You’ve seen Yuan Meng and the baby pandas at Chengdu Panda Base in September 2023, now lets see what else is brand new – and I’m talking about the huge extension that has been being built over the past few years and is now open. The expansion more than doubles the size of the panda base, and really makes the base a difficult place to cover everything in one day, you really need 2 full days to be able to see it all! I snapped a picture of the map at the South entrance when I arrived, but this map is named slightly differently to the version online. The in-person map has 4 areas marked to visit, but in the new map, the Sky Meadows Area is not included. I will have to see what this looks like now in May 2024.
When I visited in September 2023 the Star Forest Area/Panda Forest Area was closed, not sure if it was just not open or perhaps not yet finished – nevertheless, I wouldn’t have had time to visit anyway. I also didn’t make it to either the Sky Meadows Area of the Moon Valley Area/Panda Creek Valley Area which is right up at the new West entrance. So on my next trip I have 2 days at the base planned, and will start at the West entrance on 1 day so that I can see everything the new space has to offer. But for now, the Sun Hills Area/Panda Reception Hall, the Panda Pedestrian Street and the Bamboo Tower:
Sun Hills Area/Panda Reception Hall
The Sun Hills Area/Panda Reception Hall is the only panda area in the new expansion that I managed to visit. I spoke with a friend who works with pandas, and he recommended not visiting because there weren’t many pandas in this area – I decided to try it out anyway! Unless you are coming from the West entrance, I would recommend taking the tourist bus from the South entrance to get here, after travelling through the original park space, it was quite a journey to this first stop in the expansion, and it was up and down a few hills. It would be a lot of walking to get there, before even walking around the area itself. The tourist bus cost 30RMB and you can buy the ticket via a QR code before getting in line – this is a one-time cost, you can take the bus again with the same ticket. There may be a bit of a queue at the more popular stops. It was the afternoon when I visited this area of the park, and was over 26 degrees C, so I didn’t see any pandas outside but the outdoor spaces looked very nice with plenty of trees and climbing frames. It was definitely less crowded here at the indoor viewing windows for the pandas, and I would say there was quite a bit of misting up of the windows, so it could be a bit tricky to get good pictures. Of the enclosures that I saw (Spring Sun, Rising Sun and Cloud Sun), seeing the pandas inside meant standing outside for the humans – there was some shade here which was good and there were some fans, but I can see that this would get very hot in peak Summer. I’m hoping there will be more pandas to see there next time!
Panda Pedestrian Street
The Panda Pedestrian Street is at the top of a hill in the new expansion and is a huge commercial and entertainment centre. There is even an IMAX cinema and a theatre here, it’s a little crazy! Here there are plenty of cafes and restaurants. I was there quite late in the afternoon and there were only a handful of visitors up here, in fact it was so empty I wasn’t really sure what was open or closed. I will definitely try out some food here next time, but it won’t be McDonalds – yep, they were building a McDonalds at the Chengdu Panda Base! I love trying McDonalds in other countries, but not with the pandas! A friend visited in November 2023 and said it was still under construction then too. Anyway, there were plenty of souvenir shops, but it was a lot of the same items here as in the shops in the original part of the park. I was very happy to see a Panda Post shop, this is smaller than the ones I’ve been to in Chengdu city centre, but has a great selection of post cards and stationery gifts. Also had to share the super cute vending machines available around the expansion, there were plenty of drinks available along with ice creams and souvenirs.
Bamboo Tower
What has definitely been advertised widely about the expansion is this fantastic Bamboo Tower structure, it’s an amazing architectural feat located at the top of the hill with wide views across the new expansion and the local area. The tower is free to enter, but you need to register for a QR code to scan (can be done at the entrance). When I visited it was around 4PM, which is close to closing time of the tower, so there were almost no other visitors and new queue to get in, it was great to experience it almost alone. There is a lift/elevator, however you need to ask for access to this, so they will only let those on who really need to use it – otherwise it’s a winding staircase up, but it wasn’t too much and you can stop and enjoy the view or rest at every floor. As I’ve done this once, I’m not sure I’d do it again unless the sky was very clear or if I was with someone who hadn’t been before.
Final thoughts on the new Chengdu Panda Base expansion
I just thought I would do a bit of a conclusion to this post – now I can’t speak for the expansion as a whole because I haven’t seen it all yet (lets hope I get that done this month!), but I can comment on what I did see. Maybe because I was in this area in the afternoon meant that there were fewer crowds, I really liked that it was a bit quieter, but in contrast there were fewer pandas to see in this area. It does almost feel like it’s two very different experiences – if you want a more relaxed visit with time for socialising, resting and shopping/eating, take the new West side of the park; if you want the hustle-bustle and and a busier vibe, take the South side/original part of the park. To see it all, you need the 2 days, especially if there are cubs to see, overseas returned pandas or if you want to wait in the queue to see He Hua/Hua Hua (which I’ll be doing next time).
The expansion area is super clean and tidy, it’s all very neat and has a different vibe to the bamboo lined pathways of the original base – for sure, one isn’t better than the other, they’re just offering different experiences. I think this is a great modernisation and future-proofing for the base, and there are definitely a lot of opportunities for further work on this new area. I am very intrigued to see how things have developed in the past 8-months since my visit and look forward to writing an update.
