring our research and the facilities, taking you to lunch and dinner, and transferring you back to Chengdu. I am also a very good resource for what hotels your should stay at, and more importantly, what flights are best.
We will be home in a week if you want to talk more about visiting. Feel free to email me- nate@pdxwildlife.com
Thanks, Nate–it will be a while, but definitely something for the bucket list. Keep those pictures and videos coming!
Enjoyed the quick tour Nate. Those baby Pandas in the baskets were very cute. Amazing they got them to all be quiet at the same time. Only thing I missed was a narrative of what I was looking at. Maybe something for you to think of adding on top of the ethnic background music on later vids?
Hi Lloyd. That’s a fantastic idea. David Attenborough will have to retire once I start doing narratives. Thanks for all the support over the years. We should make time for coffee when we get home. Cheers-
Thank you, I would love to visit BFX again.
Our pleasure. Happy to show everyone our base of operations.
Hi, I visited Bifengxia in 2013 and while there met Yi Ran (Dot) as a cub. I have not been able to find out anything about her since. Do you know how she is doing and where she is living these days? I would love an update.
Many Thanks,
Christine
Hi Christine. Yi Ran, Female, Studbook #837 was born July 24th, 2012 in Bifengxia. Born to papa bear Yi Bao and momma bear Shui Xiu. We haven’t encountered Yi Ran in our studies (we mainly cover adults), but we also see that the most current studbook does not list an updated status. Be sure to ask us in late January when we return to Bifengxia and Dujiangyan so we can ask around. Or, you could join us…
Thanks for the question.
Thanks for getting back to me with info. I will check in with you in January. Hopefully she is well and as happy as when we met her. I’d love to return there for another visit at some point …
Yi Ran resides at Gengda. You can watch her each night at Explore.Org Panda Cam – Dragon Pond Valley. Yi Ran is constantly on the move and does not stay still for long in the yard.
Hi, Thank you for the updated info regarding Yi Ran’s location. I will watch that panda cam and hope to see her pass by!