After several days based in Dujiangyan and having an afternoon in Chengdu city centre – it was finally time to head out to the Chengdu Panda Base! I had 2 days planned to visit and I really made the most of all the time available, arriving at opening (7:30AM) and not leaving until between 5 and 6PM on both days. Having visited back in September 2023 and experienced a part of the new section of the base, I knew I needed to go in with a bit of a game-plan to see it all.
After a wonderful and panda-packed week in Dujiangyan, it was finally time to head into Chengdu itself! I took a lunchtime train from Dujiangyan, meaning I could have a nice lie-in and head for a leisurely breakfast, it was nice not to have to fight the coach-loads of other tourists to get a spot. I stocked up on a couple of snacks and drinks at the 7/11 down the street from the hotel then went to pack up. My friend very kindly gave me a lift to the station, which was super nice especially as there was no elevator/escalator so it was down a set of stairs and I wouldn’t have managed it with 2 suitcases! There is just the one line through the Liduiyuan station in Dujiangyan, so super easy to travel through, you’ll definitely get on the right train. It was quite busy, but my friend made sure I got in the right line for showing my passport (vs. the Chinese travellers who can show their ID cards) and even got the guard to let me wait at the front of the boarding group because I had luggage with me. It was a little chaotic once they opened the gates to board the train, luckily my seat was in the first coach I came to and there was plenty of space for luggage, so it wasn’t as stressful as it could have been. The journey is super quick, less than 25 minutes and then you’re at the Xipu station in the outskirts of Chengdu. I was staying at the Crowne Plaza City Centre again, and know there’s not a metro stop very close to this, so I opted to take a taxi – it was a bit tricky finding the taxi rank, this seemed to be at the opposite side of the station from where my platform was, so it was a bit of a walk along a narrow pavement to find it, but luckily there were plenty of taxis once I got there. I was a bit early for check-in, but this was no problem and they even upgraded me to a suite – which was such a treat! I took a break in the room for a bit and unpacked a little before heading out to see some of my favourite spots – mainly checking out the latest releases at the Panda Post stores and heading to the Kuanzhai Alley (Wide and Narrow alleys) because I wanted to see the Grandpa Panda souvenir store. It was a crazy sight when I got there, the most insane panda souvenir experience I’ve ever seen. It wasn’t as mad as this when I went in September 2023, so it seems to be a recent thing, and I look forward to seeing if it’s changed any when I travel next year too. I didn’t end up buying anything, lots of things were the same and nothing was super unique/individual that I wanted to get. I stopped for a late lunch in my new favourite fast-food place, Dicos, and enjoyed some aircon and an iced drink before heading to Chunxilu and the IFS mall to check out the panda climbing up the building, a must-do every trip for me^ I stopped in a few shops on the way and just enjoyed a leisurely evening walk eventually heading back to the hotel – I ended up just having some snacks while relaxing in the super comfy bed and getting an early night for my early alarm to head to the Chengdu Panda Base the next day.
After visiting the Wolong Shenshuping Giant Panda Base – which is the newest base, opening to the public in 2016 as the original base in the area (Hetaoping) was severely damaged in the 2008 earthquake, and was never re-opened to the public – my friend, who works at the panda base and very kindly took me to Shenshuping, asked if I wanted to visit the earthquake memorial, so this is something we did on the way back to Dujiangyan.
Continue Reading “China Diaries: May 2024 #6 ~ Visiting the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake Memorial”
Here is the 3rd and final post from the Inner Ring House 3, and the final post to share from my trip to the Wolong Shenshuping Base. This is Xin Xin 鑫鑫 who was born in 2013 so is 11 years old and she is living with her little 2023-born cub (whose father is supposedly Hua Yang – this is his first cub. The name sounds familiar, so maybe I’ve seen him somewhere on my travels!). There’s not a lot online about Xin Xin, but she is a twin, and this is her third cub – her first two are named Yuan Xiao 元宵 and Hang Bao 航宝 – this third little one was not named when I went on this trip, but a search online seems to suggest that she has now been named Qing Ling 青灵. Qing Ling was the first born cub of the base of 2023, being born in May. Being very close to 1 year old on my trip, she did seem like one of the more confident little ones, and I saw much more of her than mum Xin Xin! She was up and down trees all afternoon and so keen to explore her yard. What a cutie^
