Search
China Panda Breeding Centre
General Information | Diaries | Photo Library | Location & Weather | Recommended Reading
Volunteer in China in your gap year, year out or career break
The giant pandas, the cuddly bears of China, are on the verge of extinction with only 1600 alive. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for you to work with these adorable animals, helping with the feeding of adults and caring for the cubs at a beautiful rehabilitation centre. If you can tear yourself away for a moment, you can sail down the Yangtze, take in ancient rock carvings in the mountains, trek across terraced rice paddies, or party the night away in Chengdu city!
Project Dates & Contribution:
- Departs: Monthly, please arrive on the Sunday before the first Monday of the month, or contact us for other start dates.
- Duration 4 weeks
- Costs £1445 for 4 weeks, £250 per extra week
Before you go: Comprehensive pre-departure support, travel & medical advice & documentation, equipment advice, discounted medical kit and free Frontier T-shirt.
In-country: food, basic accommodation, airport pickup & drop off, ground transfers & in-transit accommodation, local orientation & project training, in-country emergency support and 24 hour international HQ backup.
Minimum Age 18+.
A medical form signed by your doctor is currently required for this project.
Project Details
Transportation
The project is based in Bifengxia, 16km from Ya'an and 150km from Chengdu, in Sichuan province. On arrival in China you will be met at Chengdu airport by our partners and transferred to your accommodation for the two day orientation period. Following this orientation you will be transferred to the panda base for the remainder of your placement. At the end of your project you will be returned to the airport prior to your flight home.
Accommodation
You will be staying in a simple local hostel set amidst forests and mountains, close to the sanctuary. You may be sharing a room depending on availability and will have a bathroom with hot water and with a Chinese style toilet. This is the only accommodation in the area and the staff are extremely friendly and helpful. There is a laundry at the accommodation and telephone and internet communication available at times at the panda base.
Food
During your stay you will be provided with three meals a day, which will be mainly authentic, local Chinese cuisine. This will be served at the accommodation where you are able to choose from a set menu. Other dishes may be available at extra cost.
Work
You will be provided with introductory talks by the sanctuary staff to familiarise yourself with your surroundings and brief you on the work you will be doing. Work will include feeding the pandas and helping with general day-to-day maintenance work - cleaning the pandas' enclosures and taking care of any cubs. Giant pandas are very strong and can be fierce, so you will not be able to handle them. It is sometimes possible to hold baby pandas, but the sanctuary usually charges an extra fee for this privilege. You will learn about all aspects of panda life and assist the centre staff with the feeding and everyday running of the park. As well as helping prepare the pandas' food you may also help the sanctuary scientists to collect valuable data about the behaviour of the pandas, which could ultimately benefit the wild populations in China. In addition to this you may be able to assist with medical examinations and breeding efforts. The average work day involves a 3 hour morning and a 2.5 hour afternoon shift. Entrance fees to the park are included in your contribution.
There were 11 baby pandas in the centre at the end of March 2009. The success of the breeding programme is crucial to the conservation of pandas in China. Founded in 1980, the staff are experienced and professional and will ensure that your experience is rewarding and unforgettable.
 | This is a Frontier Supported Project |
Extras
During your free time you can either relax in the tranquil countryside or, if you feel restless, explore the region and its many treasures, such as the city of Chengdu, with its exotic teahouses, or the rock carvings of Dazu, dating back nearly 1500 years. At the end of your placement you may be lucky enough to have your photo taken with your favourite panda cub before being swept off to the airport.
Project aims
Saving the Cuddly Bears of China
Today, the giant panda’s future remains uncertain. This peaceful, bamboo-eating member of the bear family faces a number of threats. Its forest habitat, in the mountainous areas of southwest China, is fragmented and giant panda populations are small and isolated from each other. Meanwhile, poaching remains an ever-present threat.
Conservation efforts are being made both in the field, in creating national parks and trying to prevent further deforestation, and also by captive breeding programmes which aim to release pandas into the wild to help restore and maintain a healthy population. There are currently over 50 national parks in China that are home to wild pandas, but there are still pandas living outside these areas that are unprotected and vulnerable to further deforestation and the spread of humanity.
The Frontier-China Panda Conservation Project carries out research into all aspects of panda behaviour and aims to breed pandas and successfully release them into the wild when possible.
Alternatives
If you like the idea of an Asian experience but don't fancy China then why not take a look at some of Frontier's projects in India, Bangladesh or Nepal.
What now?
If you like the sound of the China Panda Breeding Centre, then request a callback from one of our travel advisers or use our online booking form to apply now and secure your adventure of a lifetime!
Frontier supported projects and Frontier group projects are run in partnership with in-country NGOs, small community based organisations, local research institutes, academic organisations and conservation agencies. Project descriptions and information are supplied directly by our partners or field staff and are accurate at time of publishing.
We aim to keep information up to date and accurate, however, the nature of our projects and in particular the fact that they are constantly evolving and developing in response to changing needs means that project activities, travel schedules, tour itineraries and daily timetables can change overnight and without notice.